Hardware and software have advanced, giving marketers so many ways to make a connection with their customers and prospects with variable data printing. It impacts direct mail response rates. Let’s explore.
What Variable Data Printing Is
Variable data printing is printing that uses data to create personalized or unique print mail pieces. Some common examples of variable data are things like names, addresses, monetary amounts, images, QR codes, and other kinds of data that could be made specific to a person or product.
Data Printing in NJ
Why Personalization Matters to Recipients
People really like to feel seen, heard, and special. They don’t want to feel like just another face in the crowd, or one more number to make money off of. Personalized print and mail pieces have a much greater impact on the recipient than a generic print or mail piece, and there’s a greater chance the recipient will look at the piece and maybe purchase an item or use the service.
What Variable Printing Can Do
Variable printing gives personalization down to the recipient level, every printed piece can be totally different from the next one depending on the variables and what they control. You can change text, images, and even layouts just from the data you have and use. Variables can also tie in with digital or other forms of marketing by using things like QR codes that take viewers to specific websites or landing pages.
Real Examples of Variable Data Printing
One example uses data pulled from a smart meter to create a chart showing energy usage compared to a neighbor’s energy usage, making people aware of that, done as part of a multi-channel campaign that includes email as well. Another example is a homeowners insurance mailing that went out to a customer who had previously inquired about getting homeowners insurance, giving all the information that’s publicly available about when the home was built, the square footage, and a quote based on all that information.
When to Use Variable Printing vs. Traditional Printing
Variable data printing should be used for smaller quantity print runs that require customization on the printed pieces, such as different names, addresses, or coupons that can differ depending on a consumer.
Traditional printing like offset or web printing is good for large quantities of printed pieces that don’t require variables or customization, such as catalogs or some magazines, which wouldn’t be cost-effective to print on a digital press due to sheet sizes and quantities.
What You Need to Get Started
You’ll need the base design for printing the variable data on whatever the piece is, possibly some images if hoping to swap them out variably, and a mailing list with a data file containing the variables wanted on the piece. Make sure the data has the information needed to pull the correct variables, such as a URL column used to generate a variable QR code, or a column for just the customer’s first name to start the piece with an introductory statement.
Common variables include names, addresses, monetary amounts like donation amounts for charities or memberships, gender, company names, URLs, colors, and more. Any number of demographic variables could be used to create a printed piece or customize it to a specific recipient.
Response Rate Differences
Traditional print has about a two percent response rate, while variable data printing could be between six percent and as high as 30 percent. Digital or inkjet presses are the most common devices used for variable data printing, since variable data printing tends to be in smaller quantities, and the customization is much more difficult to print on a conventional offset press or web press.
File Preparation Tips
Layout files and data preparation are really important. In the layout file, it’s good to build a separate layer of the variables being used in the printed piece, allowing the print production person to turn off or hide the layer for the variable data software being used. Putting variables in brackets or braces also helps the print production person know what a variable field versus a static part of a print design is.
Adobe fonts are not supported in a lot of variable software, so fonts that can be packaged with the files are recommended, and text and images with effects and transparency do not work with all variable software, so checking with the print provider before submitting the file matters.
Data preparation is also important, the better organized and cleaner the data is, the easier it will be to work with, and separating city, state, and zip code into their own data fields is recommended for mailing addresses, since most postal pre-sort software prefers the data in that format.
Since the technology and software of variable printing has changed and is getting better all the time, it’s important to work with a partner that has printed variable data print or mail pieces for a long time, with experience across different complexities, from a single name printed on a letter to a full-blown brochure with changing images and paragraphs.
