If printers didn't have enough problems with customers' page layout files, now they are going to have to deal with customer-created databases. Variable data printing (VDP) and mailing services usually require a customer to submit a file containing the information necessary to produce the job. Mailing and VDP services could be new profit centers, but printers must develop standards and procedures for working the customer databases. If they don't, working with databases could be a black hole that impedes production worse than a bad document file.

When customers first started providing digital documents, printers had no standards and would accept any file. Most printers lost money and time trying to meet customer needs. Printers need to be proactive and develop a formalized procedure before they begin accepting customer data files.

One of the easiest ways is to require customers to provide database information that has been created in a program that supports Comma Separated Values (.csv) and Tab Delimited text file formats. Many customers create database files in an Excel spreadsheet or in database programs such as Microsoft Access and Filemaker. If customers can provide the information in standard formats, it will be easier for the printer to handle.

Currently, much of the data received from customers usually needs some type of work. Duplicate records need to be purged, inaccurate fields need to be corrected, invalid information needs to be eliminated, and the records need to be sorted. Some of this can be done automatically and some requires a human touch.

To avoid problems, the printer should help the customer design a format for the record and the fields that will be included in the project. A record is a collection of fields that describe all the information on a customer. The fields within a record could be as simple as first name, last name, address line 1, address line 2, city, state, zip code, and telephone. It could be expanded to include gender, age, marital status, income, family status, buying history, and much more. The more information is available, the more personalized a message can become.

The customer would then create a database based on the printer's record specifications. Even if a mail merge project is simple, a customer must be given direction about how to prepare the file and identify the fields that will be used. Rather than hoping a customer gets it right, a printer should provide a template of the required fields for each record to help guide the customer as he creates the database. If the customer prepares the files in the proper format and the fields are correct in each record, the order should be simple to produce.

Way Beyond Mail Merge

Personalization sells, according to most experts. If a customer receives a printed piece that includes a message that has been customized for his interests, there is a greater chance he will review the information. Preparing a personalized message with variable information may be more expensive to produce, but the results can be dramatically higher.

VDP is more than mail merge. It can include graphics and text that are selected based on the variables for that particular name. If one of the fields within a record indicates the person's gender, then a specific graphic can be used whenever a record with that gender is used. For example, any time the gender identifies the record as female, it would use a graphic containing a photo of a woman. By knowing a little about the customer, a successful VDP project can create customized messages.