What Paper or Card Thickness Should You Choose?

Business cards are more than just visual designs or beautiful graphic elements. One of the most important things to consider when designing your cards is the paper card thickness. The thickness of your business cards will impact their durability and how they look and feel. Choosing a fragile business card paper that’s too thin can also create a poor impression with your clients.

What Weight is Business Card Stock?

The standard business card paper weight is 216-300 grams per square meter (GSM). You can also choose 175-216GSM. However, this is a super lightweight paper that you can bend easily. Using this paper card thickness may not be advisable unless you want your business cards to look flimsy. If you want something more durable than the standard business card, you can go for a paper weight of 350GSM. This is an above-average paper that’s thicker and more durable. It will also give you stiffer business cards than the 300GSM. If you want something that radiates quality, you can choose 400GSM. This is premium weight and will deliver sturdy business cards.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Paper Card Thickness

Here are some things to think about when choosing the thickness of business cards.

Flexibility

This may not be a word you hear being mentioned together with business cards in the same sentence. The general idea when it comes to flexibility is to have a card that’s thick enough to be considered good quality and durable enough not to crease as soon as it’s bent. Having creases on your cards makes them look worn out. Once this happens, the person you would have given will throw them away.

Durability

Buying thicker business cards is definitely not a waste of money when you factor in the durability issue. A high paper card thickness gives you more durable business cards. Most people throw business cards around after receiving them. Some may even use them as coasters. While you can do nothing to avoid this, you can at least make sure that your business cards remain in a solid crisp state after the mistreatment. A thin, flimsy card will end up being a shriveled unreadable mess.

Appearance

Most people don’t wear suits because they are comfortable. It’s all about dressing to impress. The same applies to business cards. While the main aim is to share your contact information, they can also give you a chance to show your professionalism. People are constantly receiving business cards, and you want yours to stand out from the rest. An easy way to do that is to use a higher paper card thickness.

Perception

It’s important for your brand to be associated with quality. So, while you may want to save money by going cheap, you should think about what your clients will think when you give them a flimsy business card. Unfortunately, it’s quite easy for someone to spot the difference between a business card that was made using cheap material and one printed on high-quality paper. This is why you may want to go for something thicker.

Desired Quality

If your budget allows, then you can pick the best paper weight for your business cards. However, contrary to what you may think, thicker doesn’t necessarily mean better. If the card is too thick, it may not fit into business card organizers or wallets, which defeats the purpose. A good high-quality paper to use would be 350GSM paperweight. It’s heavy enough to communicate quality, and the thickness won’t make it difficult for your clients to carry around.

It’s important to consider these factors when choosing the proper thickness of business cards. A good business card is a chance to impress your clients and show them you are obsessed with quality.