Merging from database

TB
Posted By
Thomas_Bytte
Jun 3, 2004
Views
227
Replies
8
Status
Closed
Hi.

I have a card design made in photoshop.
I need to merge 3 fields from my database into the design (name, number, date of birth) because there’s more than a 100000 cards to be made.

How can I do this in Photoshop or ILlustrator or Acrobat?

Or what’s the best way to do this?

Thanks.
Related Tags
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B
BobLevine
Jun 3, 2004
With more details, my best recommendation would be InDesign CS with the Pagemaker plugins.

Bob
MM
Mick_Murphy
Jun 3, 2004
You could almost certainly do this with PS scripting assuming you have got 7 or CS.
DM
Don_McCahill
Jun 3, 2004
Mick

With scripting, this would result in 100,000 PS files, would it not? Better to use a program like InDesign, and just create 100 files of 1000 pages (cards) each.
SM
Stuart_McCoy
Jun 3, 2004
Thomas,

Illustrator can handle variables for things like that. I’d suggest you pull out your Illustrator manual and look at Chapter 13: Creating Templates for Data-driven Graphics (that’s the AI 10 manual, not sure where it is in the AICS manual though I’m sure the process is the same for both). If you’re not printing this yourself you might talk to your printer about how to work this best. They may have a solution that can be done at print time.
MM
Mick_Murphy
Jun 3, 2004
Don

Yor are probably right. I wasn’t thinking about the best way to do this, just that it is possible. I’d been experimenting earlier today with reading data from a database and putting it into Photoshop files and vice versa.
TB
Thomas_Bytte
Jun 10, 2004
thanks. i’ll look into it.
now it appears that i need to work with xml. i don’t know xml though. too bad i can’t work with a sql database directly.
P
Phosphor
Jun 10, 2004
How will you ultimately be printing these?

If you do your research, there are probably local printers who can do the variable data merge output for you. You’ll just need to consult with them about formatting and filetype.

It ain’t gonna be cheap.
MM
Mick_Murphy
Jun 10, 2004
Thomas

Can you tell us a bit more about the set up. What sort of database is it and why do you think you need to use XML? You should be able to read the data directly using SQL / VB(A) and put that into an PS or InDesign file using scipting.

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