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RICOH PRINTERS

Anyone entering the digital print market typically has a focus on working with variable-data printing (VDP). While static digital print has the advantage of fast turnarounds and smaller quantities, it is essentially commodity print. When you add variable-data printing to personalize the printed piece, there is increased value to the customer along with a corresponding rise in responses, sales, and/or participation. This increased value allows for a boost in revenue. Variable-data printing is not considered a commodity because it takes experience, creativity, and planning to produce a successful variable-data campaign. The print service provider must learn more about the customer's customers. Thinking like a marketing firm is required to design a piece and incorporate variable text and graphics that will motivate the recipient to act on an offer.

There are four critical elements to becoming successful in variable-data printing:

A. A clear vision of the mission, goal, or objective of the campaign

B. Clean relevant data that allows you to target the message

C. Staff that can manipulate the database and apply appropriate rules to personalize the text and images in the printed piece

D. A sales team able to market the service and show the customer the value of the effort required to produce an effective variable-data campaign

Keep in mind, the goal/objective of the variable-data campaign drives the format of the database.

When the printer meets with the customer to plan a strategy using variable data, they must work together carefully to identify the campaign's goals. You may start with the database and determine what you can do; or you may start with the end result and determine what data should be added to the database. Table 1 provides a list of objectives found in dozens of case studies of successful campaigns. It is a starting point and should never be considered an all-inclusive list. When you consider the objectives of a variable-data campaign, it may become crystal clear what data needs to be available. Possibly, you'll come up with another set of questions that need to be addressed to establish the components of the database.

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For more information, please visit Ricoh at www.ricoh.com

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HOME // Whatever your needs and goals – Turn to us for all your Marketing & Business Collateral Printing, Canvas Art and Photo Prints, Wide Format, Mailing and Fulfillment Services to the Washington DC, Northern VA, and MD Metro areas and beyond.

ABOUT US // We serve Trade Associations, Designers Design Agencies, Corporations Advertising Agencies, Artists Self Employed, Magazine Publishers Museums, Catalogue Book Publishers and Self Employeed. Our Attention to quality has earned us an unparalleled reputation across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, Publishing Executive and Printing Impressions magazines have honored us with Gold Ink Awards for outstanding quality. The U.S. Postal Service named us Small Business Mailer of the Year in 2006

SERVICES // Value Priced Offset & Digital Printing, Web to Print, Expert Prepress, Variable Data Printing, Marketing Services, Binding Solutions, Wide Format Printing, Full Service Mailing Fulfillment, and Kitting Shipping – Standard, Rush Same Day Service. Affordable - Simple or Complex Multi-page Projects Printed in 1/C, 2/C, 4C and 6/C are our specialty.

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MAILING // Full-Service Mailing Facility, PURLs & QR Codes, Mailing List Management, Targeted Direct Mail, Demographic Data Analysis, UV Inkjet printing