TKs Korner Masthead

October 2017

 

Digital Printing —Variable Data Printing
for Business Development

 

 

How Would You Like To:

 

• RAISE Response Rates

 

• INCREASE Total Purchase Dollars Per Customer or Order

 

• INCREASE ROI

 

• LOWER Costs per Response

 

• LOWER Costs per Sale

 

• GATHER pertinent information on each of your customers to market more effectively

 

 

THIS ISSUE EXPLORES DIGITAL PRINTING and Variable Data Printing (VDP) and how it is revolutionizing the way businesses reach out to their customers, as well as how they develop their business or marketing strategies.

 

How does digital printing differ from conventional offset printing and why is it fueling the growth of One-to-One Marketing using Variable Data Printing (VDP)?

 

I CAN HELP. Sexton can help. Digital Printing can help. One-to-One Marketing can help!

 

Sexton Printing has been providing digital, VDP printing for many years. We can help you implement engaging one-to-one promotions, provide cross-media campaign measurement, and even streamline your entire marketing supply chain.

 

 

Sexton’s State-of-the-Art Digital Press — the Xerox 800!

(Just in case you want to jump right in and learn more about our new digital press, click here )

Built from the ground up to maximize print quality (compared with old-technology printers with added enhancements.) The Xerox 800 utilizes new digital ink with chemically grown particles for finer quality and in-line clear dry ink is the key element for special effects.

Very few of these digital presses have yet to be put into production — Sexton has one that offers virtually unmatched quality in the Twin Cities.

 

 

This issue won’t make you an expert on the subject of digital printing and variable digital printing (VDP) overnight, but it will help you understand the potential of digital technology using VDP, and how it can help you reach your communications and marketing objectives.

 

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY is Changing the Face of Printing

 

Digital technology makes printing faster and easier to produce, provides flexiblility, and reduces the need to produce and hold huge inventories. It is transforming from a mass medium that is a ‘spray and pray’, into customized one-to-one marketing.

 

Digital Defined

With most types of digital printing, there’s no film, color proofing, stripping or plate making, no press make-readies, no time consuming changeovers, and less waste. Because the images are generated digitally, they can most often be changed ‘on the fly’.

 

Digital technology permits quick turnaround, immediate finishing, no wait-time for drying, and allows for low-quantity print runs. Books and brochures can be printed on-demand as they are ordered — eliminating the need to print large quantities of materials and then holding them in inventory.

 

VARIABLE DATA PRINTING Provides a Powerful New Tool

 

Variable Data Printing (VDP) will win the attention of your audience, one person at a time, and frequently captures higher sales, lowers the cost per sale/response, and increases your ROI.

 

VDP is a form of on-demand printing in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the press, using information from a database.

 

What’s behind the change is the marriage of reliable, high-speed digital printing and sophisticated database software, which combine to produce 0ne-to-0ne marketing using VDP for full color documents that look and feel comparable to conventional offset printing.

 

 

Digital Goes Personal

 

Blending digital printing technology with electronic customer databases, VDP allows you to create personalized promotions that not only call each member of your audience by name, but also reflects their personal characteristics, lifestyles and tastes.

 

Communicators now have the ability to target messages more precisely than ever before. Like hearing your name across a crowded room, personalized communications cut throughthe clutter and help establish a different relationship; you’re not just selling — you’re speaking person-to-person with your prospects.

 

The Returns

 

While some claims seem inflated, research and experience indicate that personalized communications increase customer retention, the size of the purchase/order and response rates 6 times over. Others say, variable printing varies from double the normal return on the "first level" variable to 10 to 15 times on fully variable. It depends on the data and the relevancy, but it is a very effective tool to increase ROI on your mailings. Even with higher per-page costs, variable data printing can make for a lower cost per response, and higher returns from your communications investments.

 

See research results and comparisons in charts below on how to lower costs per response, as well as lower cost per sale and increasing ROI, with noncustomized versus customized programs.



 

 


 

 

 

 

How to Increase Response Rates

 

• Use what you know about your customer/prospect

 

• Send them a relevant message

 

• Ask them to act or take action in a specific manner

 



NOTE: +600%, this equates up to 16% total.

 

Full variable data, personalization, customization, database segmentation. ie; specific targets, smaller quantity, more opportunities to respond.

 

NOTE: When a Business Reply Card (BRC )is "pre-completed" with recipients name and address, return rate increases 13%.

