How do I create multiple-up pages populated with variable data?

Question

I am trying to create a variable data Illustrator file but with a catch, I have to create multiple points of data on one artboard.  I am using a template with 36 identical shapes, and I'm trying to add a different image to each based off of using variable data.  I understand the premise of creating multiple output files based off of an illustrator file and data, but I have to create a single output file using 36 points of data, all QR codes.  The reason is that this 36-up 14.5" x 14.5" sheet will be printed on a large format inkjet and then be fed into another machine (not a cutter) that requires that specific layout for it's process.  I cannot create individual files, I need sheets based off of my 14.5" x 14.5" 36-up template.
Any suggestions other than making each shape in the template a separate variable (even though they are all the exact same shape) would be greatly appreciated.
My goal is to populate each of these shapes with a different QR code and then output the whole sheet as a single .EPS or .PDF file.

Answer 1

My goal is to populate each of these shapes with a different QR code and then output the whole sheet as a single .EPS or .PDF file.
You're barking up the wrong tree for this with Illustrator's Variables palette.
Think of it like this:
Imagine a typical spreadsheet with multiple rows of the same kind of data, except for the first row which serves as the "labels" of the columns.
The on-page objects which you define as Variables in Illustrator correspond to the first row; the column labels.
The datasets correspond to the following rows of values below the label row.
Cycling through the datasets simply moves up and down the rows, revealing one row's data at a time for each of the column labels.
Your multi-up array does not fit that data model. You are essentially trying to make a layout showing all the individual cells below the single label of one column (downward across all rows). (Illustrator's Variables feature doesn't even let you put multiple instances of a single variable in the document, so that the same value occurs in multiple places.)
You're trying to build the functional equivalent of a typical "gang up" press sheet, like a 10-up layout of business cards, each showing the same kind of data (name, phone, etc.) for multiple employees, so that you don't have to do separate press runs for each employee. That's certainly a common need, and one quite appropriate to a program like Illustrator. But Illustrator's Variables feature does not do that.
Essentially, what you are wanting to do is to replicate the basic functionality of any program which is used to print labels from data (like the typical mail merge function for address labels which are ganged up with some number of different labels on a page). What you want could be done in Illustrator via a custom JavaScript, but it would be a pretty silly exercise in reinventing the wheel. If it were me, I'd probably build the solution in FileMaker Pro (a database program), depending on the specific graphics requirements. However, you should be able to do it in InDesign, using its data merge feature.
JET