Personalized direct mail
We print and mail letters, postcards and self-mailers that change from one piece to the next: the name, the offer, the signature, the language. Every step happens here, near Chicago.
The name you type is printed on the letter, the envelope and the reply card.
Est.1927
1864 S Elmhurst RdMount Prospect, IL 60056
847.588.7600 · unitedgmg.com
Dear Rosa Alvarez,
This letter was printed for you from a list. The salutation above, your name at the right and the reply card that came with it were all set from one spreadsheet, on one press run. That is what we mean by personalized direct mail.
We print the shells in one run, keep them here, and personalize each mailing from that stock: the letter, the reply card and the envelope. The list is cleaned before every drop and the trays go to USPS from our dock in Mount Prospect.
For a quote on your list, send the list and the letter, or call 847.588.7600.
United GMGPrinting and mailing since 1927
United GMG · 1864 S Elmhurst Rd, Mount Prospect, IL 60056 · 847.588.7600
Reply card
Please call me about a personalized mail program.
Send me a sample: the letter, the reply card and the envelope.
United GMG · 847.588.7600 · unitedgmg.com
1864 S Elmhurst RdMount Prospect, IL 60056
What can be personalized on a mailing?
Almost any printed field can come from your list: the name and address, the salutation, the signature, a paragraph or an offer, a photograph or a map, the amounts on a reply card, the language. Each is set up once and printed on every piece from the same run.
- LettersThe salutation, the signature and any paragraph change from your list.A letter printed by United GMG on its specimen letterhead, Dear [Name] set from the list, with its reply envelope
- Reply cardsThe name and address filled in, and an ask that fits each reader.The tear-off reply form from the same specimen letter, printed by United GMG
- EnvelopesThe address through the window, or printed on the face.Envelopes stacking off the inkjet line at United GMG, each with its own address
- PostcardsA map or a photograph of the reader’s own street on the card.United GMG’s own 6 by 9 postcard, printed with a street view of the reader’s address, front and back
- Self-mailersA version for each group, with a tear-off reply if you want one.A folded self-mailer printed by United GMG with its reply envelope tucked inside
- Flat mailersOversized pieces and packets, a version for each group, mailed as flats.United GMG’s own appeal mailer, front and back, with its permit imprint
What is variable data printing?
Variable data printing is printing in which part of the page changes from one piece to the next, taken from a list: a name, an address, a paragraph, a picture. Printers call it VDP. The press reads each record and prints that piece, one after another, in one run.
One letter, every name.
| Name | Salutation | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Rosa Alvarez | Dear Rosa Alvarez, | A |
| Daniel Okafor | Dear Daniel Okafor, | B |
| Elin Lindqvist | Dear Elin Lindqvist, | C |
| Your name | Dear you, | yours |
Three versions, one job: when one group should read a different paragraph, we set up a version for each group and proof it once.
- Step 1.Send us the list as a spreadsheet, and the letter or the artwork.
- Step 2.We set up each version and each variable field, then send you a proof to approve.
- Step 3.We clean the list: addresses checked, movers updated, duplicates removed.
- Step 4.We print the shells, then print each piece from the list on the digital press or the inkjet line.
- Step 5.We fold, insert, sort and hand the trays to USPS. Postage is prepaid on our permit or yours.
Variable data printing examples from our own jobs
Four jobs from our floor, told without the clients’ names, and four pieces from the same floor, photographed.
A self-mailer with its built-in reply envelope 
A letter package: booklet envelope, letter, insert 
Our own appeal mailer, opened 
A foil save-the-date, front and back
- A nonprofit’s appeal letters. A two-sided colour letter, mailed several times a year.
- A university medical school’s appeal. One letter in three versions: the same words, a different author on each. Read the case study
- A national association’s tri-fold mailer. Three versions of one tri-fold, 17.875 by 9 inches, folded to 6 by 9 and mailed. 20,000 pieces.
- A publisher’s letter program. One letter, merged with the name and signature of each of its representatives, printed and mailed like the two runs before it.
Language versions work the same way: an English version and a Spanish version, split by the list.
Does personalization cost more per piece?
Not much, per piece. Address standardization, NCOA and de-duplication are included in our per-piece prices; versions add setup for each version, proofed once; variable names and offers add a modest per-piece cost. The quote fixes the number before any work starts.
Postage is separate. It is prepaid to USPS before the drop, on our permit or on your own permit, and passes through at cost. Quotes itemize on request.
The cost math behind a mailing: direct mail marketing pricing and the calculator. The service itself: direct mail printing and mailing.
What changes, and what it adds
| What changes | Where it happens | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| The name and address, letter and envelope | The list, then the inkjet line or the press | In the per-piece price |
| The salutation or the signature | The setup, then the press | A modest per-piece cost |
| A paragraph, an offer or the language | One file per version, proofed once | Setup per version, little per piece |
| A photograph or a map | The setup, then the press | More per piece, quoted with the job |
| The reply card | The same list, the same run | Quoted with the letter |
How should we segment the list?
Segment by what you know about each reader and can print: last gift, renewal date, the agent or representative, the language, the town. Each segment becomes a version or a variable field. Targeting is the list; personalization is the piece. Either way we clean the list before every drop.
Your own list
Your customers, donors or members, with what you know about them. Send it as a spreadsheet; we tell you which columns we need.
A purchased list
For new business, a purchased list chosen by area, industry or household. It carries fewer fields, so the versions do more of the work.
Cleaned before every drop
Addresses checked, movers updated through NCOA, duplicates removed, before we print a single piece: our data management work, and the thinking behind data-driven direct mail.
Printed, personalized, inserted and mailed in one facility
Variable data printing services, inserting and mailing at 1864 S Elmhurst Rd in Mount Prospect, Illinois, where we have printed since 1927, with the trays handed to USPS at our own dock for delivery nationwide. All of it is part of our direct mail services.
- Phone
- 847.588.7600
- Hours
- Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–5 PM
- The plant
- 1864 S Elmhurst Rd, Mount Prospect, Illinois
Common questions about personalized mail
What is personalized direct mail?
Printed mail in which the name, the message or the picture changes for each reader, taken from a list: a personalized letter, a postcard with the reader’s own street on it, a reply card with the name filled in.
How does variable data printing work on a letter?
The letter is set up once with fields where the variable text goes. The press reads your list and prints each letter with that record’s name and paragraph, one after another, in the same run.
Can the reply card and the envelope be personalized too?
Yes. The reply card prints with the reader’s name and address from the same list, and the envelope carries the address through its window or printed on the face.
How do we send you the data?
A spreadsheet with one row per reader and one column per field. Tell us which column is which; we set up the merge and send a proof of each version before anything prints.
Do you check the list before you mail?
Yes. Before every drop we check each address, update movers through NCOA, and remove duplicates.
How do we start?
Send the letter and the list, or tell us what you have. We quote the printing, the personalization, the mailing and the postage, itemized on request, and fix the day your mail goes out.
More on this site: the benefits of variable data printing, personalized envelopes and our direct mail services.
Tell us what should change from piece to piece.
Send the letter and the list, or just the counts. The quote covers printing, personalization, mailing and postage, itemized on request, and fixes the day your mail goes out.
847.588.7600Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–5 PM · 1864 S Elmhurst Rd, Mount Prospect, Illinois
- Step 1.We set up each version and each variable field, then send you a proof to approve.
- Step 2.We clean the list: addresses checked, movers updated, duplicates removed.
- Step 3.We print, personalize, insert and hand the trays to USPS on the day the quote fixes.
If the form does not load, call 847.588.7600. More about us: About United GMG · The quote page.