Accelerate Time-to-Market
Automate VDP tasks for faster campaign launches.
Use Case
Variable Data Printing Software
Turn one design and one data set into thousands of personalized, print-ready files. CHILI GraFx automates variable data printing for direct mail, retail promotions and local marketing, and keeps every version on brand.
- Airbus
- JYSK
- Coca-Cola
- Tesco
- McDonald's
- Victorinox
- Publicis Groupe
- Subway
- Carrefour
- Sisley Paris
- adidas
- Intermarché Super
- Colruyt Group
- M&T Bank
- HH Global
- ARISTID
- FoodGenius
What is variable data printing software?
Variable data printing (VDP) software turns one design and one data set into a personalized print run. Every record, whether a customer, a store or a product, gets its own version, with text, images, prices or barcodes filled in from the data.
Where a mail merge only swaps names and addresses into a letter, VDP software can change any element of a design: images, offers, layouts and QR codes. In CHILI GraFx, every version also stays within the brand rules set in the template.
Variable Data Printing Challenges
Harnessing the power of data-driven personalization while maintaining speed, accuracy, and brand integrity is a tough juggling act
Personalized
Output
Manual VDP tasks hinder growth, and scaling personalized campaigns is time-consuming and error-prone.
Brand
Consistency
Ensuring brand integrity across personalized variations is challenging and requires centralized brand control.
Data
Connectivity
Integrating data sources and managing updates to target visual content can be a technical nightmare.
Conquer Variable Data Printing with CHILI GraFx
CHILI GraFx centralizes your creative production and automates the output of design and format variants for every channel – digital, motion, and print – from a single template.
Template Genius
Designers build streamlined Design Systems in powerful online tools that lock brand elements while defining flexible content and layout areas.
Centralized Creation
Data sources are connected to pre-built templates that can visually adapt on-the-fly while staying within brand guidelines for error-free results.
Resize, Adapt, Scale
Generate unlimited print-ready files on demand, with automatic resizing and personalization for output on any high-end printing device.
How variable data printing works in CHILI GraFx
1. Build or convert the design
Designers build the layout in GraFx Studio, or convert an existing Adobe InDesign document with the GraFx Studio Exporter plugin. They lock brand elements and define the content and layout areas that may change.
2. Connect your data
Map template variables to a data source through a data connector, such as Google Sheets. Developers can also feed records from a digital asset management (DAM), product information management (PIM), customer relationship management (CRM) or customer data platform (CDP) system through the Output API.
3. Add the rules
Copyfitting and auto-grow keep text of varying length inside the design. Actions add conditional logic, for example showing a badge when a discount passes a threshold, and GraFx Genie can write the Action from a plain-language description. Barcodes and QR codes can take their values from the data.
4. Generate the batch
Batch output turns every record into print-ready output. You can deliver PDF batches as one file or split them across several; image and video formats give one file per record. CHILI GraFx can skip failed records and list them in an error report, so one bad row doesn't stop the run.
Data sources and print-ready output
Data connectors bring in spreadsheets and business systems, and the Output API takes up to 10,000 records per request. Rich text variables bring formatted text from a PIM or content management system (CMS) into the design and map it to its paragraph and character styles.
PDF output settings cover what print production needs: crop marks, PDF version (1.4 to 1.7), CMYK conversion with International Color Consortium (ICC) profiles, spot colors kept as separate inks, outlined text and bar width reduction for barcodes. Print layouts also support overprint.
The same design and data can also produce PNG, JPG, GIF and MP4 files, so a direct-mail campaign and its digital versions come from one source.
See CHILI GraFx in action for Variable Data Printing
Benefits of CHILI GraFx
Data-Powered Campaigns
Leverage customer data for impactful personalization.
Enhance Brand Control
Safeguard brand integrity across all variations.
Reduce Design Costs
Streamline processes, freeing creative resources.
Global Reach
Easily localize content for multi-market distribution.
Seamless Integrations
Connect with any existing tech stack for efficiency.
Variable data printing software FAQ
What is the difference between variable data printing and mail merge?
A mail merge inserts text, usually names and addresses, into a fixed document. Variable data printing can change any element, including images, layouts, offers and barcodes, for every record in the data set.
What is variable data printing used for?
The most common uses are:
Direct mail: personalized mailers with offers, images and QR codes for each recipient or segment. See direct mail automation.
Retail promotions: store-specific posters, leaflets and in-store materials driven by product and price data.
Local and franchise marketing: local teams personalize approved designs within brand rules through GraFx Experience portals, and the output is ready for print. See franchise marketing.
Which data sources can I use?
Spreadsheets and business systems through data connectors, such as Google Sheets, or any system that can send records through the Output API, such as a DAM, PIM, CRM or CDP.
Which output formats does CHILI GraFx support?
PDF for print, with CMYK, spot color and crop mark settings, plus PNG, JPG, GIF and MP4 for digital channels.
Do I need Adobe InDesign?
No. Designers build designs in GraFx Studio. If your designs already live in InDesign, you can convert them with the GraFx Studio Exporter plugin.
Can non-designers create variable print materials?
Yes. Through GraFx Experience portals, local teams personalize approved designs within brand rules, without design software.
How large can a batch be?
The Output API takes up to 10,000 records per request. For larger runs, split the data across several requests.
Try GraFx Experience for free
See the end-user side of data-driven, personalized campaign production. Your trial gives you access to three live brand environments, each with a real Design System to explore. Personalize content within brand rules and export print-ready output — no credit card required.