Printing mail merge booklets.

Report · Apr 29, 2022

I have an 8 page booklet. With mail merge I have 75 booklets. Printer tries to print all 75 as one book. How do I get it to recognize 75booklets folded and stapled at each new address? Thanks. Now I have to print each one individually. Ricoh 3000 printer with finisher.

Report · Apr 29, 2022

This sounds like it really needs to have the addressing handled on the printer through a VDP plugin rather than as a Data Merge in InDesign.

Report · May 02, 2022

Thank you. Clueless to what a VPD plugin is.

Report · May 02, 2022

VDP = Variable Data Printing. This is essentially the same thing as running DataMerge in InDesign, but it is handled on the printing device so you send a single instance of your document to the device with the neumber of copies selected, and the VDP plugin pulls in the data from your data source to change for each copy.

Report · May 11, 2022

Thank you. I found the VDP and they wanted $1000 for it. I individually printed 74 copies. The Ricoh is fast. I'm not on any time restraints. My labor of love.

Report · May 11, 2022

assuming the booklets have the addresses added to the covers. i'd mail merge the covers separately and join them together in preparation for printing and finishing.

Report · May 11, 2022

Yes, a very good strategy.

Report · May 11, 2022

Hi @KR24257751tlmf , just to clarify—page 1 of your 8-page document has the mail merge fields and when you run Create Merged Document... you get a 600 page document that your Ricoh then tries to impose and bind as a 600 page doc?

If that’s the case you could script sending the 75 books to the printer.

Report · May 12, 2022

Now I have to print each one individually.

Hi @KR24257751tlmf , You are welcome to try this script, it would send the 75 books to the printer as separate print jobs bypassing the Print dialog.

Test it on a small doc first—it will send 75 jobs to your print queue for a 600 pg doc. Dialog lets you pick a print preset, and number of pages per print.

https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/15ec1477-3835-4e09-5744-3e0a288e3d93

Screen Shot 22.png

Report · Jan 02, 2024

Here is what I did:

(1) I created a master imposition file with printer's spreads (not booklet style) and transfered the content and data fields to the spreads for front/back printing (it can be tricky to do so if you are not used to it, but a simple way to figure out the right sequence would be to print the booklet from your original file and then deconstruct it to figure out the page sequence on the spreads). Saved the file as ImpAll.

(2) I deleted the data field(s) and saved a copy of the file, let's call it NoData.

(3) Went back to ImpAll, deleted everything except the data field(s) and saved it as a copy, OnlyData, keeping all the emptly spreads.

(4) I mail merged OnlyData, which resulted to a file with the merged data on every fourth spread. Named the resulting file OnlyDataMerged.

(5) I printed the OnlyDataMerged as front and back, including the blank spreads.

(6) I fed the resulting stack back in the printer and sent the NoData to print (front and back again), with all proper settings for folding and saddle stitching. Some printers, like my Canon, will allow you the save the job as one print set and then set up your fold and saddle stitch preferences there. You can print as many copies as you need of the NoData set, which is treated as a 4-page front and back print job with saddle stitching, etc. Just be mindful of keeping the collated sheets in the right sequence so that the preprinted sheets with the merged data fall on the proper page of the NoData print job.

I hope you find this method helpful. I used it to print 250 8-page booklets and it worked fine for me.

Report · Jan 02, 2024

Here is what I did:

(1) I created a master imposition file with printer's spreads (not booklet style) and transfered the content and data fields to the spreads for front/back printing (it can be tricky to do so if you are not used to it, but a simple way to figure out the right sequence would be to print the booklet from your original file and then deconstruct it to figure out the page sequence on the spreads). Saved the file as ImpAll.

(2) I deleted the data field(s) and saved a copy of the file, let's call it NoData.

(3) Went back to ImpAll, deleted everything except the data field(s) and saved it as a copy, OnlyData, keeping all the emptly spreads.

(4) I mail merged OnlyData, which resulted to a file with the merged data on every fourth spread. Named the resulting file OnlyDataMerged.

(5) I printed the OnlyDataMerged as front and back, including the blank spreads.

(6) I fed the resulting stack back in the printer and sent the NoData to print (front and back again), with all proper settings for folding and saddle stitching. Some printers, like my Canon, will allow you the save the job as one print set and then set up your fold and saddle stitch preferences there. You can print as many copies as you need of the NoData set, which is treated as a 4-page front and back print job with saddle stitching, etc. Just be mindful of keeping the collated sheets in the right sequence so that the preprinted sheets with the merged data fall on the proper page of the NoData print job.

I hope you find this method helpful. I used it to print 250 8-page booklets and it worked fine for me.