In six months, a Lisbon-based D2C studio selling custom business cards cut waste from roughly 9% to about 4–5%, pushed FPY to the 90–92% range, and saw repeat orders rise by 15–20%. The turning point: a move to Digital Printing with UV‑LED ink, standard dimension control, and a tighter color management framework aligned to ISO 12647.
The team partnered with gotprint on workflow guidelines and a seasonality test, including a targeted promotion—“gotprint promo code business cards”—to drive trial. A limited “gotprint coupon code free shipping” pilot supported cross-border adoption while confirming shipping cost sensitivity.
Here’s where it gets interesting: performance gains only stuck once specs were reined in. The brand reduced SKU sprawl, standardized trim, and enforced a color library. That discipline, more than any single machine upgrade, stabilized the output.
Company Overview and History
Nordello Studio launched in 2019 to serve freelancers and micro SMBs across Europe. Their flagship product is a double-sided business card with optional Soft‑Touch Coating or Spot UV on logotypes. Volumes vary seasonally—from 5,000 up to 20,000 cards per week—creating planning swings. Early growth came through marketplace listings, but direct web orders scaled once checkout friction for credit card processing small business accounts was reduced and shipping zones were clarified.
As the catalog expanded, the brand faced an uncomfortable reality: too many SKUs with inconsistent specs. Different trim sizes, coatings, and substrates made production volatile. Based on insights from gotprint’s work with multiple card programs, Nordello simplified to two substrates (FSC-certified Paperboard) and a controlled finish set. That move created a cleaner pricing ladder and less confusion for customers.
One more detail: the buyer base was heavily mobile. The product page had to answer practical questions quickly—finish types, turn times, and trim tolerances—without overwhelming design-first shoppers. Keeping it straightforward became part of the brand tone.
Quality and Compliance Requirements
Nordello defined quality around two anchors: color fidelity and clean trim. For color, they targeted ΔE in the 1.5–2.0 range against brand swatches, using ISO 12647 references and Fogra PSD practices for press alignment. For materials, the team moved to FSC-certified Paperboard with documented lot histories. Although business cards aren’t food-contact items, the team handled material statements similarly to packaging customers—documented supplier specs, batch tracking, and QC sign-offs.
Standardizing size cut confusion. When customers asked what is standard business card size, the brand answered clearly: in Europe, the common format is 85 × 55 mm; in the U.S., 3.5 × 2 inches. Tolerances were set at ±0.2 mm. By stating this upfront, returns due to perceived mis-sizing dropped. Dies were requalified, and trim variance tightened.
Finishing policies were formalized. Spot UV was limited to line work and logotypes to avoid pooling; Soft‑Touch Coating had minimum coverage rules to maintain consistency. Art files required knockout handling for Spot UV, and a proofing step included a color-managed soft proof plus a single-press check for new swatches. It wasn’t flashy, but it set expectations.
Color Accuracy and Consistency Issues
Before the reset, Nordello’s brand teal drifted. On coated Paperboard, runs varied with ΔE swings around 4–5, and the same file printed differently across two devices. FPY hovered near 78–82%, and waste rates sat around 8–10%—a painful number when your average order is small and margin comes from repeat buyers.
Let me back up for a moment: the color problem wasn’t only in the press. It started upstream with files. Designers built art in sRGB without device profiles, and conversion steps were inconsistent. Substrate changes were approved late, leading to ink density adjustments on the fly. The result: unplanned trial sheets and jittery schedules.
There was a catch with finishing, too. Aggressive Spot UV areas over rich colors introduced perceived darkening in highlights, while Soft‑Touch slightly dulled certain vibrant hues. Customers loved the tactile feel, but QC teams had to recalibrate expectations and educate buyers on the trade-offs.
Solution Design and Configuration
The team committed to Digital Printing (UV‑LED Printing) for standard runs, paired with Offset Printing for rare long-run promotional batches. Color-managed workflows locked profiles early, and substrate-specific curves were assigned before proofing. Presses were calibrated to Fogra PSD targets, and a concise swatch library anchored key brand hues.
Operationally, Nordello introduced a trim standard (85 × 55 mm), requalified dies, and implemented Die‑Cutting with tighter registration controls. Spot UV was limited to 0.5–1.0 pt line work for best result, while Soft‑Touch Coating was deployed on backgrounds rather than typography. A small but useful change: shipping templates integrated a fedex business card label option for trackable EU‑wide delivery, reducing “where is my order?” tickets.
Commercial tests mattered, too. A limited “gotprint coupon code free shipping” pilot ran for two weeks to measure conversion lift vs. absorbed shipping cost. Later, a focused “gotprint promo code business cards” campaign targeted first‑time buyers. Changeovers moved from around 40 minutes to roughly 28–32 minutes per spec, throughput landed near 15–18k cards/day on peak weeks, and average ΔE sat inside the 1.5–2.0 window. Not perfect—but reliable.
Quantitative Results and Metrics
FPY rose from about 78% to around 90–92% after the color library and substrate standardization. Waste dropped from roughly 9% to the 4–5% band, aided by better proofing discipline and predictable finishing zones. Trim variance held within ±0.2 mm, and customer returns related to size mismatches fell noticeably.
Throughput stabilized at 15–18k cards/day during promotional spikes, with Changeover Time reduced to around 28–32 minutes. ΔE stayed near 1.5–2.0 for key swatches, and post-finish color perception was documented with guidelines to avoid surprise. EU shipping SLA via FedEx averaged 2–4 days depending on zone, which matched buyer expectations during peak season.
From a business angle, the team estimated a payback period of roughly 10–12 months on process and tooling changes—sensitive to promo intensity and material pricing. Repeat orders ticked up 15–20%, and helpdesk volumes related to size and color questions fell in the 20–30% range. These numbers aren’t universal, but they gave the brand confidence to maintain the cadence.
Recommendations for Others
Start with the basics: lock your format and color library. Answer the practical questions buyers ask—like what is standard business card size—upfront. Keep finishing rules simple, especially for Spot UV, and document how coatings affect perceived color. If you’re working with a fragmented SKU set, reduce variants until your team can forecast accurately.
From a commerce point of view, test promotions carefully. A “coupon code free shipping” can lift conversion, but it must align with your zone costs and parcel dimensions. Track cohort behavior after the promo ends to avoid a margin hangover. For smaller brands, check that your payment gateway supports clean flows for credit card processing small business accounts; checkout friction shows up as abandoned carts that no production tweak can fix.
As a brand manager, my take is straightforward: tools matter, but discipline matters more. Digital Printing and UV‑LED ink give you flexibility, yet the control comes from specification. If you need a framework or want to benchmark your specs, consult a seasoned partner—teams like gotprint see patterns across many programs and can save you trial cycles. And yes, keep asking the dull questions; they’re the ones that keep your brand on‑brand.
