InDesign Data Merge 1000 unique cards from CSV

Built a data-driven workflow to produce 1,000 cards supporting 34 local businesses during early Covid. Each card showed all 34 names with 10 highlighted—5 fixed priority businesses per 500-card set and 5 randomly selected from the remaining 29—plus a unique order and position on every card. Delivered press-ready PDFs via Excel/LibreOffice randomisation and an InDesign master with balanced columns, anchored frames, GREP styling and Data Merge.

Brief: 1,000 cards → two sets of 500; each back lists 34 businesses; highlight 10 (5 fixed + 5 random); random order/position per card

Data prep: Excel/LibreOffice randomisation with flags; split into 8 CSVs (4×125 sheets per set) for reliability

InDesign build: single master page, 3-column balanced frame, 34 anchored text frames, paragraph styles + GREP to style/remove flags

Output: 8 documents × 125 pages → 1,000 unique backs; press-ready PDFs for digital press

Role: Data planning, automation and full production. Front design by local designer Dick Stoppels

Result: Consistent typography and layout with controlled randomness—fast, scalable, and print-safe.

#Indesign #DataMerge