3 posts tagged with "Mailings"

In August 2010 the International Standards Organization published the PDF/VT standard, which opened the door to a new realm of possibilities for digital printing by decoupling the complexities of VDP creation from the particular print production methods.

PDF/VT gives the world of personalized data printing all the benefits of PDF workflow by satisfying the demands of industry for total job portability, page independence and device neutrality. In the future it will be next to impossible to imagine the PDF/VT file format (ISO 16612-2) not playing a key role when using VDP applications, particularly since it will allow you to use VDP solutions that are economical and easy to implement. By simplifying the process, it will deliver benefits to everyone who has a stake in successful mailings: businesses, marketers, graphic designers and print professionals.

There's no question that printing in support of direct mail campaigns is a billion-dollar business. The astronomical number of printing orders and the need for fast turnaround have not only given rise to the development of appropriately capable hardware, but also to such applications as variable data printing (VDP), which can significantly reduce the cost per printed item. The question now is: where do businesses stand today?

In spite of all the opportunities that are available in personalized printing, businesses still face enormous challenges. Small enterprises in particular continue to print their advertising and other mailings in black and white. Everyone knows how inadequate that is for making the right impression with prospects and customers. Companies need to put forth an enormous effort, particularly when using postal services for their mailing campaigns, as these have to compete with the internet and hold their own against the latest multimedia websites, e-mails, video platforms and social networks.

Variable data printing has made tremendous progress since its beginnings​

It caused quite a sensation back in the 1960s: bank statements in plain black text produced by dot-matrix printers and then mailed by name to each account holder. Today the very idea of this might only earn grins from nostalgists, especially in light of how far personalized mailings of all kinds have progressed from such modest beginnings. The international PDF/VT standard addresses the needs of modern variable and transactional printing and brings all the benefits of PDF workflows to the world of personalized and variable data printing.