The challenges of variable data printing.
We all know about electric cars and other fuel-alternatives for transportation.
And yet the overwhelming majority of us still drive octane-fuel guzzlers.
The reason: There are too many drawbacks in features, convenience and price
and not enough incentives to warrant a change in behavior. It has been
said that variable data printing is like the electric car. There is no
compelling reason for change.
Well, I have a different perspective. A digital press
comes with the ability to produce variable data output. As they said
in the classic Ragu commercial “It’s
in there.” If you purchased a car, and it came with an electric car
in the trunk, you would probably explore the ways in which you could use
it — especially if you were a golfer.
The concept of variable data printing, or VDP, was
introduced with much fanfare more than five years ago and received an
enthusiastic response. Putting concept into practice, however, proved
more difficult. There was a lot of buzz about variable data printing,
but not a lot of practical solutions. Slow job execution times
made variable data production difficult at best. Digital equipment was
lacking in quality and the solutions were embedded in highly customized
(dare I say, proprietary) solutions. These were the early challenges
that a variable data pioneer faced.
In 1999, the PIA’s Digital Printing Council recognized
that the growth rate of variable data would be severely inhibited unless
standardization was brought to the process. The Committee for Graphic Arts
Technical Standards (CGATS), accredited by the American National Standards
Institute to develop U.S. standards for the printing, publishing and converting
industry, took up the mantle. With the cooperation of the Print on Demand
Initiative (PODi) and Adobe Systems, the Standard for Variable Printing
Data Exchange using PPML and PDF (PPML/PDF) was developed — and recently
formally approved.
PPML/VDX is an enabler for variable data printing. It provides a standard
where none existed. It is likely that more than one software solution may
be required for variable data printing companies who cover a wide range
of market segments. Instead of a single, turnkey solution that is tied
to the digital press, PPML/VDX allows freedom of choice for the selection
of best-in-class solutions.
In addition to the benefits of a universal Standard, PPML/VDX identifies
the static and variable elements in a page and this can be used to cache
elements, resulting in a productivity gain in comparison to a PostScript
or PDF output stream.
In summary, the new Variable Data eXchange Standard increases the power
of the digital press and removes a stumbling block to more widespread adoption
of variable data.
Couple this with the dramatic improvements that have
been made to the print quality and you have a compelling reason to want
to “taste
the Ragu sauce.”
Personalization: The competitive edge
Statistics back it up. Marketers expect a direct mail campaign to yield
a typical response rate of 2 percent. With variable data and personalized
marketing, achieving a response rate of 8 percent to 10 percent would be
within reason. The awareness of VDP is growing, and along with it the opportunities.
There are success stories. Postcard promotions and loyalty programs by
financial institutions, charitable organizations and realtors, are already
using personalized marketing very effectively. Some new age printers take
on only variable data work and refuse to do any static printing. For more
success stories, visit www.podi.org. While the impact of VDP on response
rates is now accepted, the expected behavior by the marketplace to eagerly
embrace the technology has been relatively slow, indicating that barriers
and challenges still remain. As it stands, there are four key barriers
to the adoption of variable data printing.
Barrier 1: New skill sets
VDP requires new skill sets. Designers often ask how to begin to conceptualize
a variable data page. The quickest way to work through this is to start
with a static page and identify elements in the page that can be used to
increase the “power of the page” by changing them according
to the set of eyes that are viewing the page. Keep in mind that you have
to have some idea of whether the appropriate data can be mined to support
what you would like to do creatively.
One of the more obvious challenges is architecting a variable data page.
The variable components must integrate with the page layout without breaking
the aesthetics of the design. Not so easily understood is the kind of database
skills needed to reconcile the data and create business rules between the
data that the customer supplies and the variable page template so that
the data is married to the variable page template. Variable data printing
requires three key skills: marking up a static page with variable copyholes,
linking a database report that provides information for the copy holes
and developing any business rules (conditional logic) that are needed.
These tasks require a background in graphic arts and in IT.
Supplement or train staff
Commercial printers with long histories in traditional offset printing
are struggling to find and employ the proper talent to handle the data
aspect of a variable data job. Dedicating a production staff member solely
to “data handling” may be hard to conceive, but businesses
that want to succeed in variable data must add staff with these skills,
or find a partner that they can outsource to. The conclusion: Well-trained
and educated people are the key to variable data success. I don’t
think there is a single answer to the question of who to train to handle
the data. It comes down to the talent pool you have at your disposal. Some
companies have elected to train their graphic arts people, others have
gone outside to hire, and still others are partnering with companies who
specialize in this area.
The industry faced a similar situation when the direct imaging presses
first came to market. The dilemma then was whether to train a pressman
on the electronics or take a prepress technician and train them on the
press. Both situations have worked for companies. It came down to the talent
they had on hand and what made the most sense. I believe that as time goes
on the graphic art talent will morph into a new skill set able to handle
both requirements, just as it did for the direct imaging presses.
Barrier 2: Technology confusion
Getting started in VDP is challenging. There is new technology, new concepts,
and new skills required and they all converge at the same point in time.
There is a new way to look at a page. Where is the variable data, and how
complex is it going to be to architect the page? All of these combine to
create VDP inertia. Graphic Arts veterans are out of their element. Getting
beyond the fears and producing a job is the cure for this malady. That
is why conventional VDP wisdom says to start with some very basic jobs.
Many companies resort to producing their own promotional materials for
their key accounts to announce their new VDP capabilities and solutions.
This serves as a good beginning to feeling comfortable with how everything
works and also gain some experience.
Crawl. Walk. Run.
Starting out with very simple, straightforward, jobs can yield some early
successes upon which to build the confidence of your people.
