Substrate? VDP? PURL? What does it all mean?!
Published on 03/16/09 10:43AM by Donna KaplanSo often, people use acronyms to describe things that would be just as easily explained with just an extra word or two. I think we're all guilty of it too - it's become more popular in the last ten years with the emergence of instant messaging, but acronyms have been around 4E. (Just kidding :)...forever)
Ever wonder what a printer is talking about when they ask you what substrate you'd like to use? In reality, a substrate is actually a scientific term that describes a surface on which an organism grows or is attached. In the printing world, a substrate is basically paper. It comes in many different weights and textures but in one word, it's paper. Crazy, huh? :)
VDP is variable data printing, which may as well be an acronym because it means nothing to most people. Simply put, it is having the ability to change out text or images on the fly utilizing a digital press such as our HP Indigo. You can print multiple postcards on one sheet that each have different text or images on them by simply putting a code in the database.
Another acronym that is becoming more common is PURL. It stands for a personal URL. The URL is the address that you type into your browser to access a page. By personalizing it, you produce a different URL for each person receiving the letter or postcard. A sample is, "johndoe.companyoffer.com." When John Doe logs onto his PURL, he will be greeted by name and any information pertaining to him will appear. This can become very complex and a great way to market your business, but too much to blog about - contact us to learn more! :)
Now that you've learned about these acronyms, if you'd like to do a VDP job on a specialty substrate incorporating a PURL campaign, head to our contact page to receive more information.