VDP Options

[Seanyb925]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on VDP systems and options.

I’m running two riso gd9630s along with fiery controllers. I have tried the fiery impose and wasnt thrilled with the speed. I’ve used word and adobe indesign which is not ideal either. Adobe crashes after 6 hours…

Weekly I generate a minimum of 15,000 to a max of 25,000 single page duplex letters. Each has around 22 variables, usps barcode and a custom QR. I kept it to 4 font subsets to keep it as lean as possible.

I’m trying to cut down our bottleneck on letter generation and am looking for options. I’ve looked into the xmpie adobe extension and again wasn’t sure about speed.

I’d like to keep processing all records to be less than an hour. Enterprise options might work for us but are there any that are recommended that can achieve higher pps/ppm? What is the max I should expect?


Thanks!

 

[Ultimate]

For VDP PDF impositions, you can try our Ultimate Impostrip (contact me via email ray.duval @ ultimate-tech .com);

For VDP PDF composition (merging designed piece with DB), you can check eDocBuilder - Aleyant Web to Print Solutions

 

[kslight]

I’ve always had good luck with Fusion Pro.

 

[marfar]

We use planetpress connect. Can handle this sort of thing no problem. Happy to give you a hand with anything if you need any help!

 

[jwheeler]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on VDP systems and options.

I’m running two riso gd9630s along with fiery controllers. I have tried the fiery impose and wasnt thrilled with the speed. I’ve used word and adobe indesign which is not ideal either. Adobe crashes after 6 hours…

Weekly I generate a minimum of 15,000 to a max of 25,000 single page duplex letters. Each has around 22 variables, usps barcode and a custom QR. I kept it to 4 font subsets to keep it as lean as possible.

I’m trying to cut down our bottleneck on letter generation and am looking for options. I’ve looked into the xmpie adobe extension and again wasn’t sure about speed.

I’d like to keep processing all records to be less than an hour. Enterprise options might work for us but are there any that are recommended that can achieve higher pps/ppm? What is the max I should expect?


Thanks!

Since you mentioned having a Fiery controller, there is a free software made by Fiery that is specifically designed for fast processing of VDP called FreeForm Create. This is even mentioned in the brochure for your Fiery (on page 5)

Since you have InDesign, you could also consider DesignMerge Pro by Meadows. It's a VDP plugin that you use within InDesign (so ANYTHING can be variable) and it makes the processing really fast. It also handles imposition. You can see a demo video on the site I linked.

I've also heard good things about FusionPro, but don't have experience with it myself.

Finally, I think it's worth noting that with the number of records you're dealing with, the Fiery controller that comes with the RISO is not very powerful in general when compared to the more robust Fiery's that are available on higher-end digital presses. Compare the specs of your Fiery here (last page) vs that of the IC-323 Fiery that comes with the Konica Minolta C14010 (last page). You'll note 32gb of RAM vs 4gb, or the fact that the IC-323 comes with 8 hyper-rips, vs I think the RISO only has 1 (RISO doesn't specify but even the other KM Fiery has only 2). All this to say, while RISO advertises their Fiery as being capable of handling VDP, it's definitely going to choke a bit on 15-25k records regardless.

 

[Dmiller35]

FusionPro can handle that pretty easily.
It's a plug-in for Acrobat but the rules and coding are based in Javascript, so it's pretty powerful.
I've used it for 4 or 5 years and it's worked pretty great.
There's also an online forum that has a ton of resources as you're getting started and even when troubleshooting issues.

 

[prepressdork]

I can also vouch for FusionPro.

 

[metromike]

Yup, FusionPro.
Subscription is $1500 per year I believe.

 

[bill kahny]

The printer is rated at 160/min but inkjet quality can you use a lower resolution setting to generate the file(pdf) and keep the print quality similar? Are you using overlay/masters to keep from resending the same art for every page? "Adobe crashes after 6 hours…" what part is taking 6 hrs.? Printing the merge to a file from any decent desktop using indesign should make a 4000 page pdf in minutes. Then drag to the fiery in batches. This also makes reprinting single pages pretty easy. I do a weekly 24000 post card mailing this way in batches of 6000 for the cutter operator to be able to fill a tray but keep in order, works like a charm and the printer runs full speed

 

[jwheeler]

Are you using overlay/masters to keep from resending the same art for every page?