A mail merge on a promotional post card, could be a “starter” job
that allows a digital printer to understand the data side of the equation. Incremental
steps put you in a crawl, walk, then run mode. Along the way you can learn
what you don’t know and take corrective action. Here’s my analogy:
when teenagers gets their permits they have an idea of how to drive. But
you wouldn’t take them out on the freeway for their first foray behind
the wheel. There are so many new things — the brake, the accelerator,
the instruments, (the radio?) that they need time to become familiar with
all of them working in unison. Crawl, Walk, Run.
Barrier 3: Expecting the silver bullet
Once a variable data solution is decided upon, it often prompts a silver
bullet mentality — just plug it in and it will handle all my variable
data needs? The key word is “tool.” VDP software is a tool.
If used properly it can get the job done. But you wouldn’t pound
a nail with a screwdriver. Having the proper tool for the job requires
that you identify the job first.
Identify your opportunities
It is likely that no one variable data application is going to be able
to handle all the work a digital printer takes in, especially if they are
targeting a wide range of vertical market segments. A business plan should
be put together and it should identify the types of jobs that will be targeted.
That will lead you to practical solutions.
Barrier 4: Paradigm shift
Commercial printers know their business well. They know their equipment
and their capabilities. They know they can turn around most jobs within
their quoted turnaround time. Turnaround time is the gear that drives the
business process. A job comes in during the day and the clock starts after
the materials pass preflight.
If a company installs a digital press and then announces
to its customer base that they are ready to handle variable data work,
they shouldn’t
expect to start seeing jobs come in like this. And this is a good thing.
It could be catastrophic for a Variable Data job to just appear at the
door. It requires a completely different process. A project meeting, and
a proof of concept should precede its arrival and the starting of the turnaround
clock.
Variable data printing is not about selling print.
It’s about selling solutions to customer’s
problems. The business cycle is different. It starts with identifying
the opportunities to address a customer problem, like low response rates
or high inventory costs, and then offers a solution.
In the VDP selling model, the digital printer’s
sales rep would look through his account database and type of jobs that
his accounts typically produce. He would brainstorm for opportunities
where VDP could provide a better result and then would call on these
targeted accounts.
They should move away from calling only on the print buyer. The VDP proposition
would be to suggest spending more per piece and the print buyer mindset
would likely reject this idea unless it can be established that the important
metric is not cost per piece but cost per outcome. If, by employing variable
data printing a greater response rate could be achieved, or revenue increased,
or some other metric positively affected than that is the focus of the
cost versus return. This implies that the sales rep should be calling on
marketing people, head of sales, or C level executives at the targeted
account and not the print buyer. They would better grasp the value of the
VDP proposed solution.
The next step would be to have a project meeting. Present from the customer’s
business would be the head of marketing, an IT support person, a designer
and possibly the print purchaser. Present from the VDP printer would be
the sales rep and a technical support person. They would discuss the goals
of the project, the design and the areas where they wanted to introduce
variable copyholes. Any data required for the VDP job would be discussed
with IT to determine if it could be mined, precisely what information would
need to be extracted, and in what format it would be provided. Once this
was all agreed upon, some sample data would be given to the sales rep and
he would return to his shop to have a proof of concept done. The mock up
would be shown to the print purchaser’s head of marketing for approval
and then the page and database report and all the supporting materials
would be prepared and sent to the VDP printer. At that point the VDP printer
would be ready to start the job.
Walking the walk
VDP printers will have to identify the opportunities, target their accounts,
and market their new services. If they have some demographics on the accounts
they are targeting they can utilize variable data in support of their own
marketing efforts.
By proactively extending itself to the client, the printer adds value
to its own customer relationships.
All expectations about the job and turnaround time
are managed early on, so the job doesn’t enter the workflow until
all potential issues have been explored and worked through.
This is a dramatic shift in traditional business processes. It involves
high-level involvement, and a new, more intense investment in time and
effort in the sales cycle.
Moreover, digital and variable data technology allows
the printer to develop a more solutions-oriented relationship with customers.
Companies today are looking for a competitive advantage. They want to
sell more and to stand out. Variable data and digital technology can
be used to help them succeed by generating higher revenues, greater customer
satisfaction and efficiency. It’s a matter of creating awareness for the new services
that VDP offers today’s printing community. Digital technology provides
tremendous opportunities for marketing communications. Corporations today
are making huge investments in collecting information about consumers and
business-to-business customers using CRM initiatives — all with the
intent of enabling closer connections with these audiences. But beyond
creating targeted mailing and telemarketing lists, this information is
being vastly under-utilized. What can be done with all this data? It
can be used to develop effective, highly personalized print programs and
campaigns that generate much more significant response rates, lowers the
costs per lead and greater customer retention.
Unique brochures, direct mail pieces and customer seminars are just a
few ways printers are communicating and creating awareness for their new
services. Printers can use their own customer information and market more
efficiently to those who can benefit from variable data printing. This
could be used to create marketing programs that help printers build and
develop their own customer relationships and demonstrate the very capabilities
and services they now have to offer.
Common ground
All of these barriers
point to three common factors that affect success levels in variable
data printing: a practical plan, knowing where the opportunities lie,
and the right people.
When developing a variable data printing plan, getting the marketing and
sales reps mobilized is key. There must be a marketing plan. In the new VDP
sales model, the VDP sales reps must seek out and explore new opportunities.
They must communicate the value and sell solutions. Finally, the most important
investment must be made in the people who will be executing. Finding or training
the right talent will ultimately determine how successful any VDP business
will be. It is the make or break point. Technology is wonderful. So are electric
cars!
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