Personalized Print (VDP) Workshop

During these workshop practices you will learn template creation using uCreate (our Adobe InDesign plug-in), how to build simple business rules (aka campaign logic) for your design objects, saving templates to your desktop and/or using the production server, uProduce (where applicable) and how to generate dynamic document output (or print-ready variable production).

Workshop Required Software: Adobe InDesign, XMPie uCreate, and if available/applicable, access to the XMPie uProduce Dashboard and uPlan.

Allotted time (based on your purchase) for these practices ranges from 3 to 20 hours.

Personalized Print (VDP) Hands-On Practices:

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 1: Basic Print Campaign (template building)

Learn how to create variable data templates for personalization and customization using uCreate Print for Adobe InDesign. This session introduces basic VDP concepts and guides you through building a simple campaign from start to finish personalization.

Audience: New users working with uCreate Plug-in for InDesign to create variable data templates for personalization or customization.
Learning Prerequisite: Basic Adobe InDesign knowledge.
Practice Takeaway: How to build a simple variable (VDP) document/template using to uCreate Print functionality within InDesign.
Estimated Effort: 1-4 hours, depending on experience and immediate/required learning goals.
Learning Materials: EDU Open House Tutorial (from Campus video series) or using a custom campaign. If the custom campaign is very complex, practice effort time may increase.

Learning Objectives:

  • Campaign planning to identify business rules, data (sources, type, values) and other document production requirements.
  • Assess campaign goals (aka briefing) and prepare materials.
    • Download campaign examples or collect in-house files
    • Implement a typical folder structure of files
    • Summarize the differences between Resource and Asset files
  • Ensure the uCreate plug-in is installed and licensed within InDesign, as needed.
    • Use the Dynamic Content menu to locate version and license information
    • Understand the uCreate interface menu and how to view panels
    • Review panel functionality (Dynamic Content, Audience, XLIM and VDP Job Center)
    • Build a VDP campaign from start to finish.
      • Open a static InDesign file, review the desired changes, and link a data source
      • Review the Dynamic Content panel and scroll through records
      • Tag the template by placing Content Objects/ADOR within the design
      • Create or modify various Content Objects/ADOR types and their business rules (expressions)
      • Locate and use Assets with Graphic Content Objects/ADOR
      • Use common Content Object features and options (e.g. shortest/longest values, suppress trailing spaces, copyfit, image fitting, etc.)
      • Understand how design features affect print performance (e.g. transparency, image types, fonts, etc.)
    • Generate dynamic VDP print output using Dynamic Content menu locally using desktop InDesign (if applicable).
      • Set the options for printing (data, output type, destination, policies, copies, impositioning, bleed and marks, and more)
      • Generate a PDF Output
      • Locate and open the PDF output and review
      • Make changes to the template or rules, then regenerate the output

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 2: Print Production from uProduce (Server)

PersonalEffect uProduce is a production server (environment) that allows for variable data output generation for print (and beyond).  Learning the use of this application applies to print-only VDP campaigns (including customizable templates for dynamic product in uStore) and cross-media templates.

Audience: New users, using the production server to generate variable data print-ready output.
Learning Prerequisite: Must have completed practice 1.
Practice Takeaway: How to use the VDP production server to generate print ready files.
Estimated Effort: 2+ hours depending on template type (INDD vs XLIM) and using Connectivity.
Learning Materials: EDU Open House Tutorial (from Campus video series) or use the campaign from previous training sessions.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe and use the uProduce Dashboard.
    • Access the server's /xmpiedashboard using a browser
    • Review administrative tasks (users vs. admins), login settings, etc.
    • Create new users accounts (as needed)
    • Trainee's login using their user accounts
    • Create and review the campaign containers (Accounts)
    • Review campaign components and containers within an Account
  • Preparing the design template and other campaign components for uProduce.
    • Discuss designing for XLIM production using XLIM preflight panel and understand the benefits (or save this practice for later)
    • Understand the different types of XMPie Packages, export a campaign package (CPKG) from uCreate Print and understand why packages
    • Understand or use the connectivity feature that allows saving to and/or opening document from the XMPie server (or use Packages)
    • Create a CPKG (if this step has not already been done), then upload campaign components using XMPie packages (or use Connectivity)
  • Review uProduce procedures and functionality.
    • Discuss the server's flat data source conversion
    • Review how to replace components that have been modified
    • Create and use output destinations and other post composition processes
    • Discuss variable print output settings, features and options for various types of output formats
    • Save and modify production settings (production templates)
    • Generate proof output files and VDP production (using uProduce and uCreate)
    • Review the output files using the Job Center (using uProduce or uCreate)

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 3: Intermediate Print Campaigns (the next steps in VDP)

VDP with XMPie can be so much more than adding data values or images to your template designs. This practice expands on Practices discussed previously to include more functionality with QLingo, Content Objects (not previously reviewed), using multiple data sources and customizable (dynamic document) product requirements for uStore (if needed).

Audience: New and regular users expanding on their offerings to include more features and functionality provided for their variable print production.
Learning Prerequisite: Must have completed practice 1. Optional, must have completed practice 2.
Practice Takeaway: How to implement expanded features to support complex campaigns that include advanced business rules, multiple data sources, and other functionality.
Estimated Effort: 4+ hours, depending on campaign complexity, changes and additions.
Learning Materials: EDU Open House Tutorial (from Campus video series) or use the campaign from previous training sessions.

Learning Objectives:

  • Review complex campaign requirements.
    • Discuss the differences between Primary and Additional Data Sources
    • Discuss internal (plan) variables, filters, user views and custom functions
  • Review QLingo functions (if not previously discussed)
  • Understand the different plan editors (uCreate, uPlan, and Circle)
  • Evaluate campaign goals (briefing) and prepare materials.
  • Build a Plan (using one or both of the methods below)
    • Method A: Build a plan file using uPlan (where applicable)
      • Describe and use the uPlan interface
      • Use the wizard to start a plan
      • Link the assets folder to a plan
      • Create/modify a recipient (primary data) filter to generate specific data set output
      • Explore advanced QLingo functions to create business rules for various Content Objects/ADOR types and variables
      • Link additional data sources (as needed) and create/modify a User View logic
      • Create/modify Table Content Objects/ADORs (1-1 or 1-many)
      • Understand and generate a proof set (or two) to validate business rules and use them for designing purposes
    • Method B: Use uCreate to add a Table Content Object to a design and other advanced Content Object/ADOR logic
      • Create/modify (plan) variables. Discuss why they are useful
      • Explore advanced QLingo functions to create business rules for various Content Object/ADOR types and variables
      • Create/modify Table Content Tag /ADOR by linking an additional data source (explain this method vs uPlan)
  • Create a Template and place on campaign materials on uProduce to run production.
    • Review the differences in workflows from Method A and B
    • Working with components (plan, dpkg, etc.); upload campaign components to uProduce
    • Working with packages; use uCreate-uProduce Connectivity to save campaign to uProduce
    • Run a proof and print production of design templates using uProduce Dashboard
This Personalized Print ILT is typically sold with these solutions/product suites: uDirect, PersonEffect Print, PersonalEffect Print Pro, and Enterprise Print.