Resources · Variable data
One design. A different chip every time.
Variable data printing (VDP) lets every chip in an order carry its own text, QR code or photo: serial numbers, promo codes, guest names, seat assignments, one link per chip. You design one chip, fill in a table, and we print each one individually. It is built into the designer, and it does not cost extra.
What we are building, and why
A short walkthrough from Chase: what variable data is, where the idea came from, and what we are trying to make possible on a poker chip. Sound on.
What is variable data printing?
Most printing is one-to-many. One piece of artwork runs a thousand times and every copy is identical. Variable data printing flips that around: a data source, such as a spreadsheet, a list of names or a numbering rule, decides what each piece says, while the layout underneath stays the same. It is the technology behind personalized mail, numbered tickets and unique-code scratch cards.
On a poker chip it works the same way. You build one chip in the designer; that is your original design. Then you tell us which layers change from chip to chip and what each chip should say. Anything you leave blank prints exactly like the original, so a run of 500 can have 500 different numbers on the front and the same logo on the back.
What can change from chip to chip
Text
Any text layer on the front or the back: names, numbers, table and seat, a date, a short message. Font, size and placement stay exactly as you designed them.
QR codes
Every chip can carry its own link. Paste a list of URLs or import a CSV, and the designer warns you when a code would be too fine to scan reliably at chip size.
Photos
Swap the photo per chip from your uploads library. Same crop, same position, a different image on each chip: team headshots, a photo for every guest, one product shot per token.
What people do with it
Serial-numbered chips
1 of 500. Collectible releases, limited runs, security tokens, plain inventory control. Autofill does the counting, with a prefix, a suffix and zero-padding (CHIP-0001 through CHIP-0500).
Promo and redemption codes
One unique code per chip, as text or as a QR code. Hand them out at a trade show or drop them in packages; each code redeems once.
Names and place cards
Wedding guests, tournament players, retirement gifts, employee awards. Paste the list and every chip gets a name.
Seat and table assignments
Tournament seating chips: Table 4, Seat 7. Randomize the draw in a spreadsheet, paste it in, hand the chips out at check-in.
A different link on every chip
Each QR code goes somewhere of its own: a personal landing page, a contest entry, a unique review link, a scavenger-hunt clue.
Faces and photos
A headshot per team member, a photo per attendee, the right product on the right token.
How it works in the designer
- Design your chip.Build the front and back exactly as you would for any order. This is your original design, and every chip starts from it.
- Open Variable Data.In the designer rail choose More, then Variable Data (Advanced). It carries an Experimental badge while we refine it.
- Pick the layers that vary.Any text layer, QR code or photo on either side can become a column. Layers you do not touch stay the same on every chip.
- Fill the table.Type values chip by chip, or open the Bulk Editor. Autofill numbers a column (prefix, suffix, start, step, digits). Paste takes rows copied from Google Sheets or Excel. Import CSV loads a file, and Export CSV hands you a template in the right column order.
- Review every chip.The Review step shows every chip at a glance. Filter to the customized ones, the originals, or anything that needs attention, such as a QR code that may not scan at chip size. Warnings never block the order.
- Add to cart.It lands as one line at your normal chip price, with the quantity equal to the number of chips. Raise the quantity later and a numbered column keeps counting.
Experimental. Variable Data is new. It is free, it prints, and we would like to know what you would use it for. If your project needs something the table cannot do yet, tell us and we will set it up by hand. Tell us about it.
How we print it
Every unique chip in the order is rendered on its own, at print resolution, and imposed into one press-ready file. Chips that share the same values share a render, so a run where only the QR code changes stays fast and small: the artwork is drawn once and each code is laid over it as a crisp, individually generated bitmap.
Before anything is generated, every QR payload is test-encoded and every chip is numbered in the file, so a bad link fails loudly on our side with the chip number attached rather than printing as a code that will not scan.
Good to know
Does variable data cost extra?
No. A variable-data order is priced like any chip order at the same quantity, and the volume discounts still apply, because it is one design at one quantity rather than hundreds of separate designs.
What is the minimum?
The usual 25-chip minimum per design. You do not need 25 unique chips: 25 chips where 10 carry a name and 15 print the original design is fine.
Which chips can I use it on?
Every chip family we print: composite, clay, hybrid, aluminum, magnetic, 2" oversized, dealer buttons and plaques. Products sold as a single piece, such as card protectors and the chip case, have no per-chip table because there is only one piece.
Can the front and the back both change?
Yes. Each column belongs to one layer on one side, so a number on the front, a name on the back and a QR code can all vary at once, or any one of them on its own.
What prints on the chips I leave blank?
Your original design. The Review step points it out ("12 of 100 chips will print your original design") so a half-filled table is never a surprise.
Can I bring my own spreadsheet?
Yes. Paste rows straight from Google Sheets or Excel, or import a CSV. Columns map in order to the table, so use Export CSV first if you want a template with the right column order. On import you choose whether to replace what is in the table or merge into it. If the file has more rows than chips, the designer tells you how many chips to order.
Why does the designer warn that a QR code may not scan?
A QR code is a grid of cells, and each cell has to print at roughly 0.3 mm or larger to scan reliably from a phone. Longer links need more cells, so at a given code size a long URL can fall under that limit. The warning is per chip and never blocks the order. Shorten the link with a URL shortener, or make the code larger on the chip.
Do I see every chip before it prints?
Yes. The Review step lays out every chip in the order as a numbered contact sheet, with a filter for the ones that need attention, and you can step through any chip in the full preview before you add it to your cart.
Can I number a run and add names too?
Yes. Any number of columns can vary at once. Autofill the number column, then paste the names into the second column; hand edits in a numbered column survive later autofills.
More in the FAQ library
Try it on your next order
Start a chip, open Variable Data from the More menu, and fill in the table. Or tell us the project and we will set it up with you.
Start designingTell us your project