The Problem: Plastic Only — No Digital Product or Self-Service
Ecardz is a New Zealand ID card provider built on printing and shipping physical plastic cards. Customers sent artwork; Ecardz produced CR80-standard cards and mailed them. Print worked — but organisations increasingly wanted instant digital IDs for phones, without waiting on production and shipping. Ecardz had no digital product, no design tool, and no order system for digital fulfillment alongside print.
Every card relied on manual back-and-forth — email, spreadsheets, and design files. Company admins couldn't invite teams, bulk-create cards, or track orders in one place. Ecardz staff had no unified view across companies, users, templates, and orders. Generic tools couldn't enforce CR80 specs or connect to print. Ecardz needed a purpose-built platform to extend print into digital — a new revenue stream, not a replacement.
No digital product — only plastic orders, missing demand for instant downloads
Manual design handoffs instead of self-service templates and editor
No bulk workflow for admins onboarding teams from spreadsheets
No unified order system for digital downloads and physical shipping
No multi-tenant portal for clients to manage users, cards, and orders
Print-only ops couldn't scale without more headcount per tweak and inquiry
The Solution: Digital ID Card Platform with Print Integration
Multi-Tenant Digital & Physical ID Card Platform
AI 101 built a full-stack Digital Cards Platform for Ecardz. Users log in via invitation, pick a template, publish through Draft → Published → Ordered → Ready, and order digital downloads, physical cards, or both — with separate fulfillment tracking. Company admins bulk-import from Excel/CSV and batch publish or print. Platform admins manage companies, users, templates, and orders from one console. Print stays intact; digital becomes a new product line.
Key Features
- Visual card designer: Template editor with live preview, photo crop, diacritic support, double-sided cards, and CR80 output at 300 DPI
- Digital + physical fulfillment: Digital, Physical, or Both — separate status per item (Pending → Ready/Delivered)
- Bulk card creation: Four-step wizard — template, upload, map columns, create — with batch history and optional publish or print
- Multi-role access control: Platform admin, company admin, and user roles with invitations, quotas, and scoped data
- Order management console: Fulfillment pipeline with bulk updates, tracking numbers, and real-time user status
- Ready to Download hub: Completed digital orders with search, filters, and export (PNG, JPG, WebP, PDF, SVG)
Modern, Scalable Architecture
Production-grade multi-tenant stack — secure auth, row-level isolation, cloud storage for card assets, and real-time order updates.
Technical Stack
The Results: A New Digital Product Line on Top of Print
Ecardz went from plastic-only to one system for digital and physical ID cards. The platform is live with full admin, company, and user workflows — a sellable digital product without disrupting print.
New Digital Revenue Stream
Sell digital ID cards alongside plastic — downloads, prints, or both from the same design.
Self-Service Card Creation
Users and admins create cards via templates, visual editor, and bulk import — no manual handoffs.
Unified Digital & Print Fulfillment
One system tracks digital and physical fulfillment separately — with admin stages, tracking, and a Ready to Download hub.
Scalable Multi-Tenant Operations
Multiple corporate clients with admins, invitations, and scoped management — onboard new orgs without custom builds.
Key Takeaways
Extend, Don't Replace
Ecardz added digital on the same platform — businesses with physical ops can grow into digital without rebuilding from scratch.
Purpose-Built Beats Generic Tools
CR80 specs, template slots, and print integration need a custom platform — not Canva or generic badge apps.
Bulk Creation Unlocks Enterprise Sales
Spreadsheet import for hundreds of employees turns a card tool into an enterprise ID program.
One Platform, Two Fulfillment Paths
Separate digital and physical tracking on one design — download, mail, or both without duplicate work.
Client Testimonial
“We now have our first customer on the digital platform and he was able to use it with no help from us which is really great. We had a meeting with Ipsos this morning and they think the portal is great!”
Ready to Add Digital Products to Your Print Business?
Print ID cards, badges, or credentials? We can build a platform for digital design, ordering, and download — while keeping your existing fulfillment intact.