Print Solutions Magazine, June 2003 -- Variable Data Imaging

Relatively speaking, variable data imaging is a new kid on the block. It hasn't been around long enough for a majority of distributors to add it to their product mixes, but those offering it can gain loyal clients, penetrate accounts and beat competitors.

Variable data imaging involves identifying clients' desire for personalized documents, helping them organize customer data, and adding that data to documents via a digital press such as an HP Indigo, Heidelberg Digimaster, Xerox DocuColor or Xeikon DCP. Distributors say variable data imaging works best for clients who make and sell a variety of products to numerous market segments, show interest in new technologies, have direct mail needs and can provide detailed customer data.

Read on to find out how three distributorships successfully sell variable data imaging--and how you can, too.

Far left: Indianapolis-based Kiwanis Club International, which identifies and offers projects to meet community and children's needs, has more than 7 million members. It wanted attractive membership renewal mail pieces that were easy to work with and less expensive than the invoices it previously used. Greenwood, Ind.-based distributorship Central Indiana Design and Printing Inc. partnered with Digital Imaging Center (DIC), owned by Bay City, Mich.-based manufacturer F.P. Horak Co., to provide Kiwanis Club with user-friendly, variably imaged 8 1/2 x 11-inch invoices and forms.

A software company wanted to sell its products to five market segments--map enthusiasts, frequent travelers, engineers, hunting and outdoor enthusiasts, and emergency response services personnel--in each of the 50 states. Distributorship MPX, Maine Printing Company in Portland, Maine, and Scarborough, Maine-based manufacturer Direct Mail of Maine Inc. supplied 3 1/2 x 8 1/4-inch order cards to the company. The client saved money on the variably imaged cards and achieved better response rates.

Indianapolis-based Kiwanis Club International, an organization that identifies and offers projects to meet community and children's needs, has 3,000 chapters comprising more than 300,000 students and 7 million adult members worldwide. A faculty advisor heads each chapter.

For years, Kiwanis Club's headquarters had sent advisors invoices to determine who was renewing their memberships and who was joining the club. "The invoices were multipart, carbonless continuous forms that were difficult to read and interpret," says Charlie Miller, president of Greenwood, Ind.-based distributorship Central Indiana Design and Printing Inc. "Kiwanis wanted something that was easy to work with, less expensive and very attractive."

Miller worked with manufacturer Digital Imaging Center (DIC), owned by Bay City, Mich.-based F.P. Horak Co., to provide Kiwanis Club with a more customized way to renew existing members and add new members. Now, each facility advisor receives two separate mailings. The first mailing contains an invoice, a member roster and a new-member application. The invoice lists the number of members in a club, the amount owed by each member, chapter number and address, and advisor's name, says Jeremy Morford, DIC's digital solutions manager. Each roster contains 15 total names of renewing and non-renewing members. The new-member application is a blank form advisors use to add members.

Kiwanis Club advisors collect information such as names and account numbers from members during chapter meetings. Then, they fill in the invoices, rosters and applications and mail them to Kiwanis Club's headquarters. The headquarters works with a third-party firm to create a digital text file of the information, which then is sent to Central Indiana Design and Printing. After the distributorship sends the data to DIC, the manufacturer processes it and sends Kiwanis Club advisors the second mailing, which contains a new roster, membership cards and new member welcome letters.

For the first mailing, DIC uses its Heidelberg QuickMaster digital press and 20# laser MOCR paper. DIC also uses its Heidelberg Digimaster 9110 digital press to personalize the rosters with faculty advisors' names and contact information.

For the second mailing, DIC prints an 8 1/2 x 11-inch roster on 20# white paper using its Heidelberg Digimaster 9110. It also prints 3 1/2 x 2-inch membership cards with each member's name and contact information. The cards are held by a thin layer of laminate on an 8 1/2 x 11-inch welcome letter personalized with the member's name, account number and chapter address. DIC uses Borland® Delphi™ 5 software from Scotts Valley, Calif.-based Borland Software Corp. to collect information such as member names and addresses, and generate Adobe PostScript® code. The code is sent to the Heidelberg Digimaster 9110, which prints the rosters, cards and letters.

Miller says he enjoys the role of "overall project coordination, taking customer ideas, determining what the customer really wants, developing the ideas, talking to the manufacturer and following through."

Central Indiana Design and Printing has offered variable data imaging since 1998. Although the technology is more difficult to sell than forms and other traditional products, offering it is advantageous for distributors, Miller says. Most of the firm's variable data imaging customers continue working with the distributorship on the same application for years, he says. Clients often become so involved with the distributorship that it becomes difficult for them to share a similar rapport with other distributorships, Miller says. Most projects have reasonable profit margins, he says, adding that Kiwanis Club now relies on Central Indiana Design and Printing for additional projects.

Miller predicts an increase in the demand for variable data imaging because it's cost-effective and the technology is improving. "Variable data imaging is the future," he says. "If distributors don't get into it, they're going to see falling sales."

A software company that sells products to customers in all 50 states wanted to bolster its direct marketing campaign. Its products are designed to target five customer segments--map enthusiasts, frequent travelers, engineers, hunting and outdoor enthusiasts, and emergency response services personnel.

