Kartenmachen

What Kartenmachen does

Kartenmachen.de is a German direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, founded in 2013 and operating from Nuremberg, that designs, prints, and ships personalized cards, invitations, stationery, and gift items. The product portfolio spans roughly 4,000 SKUs organized around occasion categories — birthdays, weddings, births, religious ceremonies (baptisms, communions, confirmations), Christmas, books, gifts, and business products — with quantity-tiered pricing that can drop to roughly €0.75–€0.80 per unit on birth announcement cards at 250+ units and reach €30–€50 for wooden welcome signs and engraved guest books. Customers personalize items through a web-based design editor (text, photo, color, format options including altar fold, ticket-perforation, and laser-cut designs) or via a complimentary in-house graphic design service.

The technical core is an in-house production stack in Nuremberg combining digital printing with UV printing (used for water- and weather-resistant wooden products) and laser cutting/engraving, plus a Shopware-based storefront integrated with major German and international payment providers (PayPal, Klarna, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SEPA, Giropay) and shipping carriers (Deutsche Post, DHL, GLS). Marketing is conducted via organic/SEO content, paid acquisition on Google, Meta, and Pinterest, and the Awin affiliate network.

The business model is one-time transactional e-commerce (self-serve / PLG) with no disclosed subscriptions, enterprise contracts, or institutional funding. Customer acquisition is event-driven across personal and corporate occasions, and revenue concentration risk is low given the long-tail consumer base; however, growth metrics such as revenue, headcount, and order volume are not disclosed in the available data.

Name

Kartenmachen

Legal name

Kartenmachen.de

Website

https://kartenmachen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kartenmachen.de is a German direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, founded in 2013 and based in Nuremberg, that designs, prints, and ships personalized cards, invitations, stationery, and gift items to individual consumers and small businesses across Germany using in-house digital, UV, and laser production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personalized Card and Stationery Printing

NAICS

Stationery Product Manufacturing (32223), Greeting Card Publishers (513191), Office Supplies and Stationery Retailers (45941), Office Supplies and Stationery Retailers (459410)

SIC

Greeting Cards (2771), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Office, Stationery & Craft Supplies DTC (CRAFACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Greeting Cards, Gift Wrap & Party Paper Goods Distribution (CRAOALAJ), Prepress, Plate-Making & Artwork Services (IMALAKAM), Personalized & Custom Gift Creation (Engraving/Monogramming/Photo Gifts) (HSACANAC)

Keywords

• Personalized card printing
• Online invitation cards
• Wedding stationery printing
• Birth announcement cards
• Custom print on demand

Headquarters

HQ city

Nuremberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: One-time purchase of personalized printed cards and gift products. Revenue generated from individual product transactions with quantity-based pricing (discounts for larger orders).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kartenmachen.de is an online direct-to-consumer print-on-demand platform that designs, customizes, and produces personalized cards, invitations, thank you cards, wedding stationery, guest books, books, and gift products using in-house digital printing, UV printing, and laser cutting. Customers self-serve order via the website, customizing templates with personal text, photos, and colors, with a complimentary professional graphic design service on request. Production, fulfillment, and shipping are handled in-house from Nuremberg, Bavaria, with domestic 1–2 day shipping.

