Personalization Printing has moved way beyond direct mail.

Our thanks to whattheythink.com -

Getting personal By Frank Romano, February 2, 2007 -- - For Premium Access Members

The world of 1:1 has moved way beyond direct mail. You can now get your name or other personal text on just about anything from baked goods (scone to scone printing?), labels, candy, and more. Here are a few new approaches to personalization:

Chocolate candies
Print your photo or any other artwork on chocolate candies.
http://www.chocolographyboutique.com

Ketchup and mustard bottle labels
Put your own words on a Heinz ketchup and mustard bottle label.
http://myheinz.com

Wine
Select a wine and design your own label from a palette of choices.
http://www.personalwine.com

Soda pop
Select a flavor of Jones Soda and upload a digital photo for the label. You can also write a message for the label on the back of the bottle.
http://http://myjones.com

Branded steak
Pick the letters you want and they come pre-branded on each steak so guests know that you grilled their meat.
logo on a brand.
http://www.texasirons.com

M&Ms
One side is yours to customize. You get two lines, 8 characters maximum per line. You can even get your logo printed instead of the text. The other side will have the famous "m." They say you can have your company colors but don't expect the Pantone set.
http://www.mymms.com/business22

Wheaties box
Send in a photo and have it printed on a box of Wheaties. I have one and it is pretty neat.
http://www.wheatiestrophy.com

Postage stamps
Upload a digital picture and it is printed onto stamps acceptable to the U.S. postal service. They are pressure sensitive and no licking is needed.
http://photostamps.com

Custom labels
Put your name on elegant custom-designed labels, favor tags and coasters to create beautiful personalized wedding and party favors, food or craft gifts, bath creations, wedding CDs and DVDs, baby announcement CDs and more. Create book plates or serve your personal coasters to guests at dinner parties.
http://www.myownlabels.com

Personalized Halloween cookies
Gingerbread jack-o'-lantern cookies for your favorite little ghosts. The treats are then individually decorated and personalized with up to eight characters, including spaces.

Personalized whirly pops
Each sucker is 3 or 4 inches in diameter and are personalized with your choice of any design from the website and tied off with coordinating curled ribbons.
You can even add a photograph or logo.
http://www.personalizedsweets.com/

Personalized perambulator
Graco unveiled a limited edition Graco Mosaic stroller custom printed by First2Print, a large-format fabric printing service.
http://www.first2print.com/textile_printing_news/Graco.php

And the winner for the most personalized product goes to art created from your DNA:
DNA 11 creates unique, high-end abstract art from DNA. Each individual piece of art is a one-of-a-kind stylized artistic representation of a person's genetic fingerprint. With a wide selection of colors and styles from which to choose, customers can customize the piece to reflect their personalities and best suit their home or office décor. Creating your own DNA Portrait is simple:

Step 1: Select your color and size options from online store.
Step 2: DNA 11 sends you a collection kit with instructions.
Step 3: Follow the step-by-step directions and send your DNA sample back to DNA labs using pre-addressed envelope.
Step 4: Your DNA sample is processed in a secure lab: DNA is extracted and run it on a "gel," then the gel is photographed using a special camera.
Step 5: DNA digitally enhances and customizes your DNA fingerprint. They then print your art piece on the highest quality canvas using our in house Giclee printer.
Step 6: Each art piece is visually inspected. Your art is then hand varnished and signed on the back by the founders of DNA 11.
Step 7: Your art piece is shipped rolled in a protective tube.
Step 8: You are accused of murdering Jimmy Hoffa in Michigan in 1975 (only kidding).
http://www.dna11.com

Lost in translation: The dark center of personalized food printing
Aunt Elsa was supposed to receive a customized cake from Wegmans Supermarket to celebrate her birthday. The part-English, part-Italian message was e-mailed into Wegmans and their digital cake printer (flatbread inkjet?). But the system had a disconnect with non-English glyphs. Why no one actually looked at the cake before sending it out is beyond us; although, cake proofreading is not a common occupation. Nevertheless, Aunt Elsa had a cake with a strange birthday message, and we presume even the 'supportEmptyParas' was tasty if not tasteful.

What font goes best with bakery products? Butter Scotch Bold.
http://members.whattheythink.com/images/frank012.jpg
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What do you think? Please send feedback to Frank by e-mailing him at fxrppr@rit.edu

Frank Romano has spent over 40 years in the printing and publishing industries. Many know him best as the editor of the International Paper Pocket Pal or from the hundreds of articles he has written for publications from North America and Europe to the Middle East to Asia and Australia.

He is the author of over 44 books, including the 10,000-term Encyclopedia of Graphic Communications (with Richard Romano), the standard reference in the field. His books on QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, and PDF workflow were among the first in their fields. He has authored most of the books on digital printing. His latest book is the 800-page textbook for Moscow State University.

He has founded eight publications, serving as publisher or editor for TypeWorld/Electronic Publishing (which ended in its 30th year of publication), Computer Artist, Color Publishing, The Typographer, EP&P, and both the NCPA and PrintRIT Journals. His columns appear monthly in the Digital Printing Report. He is the editor of the EDSF Report.

Romano lectures extensively, having addressed virtually every club, association, group, and professional organization at one time or another. He is one of the industry's foremost keynote speakers.

He has consulted for major corporations, publishers, government, and other users of digital printing and publishing technology. He wrote the first report on on-demand digital printing in 1980 and ran the first conference on the subject in 1985. He has conceptualized many of the workflow and applications techniques of the industry and was the principal researcher on the landmark EDSF study, Printing in the Age of the Web and Beyond.

He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Times of London, USA Today, Business Week, Forbes, and many other newspapers and publications, as well as on TV and radio. He has partnered with InfoTrends on strategic information for the printing industry.

He continues to teach courses at RIT and other universities and works with students on unique research projects.