“We wanted to halve the footprint of every card without losing brand detail,” says Maya Li, Head of Brand at TerraVoyage, a Singapore-based e-commerce travel platform. “Our team had tried multiple vendors and workflows. We chose gotprint to run controlled trials because their digital setup let us iterate fast, and their FSC options aligned with our procurement policy.”
Based in Asia and scaling quickly, TerraVoyage issues 3-5k business cards each month for partners, field reps, and pop-up events. The internal brief was simple but demanding: keep brand colors tight, reduce waste, and adopt lower-impact materials while staying within a modest budget envelope.
Company Overview and History
TerraVoyage started as a niche flight finder and expanded into curated travel experiences across Southeast Asia. The brand tone is modern and restrained—cool grays, a deep ocean blue, and minimal typography. Business cards matter for them: partnerships happen at events and airport lounges, so the card is often the first tangible artifact of the brand.
Operationally, the team produces 8-12 unique card variants per quarter. That number fluctuates with campaign work and regional partners. Historically, they used Offset Printing on coated stock to ensure sharp microtext. As their sustainability roadmap matured, they set targets tied to FSC sourcing and measurable CO₂ per card—at least a 20-30% drop versus legacy baselines.
They kept the procurement model lean: short-run production, quick changeovers, and tight color control. It’s a classic on-demand environment where Digital Printing shines, especially when combined with standards like G7 or ISO 12647 to keep ΔE within 3-5 for critical brand hues.
Quality and Consistency Issues
Before the project, TerraVoyage struggled with color drift across different lots. Ocean blue printed on eco papers tended to shift toward green by ΔE 5-7, most noticeable under airport lighting. They also saw waste creep—headers and make-ready sheets added up. The team referenced an alaska airlines business card layout when benchmarking clarity and white balance, aiming for a crisp, travel-centric look without gloss-heavy coatings.
In internal workshops, the recurring question was simple: “how to make a good business card” that still meets climate targets? They needed a workflow that reduced reprints and held line weights while using Water-based or Soy-based Ink systems where feasible. The solution had to be pragmatic, not perfect, and adaptable to multiple substrates.
Solution Design and Configuration
The final configuration centered on Digital Printing with UV-LED Printing for stability, paired with FSC-certified Paperboard and a Kraft Paper option for limited runs. For embellishments, Spot UV was used sparingly—only to reinforce the logotype—and Soft-Touch Coating was tested on a sample batch but reserved for leadership cards to manage cost and kWh/card.
TerraVoyage used the business card builder to iterate microtext and spacing on 16pt Paperboard. On inks, they validated UV-LED Ink for color stability and trialed Soy-based Ink for select designs where drying profiles matched the substrate. There were budget realities: while testing, procurement asked whether a gotprint discount code applied to pilot runs and if a gotprint coupon code 2024 helped offset trial costs. Discounts helped, but the bigger win was process consistency—keeping ΔE within 3-4 saved time and reprints.
They also defined finishing boundaries. Foil Stamping was evaluated but parked; the energy and material inputs didn’t align with the short-run sustainability target. Die-Cutting stayed standard to avoid waste from overly complex shapes.
Pilot Production and Validation
The pilot ran three lots of 1,000 cards each: two on FSC Paperboard and one on Kraft Paper. They tracked FPY% and ppm defects, logging scuffing, banding, and registration. Early FPY landed at 90-93%; with small tweaks to humidity control and ink laydown, lots stabilized at 92-95%. Not perfect, but consistent enough for field distribution without extra QA cycles.
Changeover Time hovered around 8-12 minutes between variants, which fit their event-driven schedule. ΔE readings for ocean blue stayed within 3-4 in the pilot, down from prior variances of 5-7 on legacy stocks. A minor catch: Soft-Touch Coating needed longer handling time; they limited it to leadership cards to avoid bottlenecks.
Quantitative Results and Metrics
CO₂ per card dropped in the range of 15-22% compared with the older Offset workflow on non-FSC stocks, factoring energy intensity and substrate sourcing. Waste Rate landed near 3-5% for pilots, previously trending around 6-8%. ΔE for critical hues stayed within 3-4 on Digital Printing—measurable, visible control without chasing perfection.
Throughput aligned with their on-demand model: short lots produced in under a day, with total cycle time dependent on finishing choices. FPY% stabilized around 92-95%. Payback Period for the workflow transition was estimated at 12-18 months, sensitive to run volumes and finish mix. There’s a trade-off worth noting: Kraft Paper projects deliver a lower CO₂/card profile, but microtext clarity can be less forgiving than Paperboard.
Based on TerraVoyage’s interviews, the biggest learning was the value of tight process windows. A simple preflight checklist and print-ready file preparation saved hours. As gotprint teams observed across similar projects, consistent material lots and clear ΔE targets do more for sustainability than one-off effects. The approach isn’t universal; brands with heavy foil or complex embossing will need a different balance.
