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Direct Mail and Variable Data and Certified Ad Services’ HP Indigo digital press

April 6, 2010 08:03 by author

Direct mail is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. Advertising mail includes advertising circulars, catalogs, applications, and other commercial merchandising materials delivered to both homes and businesses. Variable data technology provides a distinct and personal way to reach an audience. Customers can tell Certified Ad Services what they want, customers can provide a mail list or Certified Ad Services can provide one for them. It is a very sound way to get to "target" customers and increase sales. Our customers can have a list and mail piece on hand just by going to web2ad^®.

Variable Data Printing:

Variable-data printing (VDP) (also known as variable-information printing (VIP) or VI) is a form of on-demand printing in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the printing process and using information from a database or external file. For example, a set of personalized letters, each with the same basic layout, can be printed with a different name and address on each letter. Variable data printing is mainly used for direct marketing, customer relationship management, advertising and invoicing on self-mailers, brochures or postcard campaigns.

The technique is a direct outgrowth of digital printing, which harnesses computer databases and digital print devices and highly effective software to create high-quality, full color documents, with a look and feel comparable to conventional offset printing. Variable data printing enables the mass customization of documents via digital print technology, as opposed to the 'mass-production' of a single document using offset lithography. Instead of producing 5,000 copies of a single document, delivering a single message to 5,000 customers, variable data printing could print 5,000 unique documents with customized messages for each customer. There are two main operational modes to VDP. In one methodology, the document template and the variable information are both sent to Raster Image Processor (RIP) which 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 and PPML, which organize the print stream efficiently so that the static elements are only processed once by the RIP.

There are several levels of variable printing. The most basic level involves changing the salutation or name on each copy. More complicated variable data printing uses 'versioning', where there may be differing amounts of customization for different markets, with text and images changing for groups of addresses based upon which segment of the market is being addressed. Finally there is full variability printing, where the text and images can be altered for each individual address. All three types of variable data printing begin with a basic design that indicates which sections can be altered and a database of information that fills in the changeable fields. Since 2005, the term TransPromo or transpromotional has emerged to cover the merging of promotional content and transactional print pieces by involving more business users in the printing process. The returns for variable printing vary from double the normal return at the basic level to 10-15 times the return for fully variable jobs. This naturally depends on content and the relevancy of that content, but the technique presents an effective tool for increasing ROI on marketing campaigns.

Certified Ad Services’ Indigo press

Certified Ad Services’ HP Indigo press 5500 is part of a comprehensive solution that integrates software, the latest HP Indigo printing technology, substrates and finishing methods. Certified Ad Services’ HP Indigo’s end-to-end solutions create a smooth process that makes the job easier and helps streamline the important task of meeting the customers’ needs, specially with variable data marketing.

Certified Ad Services portfolio of components help customers create digital printing production workflow solutions to meet a broad range of market segments and application needs. The Certified Ad Services portfolio of knowledge, skill, software and equipment provides end-to-end workflow management, from job creation to fulfillment. When combining best-in-class HP Indigo and other components, the result is greater flexibility, with specific solutions to address key market segments that are customizable and scalable. From small variable data streams to very large variable data bases, the Certified Ad Services’ production workflow can easily handle the load.

Certified Ad Services’ HP Indigo press 5500 and Certified Ad Services’ HP Indigo UV coater provides an excellent quality product that will lift customer’s branding to new heights.

Automatic color-to-color adjustment: The HP Indigo press 5500 incorporates automatic color-to-color adjustment, which eliminates manual adjustment and ensures superb color-to-color registration.

Solid line work thinning: New high definition dot placement technology enables the control of the dot gain and achieves best-in-class micro text, as well as fine line work and barcode printing.

Certified Ad Services’ HP Indigo Advantage:

ElectroInk™ - 1 micron particle size