November 2010 | Volume 48, Number 11

Digital Hits the Fast Track Print Firms Enter New Markets, Boost Sales Page 20

Variable Data Printing: Getting Personal Page 28

QR Codes: What Works, What Sells, What’s Next Page 36

PSDA Case Study: Keeping Success in Sight Page 52

Exclusive coverage of the printing from: Print Solutions Magazine November 2010

FEATURES PERSPECTIVES

04 Editor’s Note Making Connections By John Delavan

06 President’s Message Moving Forward By Bill Prettyman

16 PSDA Profile E An xciting Time By Amie Shak PSDA Executive Vice President Matt Sanderson shares with Print Solutions readers his 20 COVER STORY professional background and Digital Printing Hits the Fast Track insights regarding the future of By Darin Painter the association and the print distribution industry. As customers seek shorter runs, faster turnaround and powerful personalization, digital printing has moved from neat to necessary. Print firms with digital mindsets are growing sales and entering NE W Monthly Exclusive new markets. 52 Case Study 28 G etting Personal Keeping Success By Katherine House in Sight Variable data printing takes digital imaging to another level, A savvy supplier and capitalizing on the capabilities of sophisticated software and innovative distributor join hardware to produce campaigns in which every piece can be forces to harness the different from the others. benefits of variable data printing to help a unique client – an optometrist. 36 Q R Codes: What Works, What Sells, What’s Next By Heidi Tolliver-Nigro The potential uses for two-dimensional barcodes continue to 64p S otlight grow, enabling distributors and others to add to their n Man o the Run arsenals. By Katherine House

42 MeetingD igital Demand with Web Storefronts By Amie Shak DEPARTMENTS Online storefront solutions build brand value for distributors and offer methods to complement face-to-face interactions with e-commerce efficiencies. 12 PSda news

46 Flexography Braces for Digital Tidal Wave 58 Industry News By Ivars Sarkans Compiled By Frances Moffett Labelexpo Americas 2010 – one of the largest events worldwide for the label, web printing, product decoration, converting and packaging 64 Advertiser Index industries – reveals that while flexography continues to dominate in label production, digital printing systems are gaining ground. 65 Classifieds

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Keeping Success In Sight A savvy supplier and innovative distributor join forces to harness the benefits of variable data printing to help a unique client – an optometrist who wanted to encourage more patients to get their eyes checked regularly.

“The success of our Visionary Resources VDP program has been a springboard into other uses of the power of digital print that we are in the process of bringing to our customer base. We now have the experience and confidence to rebrand what we are and what we do as ‘marketing solutions providers.’ And it all started when instead of just accepting an exact repeat order we asked, ‘What if?’ ” Tim Koenigs President, Koenigs ProSource Inc., Waukesha, Wis.

In this case study, Print Solutions spotlights the success of a variable data printed postcard campaign – an exceptional effort that earned the participants a grand prize in the Digital Printing, Short Run, category of the annual PEAK Awards , sponsored by Print Solutions Magazine.

Issue/Need to be Addressed Client An optometrist needed to send reminders to patients A Wisconsin optometrist about scheduling eye exams. Distributor Objective Tim Koenigs, Koenigs ProSource Inc., Waukesha, Wis. The objective was to improve the percentage of patients www.koenigs.com who have their eyes checked once a year and reduce the percentage of patients who don’t return within four years. Supplier Printco, Omro, Wis. – www.printco.com Solution Use variable data printed (VDP) postcards, segmented Hardware by age group and time elapsed since an individual’s Printed on an HP Indigo 3050 Digital Press – www.hp.com; previous exam. UV coating: Duplo Ultra 14 UV coater – www.duplousa.com

Challenge Software Setting up the VDP software to image 20 different Koenigs ProSource provided an Excel comma delimited messages. file to Printco, which used DirectSmile software (www.directsmile.de) and HP’s Yours Truly software to Results design and personalize the postcards. It also used The optometrist received many comments and CASS-certified mailing software. compliments about the recall cards from patients, who were amazed by the level of personalization. The distributor Target Audience since has sold the program to several additional eye Patients of all ages (from youngsters to seniors) of clinics that use it or are in the process of implementing an optometric practice. The initial client ordered 562 the program. postcards, which was a one-month supply.

