SQL-to-Press Variable Data Printing Automation
The canvas of a database artist is custom programming. Some of our favorite work is never seen. It runs behind the scenes, creating personalized print output day after day.
SQL Press
We create custom queries and stored procedures in SQL Server instances that drive personalized mailers directly to presses for daily, weekly and monthly hands-free marketing.
Build the record set in SQL, and the rest follows on its own: selection, suppression, address hygiene, variable data merge, presort and print-ready output.
How it runs
The workflow we like best connects the database directly to the VDP engine:
- SQL builds the audience. Stored procedures select, segment and suppress records on schedule or on a trigger.
- SQL starts the output. A SQL Agent job calls a PowerShell script that runs the merge project in Jetletter PSL Page Builder, which reads the records over ODBC.
- The press gets finished files. Personalized, presorted PDFs land in the press queue with job tickets and counts.
- Results go back to SQL. Output counts, mail dates and tracking data are recorded against every record.
It's the dream of every variable data shop: personalized output on demand with nobody opening a file. Read how it works with .PJB project files and the command line.
Variable data personalization
A perfect program is 1-to-1 in wording, images, style and format. We program the logic behind it: versioned copy, conditional pages, offers calculated from player or member data, charts built from each record, and variable images of each recipient's home, vehicle or route to your door.
Database programming for print and mail shops
- Custom SQL Server databases for client lists, jobs and mail history
- Stored procedures for segmentation, deduplication, suppression and householding
- ODBC connections from SQL, Access or Excel into your VDP software
- Scheduled SQL Agent jobs and PowerShell scripts that run production hands-free
- Reporting on counts, postage, delivery timing and response
Speed where it counts
Our VDP work runs on Jetletter PSL Page Builder, which merges complex financial records at hundreds of thousands per minute on multi-core systems. Output isn't the bottleneck, so automation pays off quickly.