 

 

Since this is a follow up to the October 2016 issue, Direct Mail – Raising Response, Lowering Costs, I just want to remind you of some important facts from that issue, in case you missed it. (You can also click here to read the entire issue.)

 

• While the brand perception should be identical, the objectives per target group will be differentiated, and therefore the investment level, media, messaging and offer may be different. Consumers can expect offers and messaging to become more comprehensive... and over a period of time, each receives a variety of direct mail communications about their particular objectives, offer and messaging.

 

• Sexton’s data technologies can help provide you with the fuel to propel promotions that go well beyond traditional ‘spray-and-pray’ approaches. Beginning with existing or freshly acquired data, we can help you build a true marketing database by enhancing it with demographic or even psychographic information. This greatly improves the usability of the database and gives a foundation from which to provide value analyses and segmentation.

 

• And beyond that, we can then develop a profile of each audience to help tailor marketing messages for them. The more targeted we can make your messages, the better the results will be.

 

• Using Integrated Marketing or Multiple Channels and Touch Points, you can also keep the audience interested. Synchronizing campaigns, utilizing ‘if this, then that occurs’ etc.

 

• Advertisers and consumers prefer a tangible object, something that can be held or touched. People prefer paper over something that exists only electronically. How many of us read an entire document on the computer screen?

 

• "Mail is essential to the multichannel mix. Many believe mail is uniquely positioned to play a major role in a National economical resurgence in 2012." — Modern Mail

 

 

And most IMPORTANTLY, by tracking the results, you can easily calculate the cost per response, inquiry or sale.

 

Measurability is a Major Advantage for marketing compared to other communication tools.

 

Using Alerts in Real Time of when a website has been visited, and what responses have been given, provides the ability to follow up in a timely manner. This is critical for marketing managers, as well as sales reps and others who want to gather information quickly and accurately, and respond as needed.

 

Utilizing Dashboard Technology— data being generated, gathered and formulated into trackable, measurable and informative formats in real time. Each opportunity, what products or services they are interested in, as well as giving you the ability to monitor your sales teams efforts, follow-up and sales. Integration of online tools is inclined to make your direct mail stronger than ever.

 

• In the dashboard, you’ll be able to Monitor Up-to-the-Minute Results by campaign and itemize: reports of visitors, actions while on landing pages, downloads initiated, data collected, A/B test results, and activities from sources like direct mail, email, telephone number tracking, and text messaging.

 

 

Database is the Most Important Lever

 

See more.

 

• Must be clean

 

• Must be well defined

 

• Limited target group, data mined and clearly detailed

 

• Will outscore an ill defined, broad targeted group

 

Drayton Bird’s direct marketing expert estimates a good database might imply:

 

> 6x’s higher response rate with good database

 

> 2x’s higher response rate with good offer

 

> 2x’s higher response rate if the timing is right

 

> 1.25x’s higher response rate with good creative

 

> 1.2x’s higher response rate with response possibilities

 

NOTE: 18% of Americans relocate annually and 2% of your list moves monthly

 

Mail List Hygiene:

 

• Merge/purge

 

• Zip code sort

 

• Address standardization

 

• Delivery sequence file

 

• Delivery points for bar coding, specific delivery points

 

Hide this content.

 

Sexton Printing has been assisting our customers with their database list needs for over 14 years.

 

 

Sexton Printing has been assisting our customers with their database list needs for over 14 years.

 

Levels of Variable Printing

 

See more.

 

Level 1 — STATIC

Conventional printing with no variable data, salutation or name changes on each copy. (Fairly simple, but doesn’t increase your level of return greatly from a mass direct mail.)

 

Level 2— VERSIONING

A number of versions of documents are prepared to appeal to different groups, determined by demographics, income, location, interests or other characteristics. (You might have different levels of variability for different markets, can involve text and picture changes based upon segment.)

 

Level 3 — FULL VARIABILITY

Text and pictures can change totally from copy to copy.

 

Level 4 — VERSIONING HYBRID

Combines both static and personalization. ie. an offset print run for the guts, plus digital personalized covers or center spreads to appeal to many, along with one-to-one marketing.

 

 

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And 5 levels of complexity:

 

See more.

 

Level 1 — VERSION

Builds pages that change easily without significant database work. ie. sale sheets.

 

Level 2 — PERSONALIZED

Materials with a common design having a basic name or other simple database change.

