We live in an era of personalization. Whether it’s online with algorithms that know your preferences or at the hardware store where you can get custom shades of paint the same day you request them, people have come to expect and desire the things around them to be tailored to them.
Advertising, of course, is no different. Which is why it feels so impersonal when you receive marketing material that’s clearly intended for a general audience. There’s nothing that makes you toss a mailer in the “circular file” (the trash can) faster than when it’s addressed, “Dear customer.”
The solution? For many successful businesses, it’s Variable Data Printing (VDP). Let’s learn more about this technique and how you can integrate it into your in-house Adobe InDesign projects using Xerox’s XMPie uDirect plugin.
How Tools Like uDirect Classic From XMPie Make Variable Data Printing Easy
Variable Data printing is a printing technique that we discussed in our blog post How Print Marketers Are Using Variable Data Printing to Sell More. Essentially, this technology allows you to create a single design (i.e., a mailer, flyer, or other document) and use a data source to customize elements of it. For example, if you have a database that includes information like your customer’s name and the city they live in, these are parts of the document that can be customized. Every printed copy will be personalized for the recipient.
Variable Data Printing is a powerful tool, especially effective for direct mail, customer notices, or any other kind of print communication that can benefit from personalization (which is most of them). Instead of manually designing each copy and changing things around by hand, which even for a small database of customers would take a very long time, tools like uDirect make the process much faster and easier.
Here’s How uDirect Works With Adobe InDesign, and the Difference Between the Classic and Studio Versions
XMPie is a Xerox company. They’ve created uDirect, which is a plugin for Adobe InDesign that gives your projects the capability to incorporate variable data printing. Most database types are supported, including things like spreadsheets or comma separated values.
uDirect is easy to use—if you already know your way around InDesign, you’ll feel right at home using its built-in drag ‘n drop menus. Within your project, you can assign all kinds of variable data. Text is the obvious powerhouse here, but it also supports images, colors, and more. Customized QR codes, for example, are very popular options here.
Best of all, no coding or scripting of any kind is required. uDirect is one of the easiest, most flexible ways for designers to start using variable data printing.
There are two versions of uDirect: Classic and Studio. uDirect Classic supports text and images, and uDirect Studio supports dynamic charts. This is useful for any business that needs to convey chart-driven data to their customers. For most, however, Classic will do all that they need.
Ready To Modernize Your Office With All the Flexibility Offered by Xerox Tools and Equipment? We’re Here To Help You Get Started
uDirect is a powerful too, but it’s just one of the many, many things you can do with Xerox software and equipment. If you’d like to learn more, or if it’s time to modernize your office with a new Xerox multifunction printer, our team at QDoxs would love to help you discover everything you need to meet your print goals. Please contact us today or request a free online quote.
