Differences Defined

Versioned, personalized, customized — what are the differences between these types of catalog segmentation and printing techniques?

The following definitions are courtesy of Heidelberg, which manufactures and sells the NexPress 2100 digital color press that makes these types of printing possible.

1. Versioned printing allows you to print multiple short runs of different catalog versions that follow a common design/layout. That is, you can incorporate some unique content or language for specific audiences while still staying with the common look and feel of your catalog, according to Heidelberg.

With this type of digital printing, you can economically target your messages and offers to specific segments of your housefile — more so than you can using offset printing.

Possible uses in a catalog: Versioned information can include a store location printed on catalogs based on a recipient’s ZIP code. Or it can encompass language variations for catalogers serving various countries in one campaign. And if you’ve always wanted to test different cover imagery or printed offers for different segments of your housefile — that is, if you want to move beyond dot whacks or inkjetting — versioning may be the level of digital color printing for you.

2. Personalized printing entails seamlessly integrating specific details, such as the recipient’s name and/or address, into the actual copy of your catalog. This usually is seen on the front and back covers of catalogs.

For example, in a recent campaign, the NFL Shop catalog put the recipient’s last name on a football jersey pictured on the back cover (right). You also can put the recipient’s name in a headline (see Blair Shoppe cover, pg. 31), as well as in body copy, thus capturing his or her attention.

Heidelberg officials note that with their special Adobe Acrobat plug-in, users can more easily identify which elements in the project are to be personalized. And its PPML/VDX, an open exchange format for variable data printing, enables soft proofing of any individual document with the personalization elements in place.

3. Customized printing enables you to incorporate not only personalized text but also images relevant to the specific customer to capitalize on product affinity. You can print the recipient’s name in the headline and body copy as you can with personalized printing described above, and you can go one step further by selecting a photo you deem appropriate to go with that particular mailing.

Baldwins, a retailer using this and other variations of digital color printing, puts images of brand-name cosmetics on direct mail pieces going to customers who’ve purchased those brands from the store in the past. The accompanying copy of one campaign, for example, noted:

Laurie: You won’t want to

miss the exotic lip color of Scheherazade—new from Raja. They coordinate with all your favorite Raja makeup colors. Complete the romance with Raja’s new fragrance, Night Dunes!

Even better, Raja’s international color expert, Evelyn Ross,

will be on hand April 1-3 for

an exciting presentation of the latest color trends to Baldwins Best members. …

It really pays to be one of Baldwins Best, Laurie!

Above this copy block is a color palette of cosmetics in this product line, and below it is a picture of some of Raja’s merchandise offerings.

Overall, the piece tells this customer that Baldwins knows not only her name, but what products she prefers, and it invites her to a special event she may want to attend.

As Heidelberg notes, customized printing enables you to fine-tune your marketing programs with specific information and offers geared toward specific customers. In short, this may be a good way to endear your brand to your very best customer segments.

4. Of course, there are levels of color printing that go beyond even those methods. Transactional printing, for example, allows you to use financial and other applications for data-driven graphs and charts, notes Heidelberg. This can help you incorporate data, such as customers’ loyalty points, into individualized direct mail campaigns.

And fully customized printing is about as close to one-to-one marketing as you can get in an offline channel. With this type of color digital printing, you can incorporate unique text, images and graphics geared to individual customers.

A portion of the information in this article was garnered from Heidelberg’s booklet “Digital Color Printing: powerful solutions for open, streamlined workflows and profitable one-to-one campaigns.” For a copy of this booklet or any further information on Heidelberg and its services, call (888) 472-9655 or e-mail: info@heidelberg.com. Visit: www.heidelberg.com.