Making the Case Against VDP?

Honestly, I don't get this variable data print thing. What's the big deal? Sure, it gives the vendors something new to talk about and the trade pubs something to write about, but where's the beef? I mean, do they really expect John Q. Printer to be able to suddenly move from cold iron to hot digital just because they say there's an opportunity?

My friend Dr. Doom (Joe Webb) says that printers only move into a technology when they start losing business to it. So, following that Rhode Island reasoning, we'd all have to see some pretty spectacular applications and pronto! Like I was saying, I don't…um…hold on a second, my daughter just burst in with the mail. Because I'm an A.D.D. procrastinator, I need to go through it before I finish this column.

Check this out! I received a mock license plate from Mercedes Benz. It reads “GL 4 U 2 C” and invites me to visit their website and to punch in the custom code printed on a label stuck to the back. I've just done that, and the site reads, “Welcome Bill Farquharson!” There is a map to the local MB dealer and the name of the rep that will be calling on me. Interesting.

Anywho, like I was saying, VDP applications are not plentiful enough to show the kind of promise that the equipment manufacturers claim. I was having this same conversation last night with a neighbor over this incredible bottle of wine. It's off subject, but the wine was recommended by this catalog I receive regularly. They'd noticed that I buy only red wines, so last month they didn't send the whole catalog, but rather only a few pages on those wines they thought I'd like: California reds. I saved a lot of time, they saved a lot of print and mailing cost, and I ended up making a larger-than-normal purchase because the offer was specific to my buying preferences. The customized offer enticed me to buy a case of this Steele Pinot Noir and, well, what was I talking about? Oh, right, there is no market for VDP.

Way back when digital first came out, it was sold to us like the Emperor's New Clothes. Do you remember that story? The king is naked and no one will admit it. They would rather go around claiming they could see his beautiful robe. In the early '90s, it was proclaimed that “there was an untapped market for digital,” and if we didn't see it, we were fools. The trade shows, experts and media jumped on board and away we went into pie chart heaven. For those of you scoring at home, that was 16 YEARS AGO. By the time we are fully digital, my youngest daughter will be through college!

The schools are already peppering my 16-year-old with literature. It comes in slick packages with her name sprinkled here and there and one even had a list of the specific attributes they felt she'd like most. Kati went CRAZY when she saw that one. When I asked her about it, she said she'd been asked to rate her interests when she requested information from their website. She's standing beside me now requesting a visit to that particular campus ASAP. “They get me, Dad!” I'm glad someone does!

Variable schmariable! I don't get it! Who cares that my clients are suddenly inquiring about database management and have asked us for help with targeting markets? We'll let them figure it out. They'll design projects with creative people, then come back to us for the printing. You'll see.

Meanwhile, I will just sit here and wonder why the University of Massachusetts/Amherst alumni department doesn't do a better job of personalizing its annual campaign fund request. If they'd only remind me of the current events back in my graduating year of 1982, I might just put a crowbar in my wallet and make a donation. Dang, I wish someone would call on them!

It just seems to me that if we are to make the investment into this technology, we are all going to have to see the benefits. What better way to get excited about it than to watch for an impact on our personal lives?