 

Level 3 — CUSTOMIZED

Page layout that requires higher-level database support. Individual page elements are determined by logic that is used to access the database. ie. more complex direct mail and newsletters.

 

Level 4 — TRANSACTIONAL

Financial transactions that incorporate personalized and customized content with financial data. ie. mutual fund and billing statements.

 

Level 5 — FULLY CUSTOMIZED

Involves use of a sophisticated database that contains specific detailed information about an individual. The data is used to generate completely unique text, graphics, images and template content.

 

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While VDP opens new options in communications, it’s best to proceed carefully. The printing equipment available needs to meet the demands of the job and each type of equipment has its own weakness and strengths. Working with Sexton, you’ll be assured that we are experienced in handling both the printing technology and the information systems needed to drive it.

 

When Considering Variable Digital Printing

 

When starting out it’s best to keep things both simple and subtle. While it’s possible to personalize virtually every aspect of a publication, large numbers of permutations become more difficult to manage, simply assembling all the images and reviewing all the options can be challenging. It also appears that the days of boldly calling attention to personalized information are coming to an end. Today, many of the best examples seamlessly weave personalization into the project without flaunting it. The goal is to reach customers, not to showcase your technical prowess.

 

Before you decide to choose Variable it’s good to keep a few things in mind:

 

• Not all commercial printers are equipped to handle VDP, which requires a broader range of skills.

 

• Software is easier to use, yet, graphic arts professionals are likely to need the help of information technology specialists to acquire and manage the data required. At most printers that offer digital printing IT experts are full members of the production team.

 

• Of course, the data must be good. Nothing blunts the impact of a personalized publication more than a mangled name or title.

 

• VDP requires a new way of looking at costs. Both production times and costs are likely to be higher, but so are the responses and purchases, which can make VDP more cost effective.

 

• No need to print and store large quantities of copies that may never be used or quickly become out-of-date.

 

• In the long run, it might actually be less expensive to pay as you go and only print the number of publications that are required at the moment, without tying up capital in brochures stacked on a warehouse floor.

 

 

 

If you jumped right here from the beginning of this issue, to read all about our digital press, click here to go back to the beginning, so you don’t miss anything!

 

 

 

Our State-of-the-Art Digital Press — the Xerox 800

 

Built from the ground up to maximize print quality. (Compared with old-technology printers with added

 

enhancements.) It utilizes new digital ink with chemically grown particles for finer quality and in-line clear dry ink is the key element for special effects.

 

Very few of these digital presses have yet to be put into production — Sexton has one that offers virtually unmatched quality in the Twin Cities.

 

>> Clear Dry Ink — adds creative effects that bring your prints to life and get your messages noticed. You can create dazzling effects that deliver vibrant, high-definition image quality and a wide color gamut that makes images come to life.

 

• Use it as a spot treatment over an image or text to create a tactile dimension that catches the eye, creates an emotion and spurs actions for the visual effect of popping off the page. Draws attention to a headline or variable text.

 

• Enhance varied textures on a single printed surface, giving the piece a more high-end polished look.

 

• Highlight a certain area of a photo to reach out and grab the reader’s attention or highlight just a few of its features.

 

• Add a texture over a photo giving the illusion of dimension, over one word or several, will draw attention to your messages. Even apply in different levels of intensity to give a layered look and feel.

 

• Tinted varnish effects can increase the depth and overall sheen of a color making it seem to be lifted off the page.

 

• Simulate pearlescent or metallic appearance. A metallic effect can be accomplished on our state of the art digital press with this technique which adds richness, sheen and elegance to your piece.

 

• Use it as a watermark and it disappears when the document is copied. Clear watermarks can also be a powerful yet subtle design element to elegantly help you make your point.

 

(Highlighted areas in blue below indicate areas where clear dry ink was applied in this example.)

 

 

 

Let me know if you’d like to see some of the awesome samples I have of this Clear Dry Ink technique.

 

>> Using the Right Paper is Important

 

Papers used with digital printing should be engineered to work well with toners and stand up to the heat that can be generated during the image fusion process. A strong surface helps to protect against the picking sometimes caused by tackier waterless inks. A smooth surface helps to hold the toner evenly.

 

It’s especially important to control the moisture content of the paper before and during printing. Digital paper typically contains less moisture than conventional offset papers, so there’s less moisture to evaporate through the printed image when the toners are fused by heat. Both temperature and moisture content are critical for the paper to receive the correct electrostatic charge during digital printing.

