ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — It should come as no surprise that graphics industry veteran Aron Allenson signed on to participate in PODi’s High Impact Personalization with PDF/VT webinar in May. Allenson is a sales support specialist at Screen USA, focusing on high-speed inkjet technology. Allenson articulated Screen’s bullish message on variable data printing (VDP) and end-to-end PDF workflows that include variable data.

“A number of print file formats have been developed over the years,” Allenson said. “Some have been proprietary, some open source. Each was based on available computing knowledge, resources and print capabilities of the time. No one language has been ideal for all needs or universally adopted. In the fast-paced and demanding business climate of the Twenty-Teens decade, we need a unifying language. PDF/VT emerges as the exchange format that is capable of those requirements and much more.”

Allenson followed Mark Lewiecki, senior product manager at Adobe Systems, Inc. Lewiecki, who helped initiate PDF/VT, led off the webinar with a 45-minute presentation that detailed the current state of PDF/VT adoption and explored what lies ahead for the next generation of VDP workflows.

“Screen was an early and enthusiastic endorser of PDF/VT as an ISO standard,” Lewiecki pointed out. “We wanted a technology partner in the discussion to examine the impact of PDF/VT in concrete terms from the perspective of an industry-leading VDP vendor. Aron made a very strong case for OEM support for building PDF/VT-compliant solutions.”

Approximately 50 PODi members and paid attendees registered for the educational session. Several audience members submitted questions, demonstrating the interest in using PDF/VT with color digital presses to produce the same graphic capabilities in mass mailings, transactional statements and high-volume variable print as expected from lithographic press runs.

“With PDF/VT, there is no need to have separate proofing files from production files,” Allenson said. “Print buffer underrun/print engine starvation due to inefficient files and RIPing can be an issue of the past. True color management does not have to be sacrificed for speed and throughput when using PDF/VT.”

Allenson will represent Screen again, on an Adobe-sponsored panel discussion scheduled for September 8. Entitled PDF/VT for High Impact VDP – Stronger Customer Relationships & Higher Response Rates, the lunch session will take place during Print 13 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

For more information about Screen’s variable data printing technology, including the Truepress Jet520 continuous-feed inkjet press and Truepress JetSX sheetfed inkjet press, please visit www.screenusa.com.