GLOSSARY
Variable data printing
By Justin Winter · Updated August 28, 2026
Digital printing where content changes from piece to piece — names, amounts, images — without stopping the press.
Variable data printing (VDP) is the production technique underneath personalised mail. Because each impression can differ, a run of ten thousand letters can carry ten thousand different names, balances, or account numbers.
Mail merge describes the data step; VDP describes the printing step that makes the merged output physically possible at volume.
See also
- Mail merge — Generating one personalised letter per row of a data file by filling named fields in a single template.
- Print-and-mail API — An API that accepts a document and a recipient address and returns a mailed physical letter — printing, envelope, postage, and USPS handoff included.
Back to the full mail glossary.