Points, pounds and gsm
Card stock is sold in three units, and one listing often gives two.
Points (pt) measure thickness in thousandths of an inch, so a 16 pt card is about 0.016 in thick. These are not the points used for type sizes.
Grams per square meter (gsm, or g/m²) is the weight of one square meter of the paper. It means the same for every paper, and Europe orders cards in it: about 300–350 gsm is standard there, 400–450 gsm heavy.
Pounds (lb) are the weight of 500 sheets at the paper’s uncut “basis” size. That size differs between paper types, so 100 lb cover is far heavier than 100 lb text. A pound figure means something only next to its grade.
Thickness and weight rise together, but not exactly. A bulky uncoated sheet is thicker than a dense coated one of the same gsm.
Common weights for business cards
| Points | About, in gsm | About, in lb cover | How it feels | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 pt | 250–270 | 90–100 | Thin and flexible | Budget cards |
| 14 pt | 300–310 | 110 | Firm | The common standard |
| 16 pt | 350–400 | 130–150 | Noticeably stiffer | The usual “premium” choice |
| 18 pt | 400–450 | 150–165 | Heavy, hard to bend | Cards meant to be noticed by feel |
| 32 pt | 600–800 | Not usually quoted | Two sheets bonded, sometimes with a colored core | “Double thick” cards |
Every equivalent here is approximate. Mills and printers rate the same stock differently, and a coated and an uncoated sheet of one weight differ in thickness.
For scale, take three things you already handle. Office paper is 20 lb bond, about 75–80 gsm and roughly 4 pt. A postcard is often 14 pt. A credit card is about 30 mil (0.76 mm) thick, a little thinner than a 32 pt card.
Which weight to choose
Choose 16 pt if you have no reason to choose otherwise. It is noticeably stiffer than 14 pt, so the card doesn’t bend easily in a pocket or a wallet.
14 pt is the common standard and is fine for most cards. It makes sense when you order large runs for trade shows and the cost per card adds up. Go down to 12 pt only for cards you expect people to throw away.
Go up to 18 pt or 32 pt when you want the card to be remembered by its feel. Heavier stock costs more per card and more to post, and it takes room: a box of 500 cards at 16 pt is already about 8 in (20 cm) of cards.
Coated or uncoated
| Finish | Look and feel | Writing on it |
|---|---|---|
| Uncoated | Matte to the touch; colors a little softer | Takes pen and stamp |
| Matte or silk coated | Smooth; sharper color | Harder to write on |
| Gloss or UV coated | Shiny; shows fingerprints and glare | Hardest to write on |
| Soft-touch lamination | Velvet feel; adds thickness | Test your pen first |
Gloss is also the hardest finish for a phone camera to read under a lamp, because the coating throws the light back as glare. Cotton and recycled stocks are uncoated. Colored stocks such as ivory, cream and kraft are bought as the paper itself, not printed, so the print shop has to order that stock.
Paper for a home printer
Most inkjet and laser printers feed card stock up to about 200–250 gsm (roughly 65–90 lb cover) through the main tray. Many take up to about 300 gsm through a rear or manual feed, where the sheet runs a straight path. Your printer’s manual gives its maximum.
Perforated business card sheets for home printers are usually around 150–250 gsm. That puts them at the thin end of the table above, which is why home-printed cards feel thinner than cards from a print shop.
Set the printer to its “card stock” or “heavy paper” setting. The printer then slows down, so the ink or toner has time to set. The business card maker makes a 10-up sheet for this, on Letter or A4.
What to tell the print shop
A print shop needs five things: the size, the stock weight, the finish, one or two sides, and the quantity. One line covers it:
“3.5 × 2 in, 16 pt uncoated, two-sided, 250”
For European cards, give the size as 85 × 55 mm and the weight in gsm. The sizes and the bleed, the extra print past the trim line, are on the business card dimensions page.
Krane for iPhone
With Krane's card maker, the spec is written for you
Under the downloads, the business card maker writes the spec line for the print shop: size, bleed, number of inks and a suggested stock. On the ivory, cream and kraft colors the paper tint is the stock itself, so the print file leaves the paper bare and the spec line names the stock to ask for.
Krane reads the paper cards people hand you, matte or gloss. The app on iPhone, iPhone Duo and iPad turns each card into a contact, and the business card scanner is free for 10 scans a week.