At the PIA/GATF Variable Data and Personalization Conference earlier this month, I led a session titled, "Show Me the Money." The primary objective of this session was to describe and explain how companies are really making money in the variable data printing market. The session was well attended, and the conversation during and after the session was quite lively. A decade or so after variable data printing appeared on the scene, it seems clear that many managers of graphic communications companies are still trying to identify the VDP business models that will yield sustained high profits.

Many managers of graphic communications companies are still trying to identify the VDP business models that will yield sustained high profits.

Sometimes wisdom comes from unexpected sources. Wayne Gretzky is widely regarded as the greatest hockey player of all time. Gretzky played in the National Hockey League for twenty years, and he won nine most valuable player awards and ten scoring titles during his career. When asked on one occasion about the secret of his success, Gretzky thought a moment and replied, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." Gretzky's meaning is clear. In order to score goals in hockey, you have to move to where the scoring opportunities will exist. As it turns out, success in hockey and success with variable data printing have at least one thing in common. In order to earn high profits in the VDP market, one key is to position your company where the high profits are.