case study continues on page 54

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he client called Koenigs for the office staff to send out quickly. recipients had their names imaged on ProSource to reorder letterhead pairs of eyeglasses, which were being and envelopes so he could send Koenigs ProSource worked with Printco held up to a blurry eye chart in the reminders to patients about Inc. to produce personalized postcards, background. Some of the designs were Tscheduling eye exams. Along with the printed on 110# gloss cover stock. The part of Printco’s Emotional Expressions letters, office workers sometimes included client opted for UV coated 8½-inch x 5 line; others were custom designed. Based handwritten Post-it notes. ½-inch postcards, despite higher postage on changes that can occur in eye health costs, because he believed the larger cards as people age, the client wrote different Koenigs ProSource President Tim would stand out from other mail that letters for each group reminding them of Koenigs suggested the client take people received. the importance of eye check-ups. advantage of information in his patient database to produce variably printed The optometrist decided to split his The personalization didn’t stop there. recall cards. The optometrist agreed, patients into five groups, based on age; The optometrist wanted to further divide hoping to improve the percentage of each group received a card with different each age group into four subgroups, patients who have their eyes checked graphics (see samples, pictured). For based on whether it had been one, two, once a year and reduce the percentage example, children received a postcard three or four or more years since the of patients who don’t return within four with a photograph showing a child person’s previous eye exam. Each message years of their last exams. The solution spelling out the recipient’s name with incorporated that information as well, needed to be “eye-catching” – and simple pebbles on a beach. Another set of resulting in 20 different possible messages

The optometrist split his patients into five groups based on age: Ages 1-12, 13-20, 21-43, 44-64 and 65-plus. Members of each group received a postcard with different graphics.

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Why It Worked appointment. The postcards streamlined The personalized postcards accomplish the time-intensive process of preparing, much more than stock postcards used folding and mailing the letters. by many optometric practices. The size With most practices, the biggest challenge of the card, the glossy photo and the is extracting the relevant data from their unique presentation of the recipients practice management software. Often, the name make the card stand out in the office staff does not know how to provide mail, so there is a high probability that the data that Koenigs ProSource needs. the message will be read. The message is Working with the software companies relevant to the recipients as it speaks to is complicated by the fact that many that were imaged on the reverse sides of where they are in “vision life” and how of them offer competing appointment the postcards. long it has been since their last eye exams. reminder services via email messages. The longer it has been, the firmer the Setting up the VDP software to image so Koenigs ProSource customer service message becomes. Telling patients how many different messages took considerable staff works with the clinics to help them much time has passed since a previous time and effort. Koenigs ProSource submit the database in a usable fashion. exam has a much greater impact than supplied to Printco a database with each a card that says, “Call to schedule your patient’s name, address, birth date and last appointment.” Ditto the explanation of Long-Term Impact appointment date. Using Boolean logic how eye health is related to age. Offices Since the initial sale, Koenigs ProSource based on whether someone’s birthday was save processing time because they don’t has partnered with the optometrist before one date and after another date, image and burst the cards themselves, to form a company called Visionary Printco ensured that the correct graphics and clients like the personalized graphics. Resources (www.visionaryresources.com) were imaged on the front of each postcard. The client calculated that the cards paid to offer these VDP postcards and other The birth date, coupled with the number for themselves when one additional optical practice improvement products to of years since a previous appointment, person per month called to schedule an the optometric industry. PS determined which message was imaged on the reverse side of the postcard. The optometrist worked closely with Koenigs ProSource and Printco to ensure the text of each message fit in the designated spot on the postcard.

Within each message, the optometrist’s phone number was printed in boldface type so recipients could find it easily when they were ready to set up appointments. The practice’s logo, along with street address and phone number, was printed at the bottom of the postcard. In addition, the name and address of the practice were printed in a return address field, and the The optometrist’s sample postcards show personalized messaging made possible by name and address of the recipient were variable data printing technologies. imaged on the postcard, saving processing time at the optometric practice.

The office’s staff members wanted the flexibility to mail the cards, in part so they could discard postcards of people who had set up appointments without a reminder. Therefore, Printco also imaged the mail date (calculated on the anniversary of the last appointment) in the upper right corner of the reverse side of the post card. The office staff simply placed a stamp atop the mail date, which was not visible to the recipient.

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