Provide Variable Data Printing Solution for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

User: One design studio, one PR Company in Beijing, China Post

Hardware: Xerox DC1250; HP Indigo 3050, 5000

Software: VariPrint variable data printing software; Supplier: Haiyaa Technologies.

Background:

Olympic Games is a super big engineering system. There are many printing jobs including a number of documentations, labels, tags, cards, coupons, bills etc. Among them, many jobs are involved in variable data printing. Olympic Committee will outsource qualified third-party printers and printing service centers to handle these jobs. Some of the third parties contact us. Beyond our expectation, HAIYAA VariPrint competes against many big names and finally be used to produce many very important jobs. Below we share some stories of how VariPrint serves our customer and how to meet some special technical demands.

Requirements:

1.   Story One: VariPrint is used to produce several different kinds of cards for news conference of The 2008 Beijing Paralympics. 

In the afternoon one day in 2005, we got a call from a designing company in Beijing. Its general manager once attended Haiyaa's technical seminar in Digital Printing Summit. He knows our company is a professional provider for variable data printing solution. He wants us to produce kinds of cards for news conference of The 2008 Beijing Paralympics. The production deadline is before next 8:00 am. After printing job printed, they should give it to the PR Company who takes charge of this news conference for checkup. After, they will give Olympic Committee for final checkup. We didn't expect timing is so tight. We know this design company thought to use handiwork, such as copy-paste to do production. But this kind of working method can not guarantee them to deliver in time and have to contact Haiyaa for help. Listening and seeing the requirement and material, we felt we were capable of producing.

The customer's detailed requirement is as follows. The cards are divided into reporter card, parking card, attendee card etc. Each kind of card has different template, color, size and serial number. Variable data need to be printed with template which format is PDF. In the VariPrint, we import PDF template at first, then open data file, create variable text box and make link to fieldname of data file. Then setting imposition with crop mark and printing to merged PDF file finally. We put output file in FTP for the customer download. According to our previous experience, the customer will always revise a bit no matter how perfect you design. As expected, the PR Company want font size of serial number increase a pound and position move to right a little bit. In twenty minutes, we finished the correction and deliver to the customer. After the event, we thought if the customer use handiwork originally, the delivery time will definitely delay. 

Actually, this kind of job isn't complicated, there are many software or solution can do such a production now. But at that time, few design companies know variable data printing concept. Most of them will let operator to cut-to-paste day and night.

2.   Story Two: VariPrint is used to produce recipients¡¯ label on the letter of notice for Olympic Games torch running observing.

When we want to off work one day, we also get a call from another company from Beijing. Its general manager wants to buy VariPrint and want us to deliver at soon. When we ask if they have tried our trial version before, they said yes and satisfy the functions. As they felt our software is more expensive than other popular label production software in the market. So at the beginning, they want to use other software. But all of their effect can't meet demand. They have to buy VariPrint finally.

Recipient's label production seems simple. Even mail merge in the Microsoft Word can do it well and easily. But this time, the recipients' label is not simple. One big size local government recipient' label follows up hundreds of small size attendees' labels. It involves hybrid imposition of different size labels and each kind of label links to different database. This requirement seems to be strange but it is a safe way and it is convenient for sticking the label later. VariPrint supports multiple database and nearly every kind of label imposition. So the customer uses our software to finish production quickly and deliver to the organizer in time.

3.   Story Three: VariPrint is used to produce customized postcard for Olympic Games 2008.

Olympic Games 2008 is the biggest event in China in 2008. China Post plan to publish commemorative postcard to celebrate this event. Different from previous way, the postcard is produced this time not only by offset but also by digital printing. The latter can allow buyer to personalize their postcard contents, such as recipient's information, blessing words, and the Olympic photo they like. Besides above variable text and photo, the buyer can also select typeface, size and color of the blessing words they like in the website. That means every postcard will display more personalization. Among the production, there are three key technical issues involved.

a)   The content and its display properties of blessing words are variable in the same time.

b)    In the place of blessing, there are not only blessing words, but also recipient and addresser's name. If these three variable boxes are designed separately, layout will display more loosely when blessing words are short. How to combine several variables in one box and display in different style is what we should concern.

c)    Since there are a number of cards to be produced every day, the whole workflow should be stable and in high working efficiency.

Regarding to a), HAIYAA VariPrint's build-in SetFont function provide perfect solution. It can directly read the fieldname which describe the text properties input by the buyer in the website. Regarding to b) Advanced Variable Text function allows different variables placed in one box and it allows to set the properties of each variables separately. The box size will be small or large when blessing words are short or long. Regarding to c) We design Project file in advance, when getting new database file, just import data file and printout directly without doing any correction.

Main operation steps:

Please refer to VariPrint's User Guide.

User's comment:

No detailed user's comment we have gotten, but all of our customers use our software to finish the production according to corresponding demand and deliver the jobs in time.