Report Studies Pricing Of Variable Data Print

There is no question that variable data print is no longer a niche technology, according to a new report just published.

There is no question that variable data print is no longer a niche technology, according to a new report just published.

Nearly half of print and pre-press firms are selling variable data at some level of complexity but one of the lingering questions among those firms is how to price jobs, added report publisher, The Industry Measure (formerly Trendwatch Graphic Arts).

The company said that there have been no published guidelines or best practices and each printing company's management must work that out on its own.

Therefore, The Industry Measure said it decided to survey digital printers to find out how they are handling pricing.

The Industry Measure said that the study is industry's first baseline study on variable data print and variable imaging pricing practices.

The report, 'Pricing for Variable Data Print: Baseline Data on What the Industry Is Doing Now', is aimed at printers and other VDP producers.

Data included is the percentage of respondents offering variable data print (VDP) in-house or outsourcing it, the preferred pricing models (such as all-in-one package prices or individual line-item invoicing), which services VDP producers are itemising separately, whether respondents are pricing individual services by value or cost-plus and the top challenges faced in pricing VDP jobs.

The Industry Measure said that one of the most interesting findings of the survey is that the most common pricing models are polar opposites - all-in-one package pricing and individual line-item invoicing - with nearly equal percentages of respondents citing each pricing model.

That clearly reflects, not just VDP producers' differing pricing philosophies, but their differing business philosophies, added the company.

The report is based on an online survey of 100 respondents.

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