Variable Data Overview

Variable Data is numbers, letters, pictures, symbols or a combination of those items that change. For example, numbering 1..2..3.. and etc is variable data since it changes as it moves on. Often variable data is a set of alpha-numeric codes that is printed on an item to identify it as unique.

“We firmly believe that variable data printed on booklet labels is the next step in making booklet labels much more powerful.”

-Jeff Bertrand CEO

Here are a few examples of what variable data printing can do for you:

Blinded Studies for Drug Development: Randomized variable data are a series of numbers (often alpha-numeric) which is organized in random order. For drug development, this is the type of coding that is used to make the clinical study blinded by marking the drugs with random codes that are only known by designated employees. If a study is double blinded, the patient and the doctor have no idea which is the active ingredient and which is the placebo. This helps to remove the psychological effects of knowing which drug is the active ingredient that could bias somebody’s reaction to the drug.

Track and Trace: A unique code on each booklet label offers the opportunity to track it in a database. For example, if a consumer wanted to know where the melon he purchased came from, he would enter a code into a special database to find out when it was harvested, the farm it was grown on, and etc. This is particularly powerful when the product has become contaminated and a recall is necessary. Health officials could use the codes to track down the bad lots so that they could report it to the public and do an analysis of how the outbreak occurred. In this example, the codes save lives by allowing health officials to control the problem much quicker.

Brand Protection: A code can be overtly or covertly added to your product to authenticate it. Your company, your customer or law enforcement can verify whether the product in question is real or counterfeit by entering a code into a special designated database. The codes can offer a way to track the product through the entire distribution chain similar to the way FedEx or UPS tracks their packages.

Promotional Applications: Variable data is used widely to make promotional offers unique. For example, a company may want to offer a free ringtone or movie download. JH Bertrand would produce a booklet label with the offer and a unique variable code that can only be used once. The consumer would then enter that code at your website or a designated website to receive the free movie download or ringtone. These types of codes are often hidden inside the booklet label, on the base label underneath a booklet label, inside a two ply label, on the back side of a single ply label with a clear dry release base, or under a scratch off coating to protect them from being used by unintended parties.

Inventory Control: We can print the back liner of the booklet labels with a reducing consecutive number that shows how many labels are left.