 

Generally it is best to avoid papers with heavy textures, since the toner may not adhere evenly or might rub off on the high spots. Always make sure that the paper’s basis weight matches the specifications of the equipment that will be used to print the project.

 

>> Xerox & Xerox Pre-Templated Stock for Unique and Cool Vehicles

 

Sexton offers some really COOL and UNIQUE pre-template vehicles that you might want to consider for some of your offerings.

 

What makes them different –

 

• They are pre template sheets that all you need to do is drop your artwork into

 

• You don’t need to have dies made and paid for

 

• You do not need to run tens of thousands of them

 

• They are ideal for small qty runs, in 4-color process and can even be personalized

 

FYI – Xerox Polyester Paper is a synthetic paper option available designed to take plenty of abuse and still look great.Consider this for wet weather — chemicals and tearing don’t mean a thing to this tough paper! Perfect for manuals, catalogs, airline tray inserts, maps, menus, luggage tags, garden plant tags and much more.

 

Click here for more information on Neenah’s Digital Papers

 

 

I have some ideas that you might want to consider and would love an opportunity to come in and show them to you. Let me know if you are interested and we’ll set up a date and time to do this.

 

 

Food for Thought:

 

Repetition is the mother of recognition and learning. The more often you hit the target market with different and creative pieces, the better chance of having them recognize and purchase or act on your offer.

 

 

For more information that you may find of interest, click on the links below:

 

Specific information about digital presses

 

Quotes

 

Sources

 

Targets

 


Before we go...

If you have a production issue not discussed above that you would like me to address, or a project that needs to be looked at, please give me a call or send me an email.

As always, I will do whatever it takes to ensure you receive the best value for every marketing dollar you invest.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

You can also check out my profile, join my network and view more client comments on LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomkubinski


Referrals are greatly appreciated. If you know someone I can help, or who might like to receive TK's Korner, please let me know.


Take care and have a great day!

Successfully,

Tom Kubinski

Printing Consultant Who Helps You Make Good Impressions

TKubinski@shapco.com
Direct: 612-278-1568
Cell: 612-760-3700


 

Our Work

Shapco has done it all — showstopping display pieces, innovative packaging, award-winning art books, direct mailers that get results, you name it — and our team is always ready for a new challenge.

 

Explore our portfolio and start envisioning what we can do for you.

Take a Virtual Tour of Shapco and visit our Website for more information.

 

Virtual Tour: Shapco Printing Inc.

 

Website: Shapco - Minnesota's Most Awarded Offset & Digital Printer

 

Our Services: Advertising Specialties, Large Format, Full Service Mailing, Fulfillment / Inventory Management, e Commerce Portal, Offset Printing, Digital Printing, Packaging, Kitting etc.

 

Our Work: Advertising Specialties, Books, Packaging, Digital, Large Format, Booklets, Brochures, UV Offset, Direct Mail, Specialties, Menus and a whole lot more

 

Why Shapco: "If You Dream It, Shapco Can Print It. What can Shapco do for you?"

 

Did you miss an issue of TK's Korner? Click below to view!

Branding - 22 Laws Of
Brand Warfare
Clear Dry Ink
Creative Coatings Techniques
Desktop Techniques
Digital Printing - Variable Data or Business Development
Direct Mail Raise Response, Lower Costs
Duotones-Tritones-Quadtones
FSC Certification
In House Mailing Capabilities
Ink Tour—Everything you wanted to know
Marketing More Effectively
Microsites
Paper Mill Tour - Coated
Paper Mill Tour - Uncoated
Picking the Right Paper and Substrate
PDF Formats
PDF Info & Quark vs. InDesign
PODi - Digital Print Success Story
Postal Changes, Mailing Requirements & Rates
Press Check Tips
PURLs
PURL - Avoid Dog House Campaign
QR Codes
Save Disk Space
Social Media -- The Basics
Social Media vs. Print
Top File Issues
UV Burn
Ways to Save Money
What Sets Shapco Apart?
Why Print in a Down Market?
Why Work With TK?

 

 

Tom Kubinski
Printing Consultant
TKubinski@shapco.com
Direct: 612-278-1568
Fax: 612-334-5879
Cell: 612-760-3700



www.shapco.com
1109 Zane Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN. 55422
Phone: 612-375-1150
Fax: 612-334-5879
Toll Free: 1-800-230-2828


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