Business Card Printing Guide

Business Card Printing Guide: Stock, Finish, and Spec

A business card is a brand in your pocket. This guide covers the 300-400 gsm stock range, the finishes that make a card memorable, standard sizes, color control, and how to order without surprises.

Related: our 2026 business card guide adds QR and NFC options to this base spec.

Card stock weight: 300 to 400 gsm

Thickness versus feel

Thickness tracks grammage: 350 gsm SBS is about 0.35 mm and feels solid, while 400 gsm cotton reaches 0.40 mm for a heavier hand. Below 320 gsm the card bends in a wallet and reads cheap.

Business cards live or die by the paper. The standard range is 300-400 gsm (grams per square meter); below 300 the card feels flimsy and curls in a wallet, above 400 it becomes hard to cut cleanly and expensive to ship. A 350 gsm SBS (solid bleached sulfate) card is the sweet spot: rigid, bright white, and smooth enough for fine print.

The choice of stock also drives the finish options. Coated (gloss or matte) stock takes UV and foil beautifully; uncoated cotton or recycled stock feels tactile but needs a slightly heavier weight (around 400 gsm) to feel substantial. Thickness for 350 gsm SBS is roughly 0.35 mm; for 400 gsm it is about 0.40 mm.

Finishes that change the feel

A plain card is forgettable. Spot UV adds a glossy raised layer on a logo; soft-touch lamination gives a velvet matte surface that people remember by touch; hot foil stamps metallic gold or silver at 110-140C with a 0.2 mm registration tolerance. Embossing or debossing presses the stock to raise or recess the art, best on 350 gsm or heavier.

For durability, a matte or soft-touch laminate also protects the print from fingerprints and scuffs far better than a bare coated sheet. If you want the card to survive a year in a pocket, laminate it; if you want it to shine on a desk, use spot UV on a gloss base.

Common business card finishes and where they shine.

Standard sizes and print spec

The two dominant sizes are 85 x 54 mm (ISO 7810 ID-1, common in Europe and Asia) and 3.5 x 2.0 inches (88.9 x 50.8 mm, US standard). Both fit a wallet slot. Keep a 3 mm bleed and a 5 mm safe margin so nothing critical is cut. Print at 300 dpi; small contact text should be at least 7 pt with a 0.2 mm stroke.

Color is set in CMYK for print, with Pantone spot colors called out for exact brand matches. We calibrate to G7 and target a Delta-E below 3 against the approved proof. For edge-painted or rounded-corner cards, specify the corner radius (usually 3-6 mm) and the paint color separately.

Proofing and color control

Always approve a digital or printed proof before the full run. A printed proof on the actual stock catches color shifts that a screen cannot. We send a single printed card or a imposed sheet proof; the cost is small against a 1,000-piece error. Check the foil registration, the corner radius, and that the contact block is within the safe margin.

Ordering and lead time

Standard cards with digital print run in 7-10 days at 250-500 MOQ; offset with foil or emboss runs 12-20 days. Budget for a one-time die or foil plate if your shape or finish is custom. Reorders are faster because the tooling is kept on file for 24 months.