Variable Data (Part 1) Aim Small, Miss Small

A musket in the time of the American Revolution was a military smoothbore that fired a single ball. In quantity, such as a regimental line volley (where hundreds of soldiers fired at once and reloaded quickly), it could be effective, but not accurate.

As we look at static printing today, as used in direct marketing, we see many similarities to the musket volley. A lot of "lead" is thrown downrange, but it's more luck than skill when a desired target is hit.