Patent ID: 8625152

Claim:
A method of adding data to a printed publication that is printed on a substrate by a commercial printing press as the substrate travels through the commercial printing press, comprising: receiving variable data from a first data source, wherein the variable data comprises, for a print run during which a plurality of copies of the printed publication are printed, data that is changed between at least two of the copies; and controlling an energy source to at least partially ablate the printed publication based on the variable data; wherein the printed publication is printed on the substrate using the commercial printing press based on fixed data received from a second data source, wherein the fixed data comprises data that is common to all of the copies of the printed publication printed during the print run; and wherein controlling the energy source to at least partially ablate the printed publication comprises, after the printed publication has been printed on the substrate by the commercial printing press based on the fixed data, controlling the energy source to remove a portion of the printed publication based on the variable data, wherein the energy source is controlled to remove a portion of the printed publication and not a layer of material existing on the substrate before the printed publication is printed by the commercial printing press.