Variables for copied objects

Hi,

this is not really a scripting issue, but it might become one...

I designed a type plate in AI which includes a serial number. The plates need to be printed on A4 sheets containing 27 labels each. To fill the sheet, I would like to copy the master plate using transform to allow for easy changes.

Is there a way to use a different variable for each copy, to be filled from XML? Or is there a better approach?

Kind regards,

Steffen