Variable data printing can take forms other than direct mail and personalized letters. There is the wonderful example of the Barney Book.

　　Its genesis began 15 years ago with the desktop computer and the dot matrix printer. Pages of children's books were produced on sheets with pre-printed color. These were inserted in the printer.

　　At the computer, a mail merge program of sorts was used to integrate a child's name along with family, friends, pets and other information. The copy was printed on the sheets as typographic-like text and the result was a personalized children's book.

　　Kiosks were set up in malls, usually at Christmas time, and grandparents paid high fees for these custom publications. Later, laser printers replaced the dot matrix impact printers and the results were more professional.

　　Enter the digital printing age.

　　Scan a child's photo and merge the text and the image into the story. The result is a custom book that truly brings the child into the story.

　　First Step -- the photo and the data

　　The first trick is to silhouette the picture. The photos will come in all shapes and sizes and they will need to be scanned, imported into Photoshop, silhouetted, and sized. Much of this can be done with scripts to automate the process.

　　The child's information is entered in a database and the image is given a unique identifier so that both text and image are encoded. The image is sent to the RIP to be ready for merging.

　　Second Step -- Merge Text and Image into a Template

　　A variable data program such as Private-I from Xeikon or Darwin from CreoScitex is used to merge the text and image into a QuarkXPress template. The final stream is sent to the RIP where the scanned image and almost all the color have been RIPped and ready for print.

　　Success of this Product

　　This book has been extremely successful. There are many other titles in the series. To cut cost and speed in the process, only the left-hand page is being printed on the digital printer and the balance is pre-printed.

　　Now, take this idea and translate it into other approaches to custom products:

　　A person enters a store where their photo is integrated into a flyer that they receive as they leave.
Amusement park products that capture you at special moments (like when you are drenched).
Memory books that record special times, like class reunions.

　　Highly personalized catalog pages.

　　Bring Your Customer into the Picture

　　Depending on volume, these products can be produced on digital printers at the desktop all the way up to industrial-strength versions. Creative design for effective production is a key.

[时间：2007-06-22  作者：Frank Romano  来源：信息中心]