Product overview

Kartenmachen.de is a German online print-on-demand platform for personalized cards and gifts, operating as a single e-commerce platform with multiple product categories. The core offerings include invitation cards (Einladungskarten), birth announcement cards (Geburtskarten), thank you cards (Danksagungskarten), and guest books (Gästebuch), supported by add-on products such as table cards, menu cards, seating charts, envelopes, welcome signs, and gifts. The platform differentiates through custom print-on-demand production with materials including paper, birch plywood (for wooden products), and offers a complimentary professional graphic design service. Production occurs in-house in Nuremberg, Bavaria. The product portfolio spans 4,000+ articles across occasion categories: birthdays, weddings, births, other occasions (baptisms, confirmations, communions, youth ceremonies, Christmas), books, gifts, and business products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Einladungskarten (Invitation Cards) Personalized invitation cards for birthdays, weddings, baptisms, confirmations, communions, and youth ceremonies, customizable with text, photos, and colors. Offerings include laser-cut designs, ticket-style cards with perforations, and creative fold-out formats, aimed at German consumers organizing personal celebrations.
• Geburtskarten (Birth Announcement Cards) Birth announcement cards for announcing the birth of a child, with designs for boys, girls, and twins; options for photo integration and custom birth details (time, weight, height). Available in altar fold, passport-style, DIN A6, and laser-cut formats for new parents in Germany.
• Danksagungskarten (Thank You Cards) Thank you cards expressing gratitude after weddings, births, confirmations, communions, and youth ceremonies, in laser-cut, photo-based, and themed designs. Targeted at German families and event hosts who want to acknowledge gifts received.
• Hochzeitskarten (Wedding Cards) Comprehensive German wedding stationery bundle including Save-the-Date cards, wedding invitations, reply cards, menu cards, table cards, seating charts, and church brochures, plus wedding extras such as envelopes, favors, decoration, bottle labels, balloon cards, wedding games, address stickers, ring cushions, and welcome signs. Designed for engaged couples wanting a consistent theme across all wedding paper goods.
• Gästebuch (Guest Books) Custom guest books for weddings, birthdays, baby showers, confirmations, communions, baptisms, youth ceremonies, and vacation rentals, including a wooden heart tree alternative with personalized laser engraving. For event hosts who want a keepsake for guests to sign.
• Bücher (Custom Books) Custom book products including blank books for scrapbooking, photo albums, cookbooks/recipe books, diaries and notebooks, condolence books, and colleague farewell books, with optional additional pages, clear holders, pens, stickers, decoration, and upload of custom templates. For personal and small-business use in Germany.
• Willkommensschilder (Welcome Signs) Personalized wedding welcome signs produced from birch plywood or 3 mm HDF with UV printing, available in portrait and landscape orientations, and usable as guest books with optional metallic pens. Starting at €34.90/unit with volume discounts and additional charges for larger formats.
• Familien Stammbuch (Family Tree Book) A4 or A5 family tree book made from real wood with laser-engraved names, combining wood and leather materials as a personalized heritage keepsake. For families documenting their lineage.
• Geschenke (Personalized Gifts) Personalized gift items including money gifts, kitchen and lifestyle products (breakfast boards, grill accessories, keychains, flasks, Zippos), decorations (posters, wooden lettering, LED lamps), office supplies, and gifts categorized by recipient (women, men, children, parents, grandparents, colleagues). For gift-givers in Germany.
• Firmenprodukte (Business Products) Business printing products including business cards, company anniversary invitations, personalized company envelopes, promotional items (glasses, mugs, smoking accessories, kitchen/lifestyle products, office supplies), and virus protection products. For small businesses and corporate buyers in Germany.
• Sitzpläne (Seating Charts) Personalized wedding seating charts including posters, individual table seating arrangements, and table numbers. For couples coordinating guest placement at wedding receptions.
• Weihnachtskarten (Christmas Cards) Personalized Christmas cards for both business and personal use, including advent calendars. For individuals and businesses sending seasonal greetings.
• Briefumschläge (Envelopes) Themed, personalized, and stationery envelopes for various occasions to match purchased cards, plus recipient and return-address stickers. For customers mailing out personalized cards.
• Grafikerservice (Free Graphic Design Service) Free professional graphic design service where Kartenmachen designers create custom card layouts based on customer-provided text, colors, and photos, with revisions until the customer is satisfied. Bundled with any card order for customers who need design assistance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average customer rating of 5/5 from 3,311 reviews

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Deutsche PostminorOthersShipping partner for mail delivery within Germany. Products can be sent using Deutsche Post postage options including Standardbrief (€0.95), Postkarte (€0.95), Kompaktbrief (€1.10), and Großbrief (€1.80).
• DHLminorOthersShipping partner for package delivery within Germany.
• GLSminorOthersShipping partner for package delivery within Germany.
• AwinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate marketing network for partner/referral marketing programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Shutterfly: US-based personalized print and gift platform spanning cards, photo books, and home décor. Closely comparable business model (custom print-on-demand, occasion-driven), but at materially larger scale and operating only in North America.
• VistaPrint (Vista): Global print-on-demand incumbent with a dedicated German storefront offering business cards, invitations, marketing materials, and personalized gifts. Operates at vastly larger scale than Kartenmachen.de but competes for the same German small-business and consumer occasion-stationery customer.
• Etsy: Global online marketplace for handmade and personalized goods including invitations, wedding stationery, and custom gifts. Competes with Kartenmachen.de for the same consumer occasion-stationery demand via thousands of independent sellers, though Etsy is a marketplace rather than a manufacturer.

Direct peers

• Card Factory: UK-based greeting card and gift retailer with strong same-day/next-day physical and online presence. Comparable in core category (greeting cards and occasion stationery) though its omnichannel retail model differs from Kartenmachen.de's pure-play e-commerce.
• Moonpig: UK-headquartered personalized greeting card and gift platform with a similar online design editor and on-demand printing model. Closely comparable product/business model, though Moonpig operates primarily in the UK rather than Germany.
• CEWE: Germany's largest photo printing company (CEWE Stiftung) operates a comparable personalized print-on-demand platform with greeting cards, photo books, and gift products. Directly overlaps with Kartenmachen.de on personalized cards and wooden/photo gifts, with a much larger national footprint.
• Wunderlabel: European personalized products brand offering custom labels, tags, cards, and accessories for small businesses and consumers. Comparable on personalized-on-demand production for events and gifts, though with a stronger B2B/small-business emphasis than Kartenmachen.de.
• Flyeralarm: Large Würzburg-based German online printer with a broad product line including cards, invitations, gifts, and personalized merchandise. Competes directly with Kartenmachen.de in the German personalized print and small-batch invitation space.
• smartphoto: European online photo printing and personalized gift retailer operating in Germany and other EU markets. Directly comparable on photo-based cards, gifts, and personalized print-on-demand e-commerce.

Emerging players

• Saal Digital: German premium photo products and personalized print company with a focus on photo books, wall décor, and gifts. Adjacent competitor for higher-end personalized occasion gifts and photo-driven stationery, though with a narrower catalog than Kartenmachen.de.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kartenmachen