Variable Data Printing (VDP) in Printbox

As a print service provider, you must always stay ahead of the competition and ensure your customers’ satisfaction. Nowadays, where the offer is very much alike, how do you stand out in the printing market? Each company owner has to ask this question, but there is no simple answer.

You need to expand your business by developing new markets and finding new customers. Identifying and offering new products with additional benefits is essential. Automating the creation of personalized products via professional photo printing software can give you a competitive advantage by lowering the time and investment involved with learning to use new applications and by reducing the cost of transactional printing. And this is VDP coming to help.

What is VDP?

Variable data printing (VDP) (also known as variable information printing (VIP) or variable imaging (VI)) is a form of digital 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

This solution lets users automate the creation of personalized projects. It allows changing elements such as texts for individual look and feel. That personalized piece can be a greeting card, poster, envelope, brochure, flyer, catalog, business card and more. Variable Data Printing allows you to change the output of a digital printing press to personalize each printed piece with unique information from a spreadsheet or database. The only thing your end customers have to do is upload a CSV file with proper data (like the name, address, company name, etc.).

You don’t need to install additional software, Printbox VDP module is available with the whole package. To offer a VDP product, you need to create a new Product Family with specially adapted products. If you already have a PF and themes – you have to add labels to all of the designs. Give a specific ID to the right fields in the admin editor and then, having such a prepared base, turn on the VDP option in the Config.

From this moment, there will be a new option available in the editor – in the left panel: Variable Data. This option will allow your end customers to enter the VDP mode.

This new feature can be super-helpful when you offer for example greeting cards.

Imagine a situation your customer would like to buy greeting cards, 100 pieces, to send them as a thank you gift after an event. Having such a solution well configured, your customer can prepare these cards in a quick and easy way and have it personalized.

Your customers can upload a CSV file, order greeting cards, and each copy will include an individual name from the file. Quantity in VDP products can be limited by the shop administrator. The locked quantity in the product card is used to show the price of a package of products. The specified quantity in the product data sheet will not finally be transferred to the final quantity of the product to be ordered.

Apart from the fact that it is possible to add a CSV file with data, it is also possible to add individual data manually. What is more – all fields are translatable, so you can customize them perfectly. The imported data can be modified in the editor, in the table to manage data. Your customers can delete a record or add a new one, blank. The entire data table can be downloaded as a CSV.

Why use VDP?

To put it simply – using variable data printing technology can boost your sales, bring you higher returns and give you a rapid rise in customer loyalty. And your customers will love this solution because it’s convenient and fast.