Variable data printing principle and equipment application

Variable data printing can provide high-quality (including text, graphics, and images) printouts that can be tailored to individual or group specific requirements. This kind of printing is also called personalized printing, custom printing or divisible printing. Compared to traditional printing, the biggest technological change in digital printing is the variability of data.

It has become common to convert plain black text into personalized messages and advertisements, but digital printing offers images and four-color changes. Personalized files will increase influence and response rates. For example, on real estate data, each page may have the same textual information, but there are photos of different salesmen. The product catalog can be used to suit different customers' tastes and interests, arrange different contents and print fewer pages. Variable data printing technology is constantly evolving, and new software, file formats, and printing presses will all make variable data printing easier and faster.

Variable data printing is a hot topic at present. There are many digital printer manufacturers involved, and printing service providers have begun to provide customers with various personalized prints.

1 Principle of Variable Data Printing

Digital printing machines that implement variable data printing are unprinted and can directly form images on the substrates.

Digital printing using electrophotographic photosensitive drums offers a variety of new printing methods, one of which is variable data printing. When a document is printed, specific images or text on the page can be changed, while others are consistent. It is an advantage of real digital printing system over digital plate-making offset printing.

Variable images or text are commonly identified by typesetting software and press control software. Variable data is recorded in the database and stored in memory. When the file is printed: The printer constantly updates the variable data and electronically images the photoreceptor drum. The number and size of variable images or text are limited by the memory and the press itself, replacing large four-color images increases the raster processing time.

â–  Variable image

Images are usually in TIFF or EPS format. They are recorded in the database and replaced in a specific variable area. Replace images in the same area must have the same size. Most systems allow many variable data areas within a certain area. Normally four-color image replacement is slower than replacement of less than four-color images. Continuously replaced images or text in the variable data area on the drum are continuously re-e-imaged.

â–  Variable text

The text is also recorded in the data inventory; it is replaced in the variable area. Although the length of each line of text, the total length of the variable text must be approximately the same.

â–  Unchanged data

Most of the text and images on the page are unchanged, and the more data that is not changed, the faster the raster processing time.

Variable Data Printing Market

The customer base for variable data printing should be those markets and sales groups. Due to the limitations of technology, the market and sales have all followed the same pattern. The style of market packaging has also been based on traditional printing technologies. There is no new idea. With the use of variable data printing technology, market work has become personal. For example, the marketing department sends out an e-mail and can print the name of the receiver on the envelope of the e-mail. Such targeted emails will inevitably increase customer feedback. However, this is just a matter of using variable data. Variable data printing also has a large number of new markets.

â–  Bill Printing Market

With the deepening of reforms, China’s various bills have become increasingly personalized, and the potential for personalized printing markets such as public utilities, telecommunications, postal services, various ticketing, banking, securities, and insurance is very large. There are more and more market opportunities for digital presses for personalization and variable data printing.

â–  Security printing market

Anti-counterfeit printing has changed from a single physical anti-counterfeit in the past to a variety of anti-counterfeiting methods such as physical anti-counterfeiting, chemical anti-counterfeiting and digital anti-counterfeiting. The feature of digital anti-counterfeiting is the use of variable data printing. Digital printing has great market potential in security printing.

â–  Commercial Printing Market

Variable data printing occupies a large proportion in commercial printing. Products like hotel recipes, exhibition samples, color business cards, and school graduation certificates are all suitable for printing on digital presses. Digital presses have a large market in short-run, ultra-short commercial prints. Color digital printers can print on various substrates, such as various plastic sheets, large posters, banners, lamps, and samples. Variable data printing expands the space for commercial printing companies.

â–  On-demand printing market

Variable data printing can meet the requirements of a small number of books, a very short printing cycle, etc., can achieve a single print, and achieve a real print on demand. On-demand printing can truly achieve zero inventory, first release after printing, to achieve a single printing, custom printing, cancel the warehouse site, reduce inventory waste. On-demand printing is considered one of the best markets for variable data printing.

â–  New printing market

The rapid development of digitalization and networking technologies has brought new market space. A new type of remote printing, which is transmitted over the Internet, downloaded online, and printed on a digital press, is being quietly developed and developed. Digitalization and networking technologies have guided the development of society and have also shown the future direction of variable data printing.

Variable data printing equipment

Digital presses for variable data printing are classified by color, with black and white digital printers and color digital printers. Black-and-white digital printing presses have developed in China's telecommunications, postal services, bills, and office systems. The French Nipson Corporation, Océ Corporation and Fuji Xerox DocuTech Series are all strong competitors in the black and white digital press market. Heidelberg also recently introduced the DigiMaster 9110.

The major digital color printing presses used for variable data printing are Xeikon DCP30, DCP50, and CSP 320D, and DocuColor 2045, DocuColor 2060, a digital printer from Fuji Xerox. Heidelberger's NexPress 2100, Agfa's Chromapress, HP Indigo's E-print pro, Turbostream, and Ultrastream.

HP Indigo's digital presses do not have plates and use electronic ink, so the digital press can print variable data. Since the transfer of images is performed under the influence of pressure, this digital printer can be referred to as a digital printer without a printing plate but with pressure.

Omnius WebStream 100 will work together with Nilpeter, a world-renowned manufacturer, to design an on-line post-processing system that will show customers a complete digital solution for label printing. It has fast digital printing, variable data printing and the ability to print on almost any substrate, as well as the latest digital workflow. Omnius WebStream 100 puts HP Indigo at the forefront of label digital printing technology.

At IPEX 2002, HP Indigo exhibited their latest technology: HP INDIGO PRESS 7000. This is a B2-format digital printing, using the second generation of imaging technology, printing speed is 2000 four-color B2 format per hour.