Good point...this is how the VDP built in to the Fiery is designed to work best...same with Fiery FreeForm Create.

 

[prepressdork]

Yup, FusionPro.
Subscription is $1500 per year I believe.

They increased it to $1650.

 

[Digi_Wiz]

We use XMPIE running on its own designated macmini that has worked quite well. Did have to upgrade the macmini and version of xmpie a few years back when we hit a file size that bottled necked us though.

 

[Steve Dobbs]

Our Skyline Automate solution is very capable at Document Composition from multiple input sources to multiple outputs. Happy to demo and discuss, it also works well connected to Ultimate Impostrip. No click or PDF generation charges, can be fully automated, from file dropped into folder to output direct at the printer (or email, or SharePoint, FileMaker etc)

 

[Stanislav Rakov]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on VDP systems and options.

I’m running two riso gd9630s along with fiery controllers. I have tried the fiery impose and wasnt thrilled with the speed. I’ve used word and adobe indesign which is not ideal either. Adobe crashes after 6 hours…

Weekly I generate a minimum of 15,000 to a max of 25,000 single page duplex letters. Each has around 22 variables, usps barcode and a custom QR. I kept it to 4 font subsets to keep it as lean as possible.

I’m trying to cut down our bottleneck on letter generation and am looking for options. I’ve looked into the xmpie adobe extension and again wasn’t sure about speed.

I’d like to keep processing all records to be less than an hour. Enterprise options might work for us but are there any that are recommended that can achieve higher pps/ppm? What is the max I should expect?


Thanks!

Esko ArtPro+ and/or Esko Automation Engine are excellent at VDP.
Many printer rips are also capable of VDP, but this is usually a paid option, Efi, Durst, Caldera, etc.

 

[richsweeney]

Nothing should take 6 hours. For simple vdp, use the fiery, make the master, then send the merge file.

 

[Meadows]

Please check out DesignMerge Pro for VDP. This product works directly with Adobe InDesign, has an available integrated PDF Imposition engine, and is also fully integrated with Enfocus Switch for automated workflows. Web site is www.designmerge.com.

 

[kdw75]

After years of running FusionPro, we just switched to Meadows DesignMerge. FusionPro was solid, but slow, and the fact that it kept Acrobat tied up while working was frustrating. So far, Meadows DesignMerge is much faster, and since it is in InDesign, it is more user-friendly. Extremely happy with it so far. The first file we ran through DisignMerge was a 4,000-record postcard VDP mailing, and it only took 36 seconds to generate a PDF.

 

[Dmiller35]

After years of running FusionPro, we just switched to Meadows DesignMerge. FusionPro was solid, but slow, and the fact that it kept Acrobat tied up while working was frustrating. So far, Meadows DesignMerge is much faster, and since it is in InDesign, it is more user-friendly. Extremely happy with it so far. The first file we ran through DisignMerge was a 4,000-record postcard VDP mailing, and it only took 36 seconds to generate a PDF.

what is the cost comparison between DeisgnMerge and FusionPro?

 

[TJPrinter]

After years of running FusionPro, we just switched to Meadows DesignMerge. FusionPro was solid, but slow, and the fact that it kept Acrobat tied up while working was frustrating. So far, Meadows DesignMerge is much faster, and since it is in InDesign, it is more user-friendly. Extremely happy with it so far. The first file we ran through DisignMerge was a 4,000-record postcard VDP mailing, and it only took 36 seconds to generate a PDF.

I've always found FusionPro to be slow no matter what I did. The problem with DesignMerge is that you're working with an InDesign file and not a native PDF. The majority of my work comes from customer created work and saved as a pdf.

 

[prepressdork]

I have the same issue as @TJPrinter. Although I would prefer to work in InDesign as you get much more control over text appearance, many of my customers only send me a PDF.