"The client wanted to speak differently and more economically to each segment in each state," says Chuck McCatherin, general manager of distributorship MPX, Maine Printing Company in Portland, Maine. "Because it caters to so many segments, the company also wanted to keep track of what it's saying and to whom."

MPX has offered variable data imaging since the early 1990s. Recently, it partnered with Scarborough, Maine-based manufacturer Direct Mail of Maine Inc. (DMM) to develop an order card that was flexible enough to accommodate 50 state-specific products for the five market segments. "If the software company had chosen the commercial printing route, it would have to go for at least 250 plate changes, which would cost an astronomical price," says Theresa Cloutier-McCann, DMM's vice president of marketing.

MPX worked with the software company to design the order card, then provided DMM with a 2-color, 80# roll-to-fold stock from Glens Falls, N.Y.-based supplier Finch Pruyn & Company Inc. to print the cards. The company sent customer data such as names, addresses and account numbers to DMM via the manufacturer's FTP site. DMM processed the information with software such as Postalsoft® Suite from La Crosse,Wis.-based Firstlogic; Postalsoft PrintForm® mailing and statement processing software, also from Firstlogic; Paris, a document design, distribution and retrieval system from Peabody, Mass.-based JBM Systems Inc.; and Jet Letter delimited data formatting software from Ontario, Canada-based LaserMail. DMM printed the 3 1/2 x 8 1/4-inch order cards on its PageStream 210 DSC Plus continuous form laser printer from Chicago-based supplier Océ. Each card contained information such as the customer's name, address, account number and payment information.

McCatherin says the software company benefited tremendously from using variable data imaging because it lowered the client's overall marketing costs and increased its response rates. "The old way of having 50 different order cards would have led to a lot of plate changes, high cost and lots of wasted paper," McCatherin says. "You can run 1 million cards by using a high-speed laser printer. Because it's continuous doublewide, you can save tremendously on costs and produce millions of cards." It's a lucrative business for MPX, too, because the profit margin is significant and it's able to offer more services to clients, McCatherin says.

4 Tips to Sell Variable Data Imaging

Here are four points to keep in mind when selling variable data imaging:

1. Understand the process. Before you begin offering variable data imaging, understand the technology and processes behind it. "Read everything that you can find on the subject," says William Hybsch, co-partner of Concord, N.H.-based distributorship Print Management Group. "Ask your manufacturers for help. You can't sell this product without the help of your manufacturer."

Charlie Miller, president of Greenwood, Ind.-based distributorship Central Indiana Design and Printing Inc., says a thorough understanding of mailing and weights can reduce the costs of variable data imaging jobs.

2. Look for the right manufacturer. Make sure you talk to manufacturers about their capabilities and visit their plants. "Look at the specifics of the job and the client's needs," says Chuck McCatherin, general manager of distributorship MPX, Maine Printing Company, Portland, Maine. "Then choose the manufacturer." Dozens of firms offering variable data imaging appear on pages 210 and 211 of Print Solutions' 2003 Buyers' Guide.

3. Target the right customer. Look for businesses that make and sell a variety of products to numerous market segments. Typically, these businesses need one-to-one communication with clients, so variable data imaging is an ideal technology, McCatherin says.

4. Demystify the myths. Many customers assume that variable data imaging is very expensive. "But if you sit down and do an analysis about how the costs will work and show that to customers, they'll be fine," Miller says.

A regional trust company used to print and mail approximately 2,000 financial statements to its clients monthly. Those clients had to read the complex statements entirely to understand the growth of their financial investments.

The trust company wanted to provide easy-to-read, graphically enhanced statements so its clients could understand them quickly, says William Hybsch, co-partner of Concord, N.H-based distributorship Print Management Group (PMG). The client also wanted the statements to be printed in high resolution on high-quality paper and mailed within five days of sending customer data to PMG, he says. The distributorship has offered variable data imaging since 2000.

PMG, along with Bangor, Maine-based manufacturer Creative Digital Imaging (CDI), came up with the idea of using pie charts to show clients their portfolios. The financial company sent customer data securely over the internet to CDI. PMG supplied CDI 24# Plainfield Opaque bond embossed with the client's logo in black and gold. Using Microsoft® Access®, CDI personalized the data, which was sent to 21 Hewlett-Packard laser printers, says CDI President Michael Bazinet. The 8 1/2 x 11-inch, 3-hole-punch financial statements containing client names, addresses, account numbers and investments (represented by pie charts) then were mailed in 9 x 12-inch window envelopes, he says.

Hybsch says the trust company is extremely satisfied with the statements. Its clients now receive clear and more detailed snapshots of their financial investments, he says. "Not only did the company receive the services it was looking for, but it's now considering developing an internet solution so that customers can view their portfolios online," he says.

Hysbch expects variable data imaging to account for 20 percent of PMG's sales this year. "It's more difficult to sell in the beginning, but it's so much more challenging and professionally rewarding," he says. "Distributors should get started today."

Preeti Vasishtha is assistant editor of Print Solutions. Email her your comments at pvasishtha@PSDA.org.

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