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Variable Data Printing Guide

Print Guide

Variable Data Printing

Personalise each print item without changing your main design. One artwork template, hundreds of unique prints.

What is Variable Data Printing?

Variable Data Printing (VDP) lets you personalise each print item - without changing your main design. One digital artwork template can produce hundreds or thousands of unique prints, each containing different names, numbers, messages, or images. Perfect for direct mail, vouchers, tickets, and scratch cards.

What You Can Personalise

  • Customer names or contact details
  • Unique discount or coupon codes
  • Sequential numbering or serial IDs
  • Barcodes or QR codes
  • Branch-specific addresses or phone numbers
  • Event ticket information or seat numbers
  • Personalised messages or taglines

How It Works

VDP combines two elements in digital print:

  1. Static artwork: one layout for all items.
  2. Data sheet: a spreadsheet of values to merge, one record per row.

Our software merges these during print production, inserting the correct line of data onto each piece automatically - no manual editing needed. This works across a wide range of products, from single-sheet prints to multi-page formats such as stapled booklets and wiro bound books.

Setting Up Your Data

Create a spreadsheet with each line representing one item and each column representing a field (e.g. Name, Code, Message). Ensure your column headers match the placeholders in your design for accurate merging.

Sample Data Tables

Names with initials

Name
John D
Emma B
Charles E

See also: name tag stickers or personalised wedding invitations.

Event Passes

NameTitleCompany
Emma JohnsonMarketing ManagerApprintable
James LeeProduct DesignerApprintable
Sarah PatelSales ExecutiveApprintable

See also: Printed event passes.

Scratch Cards

Card FileScratch CodeQty
Winner1WIN10Off10
Winner2WIN7OFF90
LoserTry Again100

See also: Printed Scratch Cards and our Scratch Card Printing Guide.

Save the sheet as .CSV or .XLSX. If including images, zip the image folder and upload it together with your artwork.

File Formats

  • Artwork: PDF, CMYK, 300 dpi, 3 mm bleed
  • Data: CSV or XLSX, one record per row

Use consistent field names between your spreadsheet and any placeholders in your artwork. You may design in Illustrator, InDesign or Photoshop using a dedicated "VDP" layer. Export your final artwork to PDF. Canva Pro users can use the built-in data merge - again, export to PDF for print.

Layout and Positioning Tips

  • Use a dedicated layer in your design software for variable fields
  • Keep at least 3 mm clear space around variable elements
  • Reserve clear space for variable fields - avoid tight boxes around long names
  • Use high contrast for QR/barcodes and keep them on light backgrounds
  • For long lists, test a small merged proof first to check overflow and kerning

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Variable Data Printing (VDP) allows unique text, numbers, images or graphics to be printed on each item while keeping the main design the same. Perfect for personalised marketing, event tickets, scratch cards, and direct mail.
Names, addresses, serial numbers, barcodes, QR codes, discount codes, ticket numbers, or any personalised message. Add as many columns as needed in your spreadsheet.
Artwork as high-resolution PDF (CMYK, 300dpi). Data as CSV or XLSX spreadsheet with one record per row.
Yes. Include an image filename column in your spreadsheet and provide the image folder alongside your artwork.
Our workflow handles large datasets efficiently. Upload via secure file transfer or share a download link.
We can send a physical proof at a cost. A digital proof is available at checkout showing a few merged samples before full production.
Yes. Variable addresses and barcodes can be printed for mail fulfilment or direct marketing.
Use sentence case, choose a legible font, and allow flexible text boxes to avoid clipping. Test a small merged proof first.