The variable data printing revolution

Variable Data Printing or VDP is a form of on-demand printing in which elements such as text, graphics, and images can be changed from one printed piece to the next using information from a database. Today’s VDP applications go far beyond the laser-personalized letters, invoices, and customer statements of recent decades. It is now possible to customize a variety of documents from sales brochures to training handouts to fit the needs, interests, and preferences of individual customers, employees, or members. VDP has been shown to boost the effectiveness of printed output whether it’s measured: by response rates, readership, ROI, or customer satisfaction.

There are two main operational modes to VDP. In one methodology, the document template and the variable information are both sent to the press, and the raster image processor (RIP) combines the two to produce each unique document. The other methodology is to combine the static and variable elements prior to printing, using specialized VDP software applications. These applications produce an optimized print stream, such as PostScript, which organize the print stream efficiently so that the static elements are only processed once by the RIP.

Frontier Business Products offers users a choice of RIP. The Post Script RIP is required if printing from a Macintosh computer. Commercial, in-plant and other users that will be printing out to Post Script applications such as Adobe InDesign, Quark, and Page Maker Should opt for the Post Script RIP. General office users printing from Microsoft applications should select the GDI RIP.

Our Riso HC Series, Ricoh, and Oki Data printers produce variable output in color easily and economically. Whether each page is completely different or a simple mail merge is used just to place a name and address on a page, postcard or envelope and all printers can handle a wide array of variable data print jobs.

You don’t have to be a commercial printer or mail house manager to take advantage of our printers’ VDP capabilities. They do not require a skilled operator, so practically any office can produce personalized and customized direct mail, newsletters, sales collateral, training kits, assessment tests, and more. All our machines are also tailor-made for traditional back office functions such as invoicing and printing customer statements.

Call 303.390.3600 today to schedule an appointment with an FBP Variable Data Printing project manager.