Topic: College of Applied Sciences and Technology
February 22, 2008
Most people ignore advertisements they receive in the mail, but wouldn't you look a little more closely if a pamphlet had a picture of your name mowed into the lawn?
Ball State University is one of the first recipients of Kodak's Darwin VI software. Known as variable data printing (VDP) software, Darwin VI lets users individualize printed materials for their intended recipients. Kodak donated the software, which has a total value of $300,000, in part thanks to a relationship between the company and Ball State built by Larry Lengacher, vice president and general manager of Fort Wayne-based C-Point Marketing and a Ball State alumnus.
"It's really geared for direct marketing," said Hans Kellogg, assistant professor of graphic arts in the Department of Technology. "This takes printing in another direction, where it isn't so much the printing press anymore but the manipulation of digital data."
Under the agreement between the university and Kodak, the software will be used only in the Department of Technology, though the department will also work with the Office of Admissions and the Alumni Center to promote its programs.
"I'm pleased that Kodak has been so supportive and so wonderful with this donation," Kellogg said. "They've allowed us to recognize their program and allowed us to partner with them for introducing this to students."
By Alaric DeArment