Variable data printing technology is increasingly perfect

With the continuous improvement of digital printing technology, color digital printing has enormous potential for growth. Some traditional printers with forward-looking awareness have found that variable data digital printing workflow will be the best choice for enhancing the competitiveness of the enterprise market. Currently, there are many kinds of digital printers on the market that have the ability to complete variable data printing with stability, reliability, and high quality. They combine digital imaging technology with database information effectively, and the contents of each page are different. Prints have greatly attracted market attention.

The emergence of variable data printing

The continuous development of market needs and the further advancement of personalized printing have become a trend from the mass market to the mass custom market and the mass market segments. Pay attention to recent technological developments. We often come across such terms as variable data printing, variable information printing, personalized printing, database printing, one-to-one printing, customizable printing, etc., which may be confusing to you. However, no matter what the name is, it means that only one kind of document layout is designed in a printing process, but each copy of the document has its own unique personality, ie, the text, graphics, and copy of each copy. The content of each part of the image can be different and can be arbitrarily changed to produce an unlimited, unique, and targeted personalized product.

This printing technology greatly increases the value of printed materials. Industry experts believe that variable data printing will be the most important driving force for digital printing. The reason is that variable data printing brings a whole new value-added effect, which has a good performance in improving customer feedback rate and customer service quality, reducing total cost, reducing sales time, and enhancing production efficiency.

The effective customer feedback rate is 34%; the average order volume/order value growth rate is 25%; the repetitive order rate and order maintenance rate is 48%; the total revenue and profit growth rate is 32%; the response time is reduced by 35%.

Variable data printing is a form of on-demand printing. All products printed through this technology are similar but not identical. Such applications are common in life, such as company annual reports, CI design manuals, product promotion leaflets, table cards, transportation permits, direct mail advertisements, etc., including the packaging of some products can be personalized labels. In order to achieve the purpose of corporate identity promotion and establish a brand image, in daily life, personalized business cards, calendars, desk calendars, greeting cards, wedding albums, etc. are unknowingly stepping into the lives of ordinary people. All of these have improved people's recognition of variable data printing and laid a good market foundation for them.

technical background

The specific method of adding variable content to printed products: First, first design the desired page in a standard typesetting software such as QuarkXPress or frameMaker, and input the fixed page content. This page is called the template file and is in the template file. It is necessary to reserve a location for the variable content, complete the page and store the file in EPS or PDF format after layout and design. The second step is to create a database file for the variable content. The database file should include all the information needed for the variable data printing, requiring the added items to correspond one by one and cannot be misplaced. In the actual printing, the data stream representing the variable information is from the database file created in the second step, and then the variable data is inserted into the reserved position using the software that allows the real content to be input on the fixed page, and is composed of the fixed content. Complete page.

In the design process, designers are often asked such a question: how to form a preliminary concept of variable data pages. The answer is to first create a static page, determine the content on the page that needs to be changed according to different readers, and then determine if the selected data can support the printing goals to be achieved. The key question of this technology is how to design a variable data page and how to determine the variable part of the page without affecting the overall aesthetic effect of the page. It is not easy to understand the type of database technology used to reconcile data and the establishment of enterprise rules between customer-provided information and variable data templates.

When creating a variable data page, there are three key technologies that should be noted:

· Matching of variable data with different pages;

A link to a database report that provides copy information;

· Development of necessary corporate rules.

The realization of variable data printing requires new processes, technologies, concepts, and requires that these technologies can be integrated at one point. This requires a completely new perspective of where a page's variable data is, how complex it is to build a page, all of which form the basic requirement for creating a variable data page, and engage in graphic information. Professionals must deal with these factors and start with some of the most basic tasks before designing a customer-friendly interface.

PPML/VDX Variable Data Print Exchange Standard

A study conducted by PODi, a group of major manufacturers of digital printing equipment, showed that the lack of a uniform standard is one of the most important obstacles to the market accepting personalized printing. After research, PODi In March 2000, a personalized printing markup language PPML/VDX was released.

PPML/VDX (Personalized Print Markup Language/Variable Data Exchange) means “Personalized Print Markup Language/Variable Data Exchange” and is a standard for output/exchange of variable data printing (VDP) jobs based on PDF and PPML. Based on Adobe PDF and PPML, the advantages of PPML and PDF are combined to establish an open standard for the exchange of variable data. In this way, those documents that are to be merged with the database information and variable contents can be printed in other software by only one "Saveas" command.

PPML/VDX has established a detailed and variable data format, allowing designers and manufacturers to exchange final output formats and variable documents in the form of electronic files. The main work based on this standard is to design pages in design software and design variable information content in general database software.

Because PPML/VDX integrates the advantages of PPML in the coding of variable data layouts and the openness and reliability of PDF, its use reduces frequent communication between designers and printers. The final format data for one or more sources can also provide effective and reliable exchange. This standard allows designers to fully control the final shape, content and appearance of each part of the print. Even if each page of the print is different, the print producer can focus on the quality of the product without having to be a database. Operation, set-up of printing parameters and other tedious processes are troublesome.

VDP Workflow Based on PPML/VDX

Variable data printing workflows generally include the stages of concept, development, approval, consolidation, printing, and completion.

Conceptual stage: VDP applications usually begin with the idea of ​​marketing peer-to-peer marketing activities. To motivate customers' purchase intentions, the marketing department puts forward ideas and provides original materials, including images and textual content, and a database. At this stage it is necessary to analyze customer data and determine the form and appearance of the final printed material.

Development phase: Transform concepts into executable plans and designs. This process includes fine art editors, text editors, and database collation by designers.

Approval stage: The marketing department evaluates the above plans and adjusts and modifies them according to the marketing objectives. It also needs to use the database to test the entire application, check the text content, image size, etc.

In the consolidation phase, the PPML/VDX format variable data print job generated using the graphic data and database data formed in the previous phase was used.

Printing stage: Printing with a digital printer that supports PPML/VDX.

Completion phase: Postpress processing and service work such as binding, cutting, mailing, etc.

Problems with variable data printing

For those companies that want to engage in variable data printing, the first key issue to be solved is how to learn and understand various database products. In fact, the understanding of the database does not need to be particularly thorough, just know how to use the data in the database, and use the data to communicate with customers.

Excel can achieve such a function. Before production, the printer needs to know the type of database used, the meaning of the fields, the relevance of the fields, and the fields to be used in the printing, from the person making the database. In order to achieve variable requirements, companies can hire a computer expert to help companies solve all kinds of phase magnetic problems.

Another problem brought about by variable data printing is who is responsible for the accuracy of the content of the database. In traditional printing, the customer can print after signing the sample. All questions are subject to proofs. The situation is very different in variable data printing. Should customers be responsible for the content of the database? Can a printing company print directly without verification? Is the printing company responsible for proofreading the database? How to proof print the variable data? All these problems must be solved effectively and reasonably before printing, otherwise it will greatly affect the operation of this business model.

The key to the printing of variable data is to decide what template to use and what data content is variable, and to solve these two problems is half successful. In this process, the database drives the switching of text and images, but if the content does not match the space left, it needs to add certain logic rules to the production to constrain the conditions for providing the content. This allows the printer to The customer provides yet another value-added service.

Conclusion

The development of variable data printing technology is an inevitable trend in the development of information transmission network. The rapid development of high technology such as information technology, network technology, digital technology and automation technology will fundamentally transform, expand and develop printing technologies, and promote the entire printing industry. Industry development. The close integration of network technology and printing companies will lead to tremendous changes in the printing industry. As the market matures and the concept changes, variable data printing will win more potential markets, and the prospects will also become more and more broad.