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Best Business Card Paper for Design & Print

When looking at companies' printed materials (brochures, flyers, document covers, etc.) – especially business card solutions – the devil can be in the details, whether there are many of them or just a few carefully emphasized elements.

Is the color selection sufficient to be eye-catching? Does the font choice convey the company's characteristics and position? Next comes the printing method selection (digital printing, offset, or silk-screen printing). How do you ensure that the finished printed card is durable, dignified, and attractive? To achieve these goals, it's important to make the right decision when selecting the business card paper.

In this blog we'll cover:

Business cards – first impression

Guide to choosing business card paper

Weight and thickness
Surface finishing and post-processing
Lamination
UV spot varnishes and printing effects
Foils

Different papers for different industries

Print your own professional business cards

Business Cards – First Impression

A business card is naturally your company's ambassador in the business world. This small card is the key to leaving a memorable impression of your company in your field, helping to create new relationships with both clients and in career development with other companies, while prominently highlighting your name.

What impression do you leave on your colleagues, clients, partners, and others?

It depends on the style and nature of your business card. First, let's talk about size – your card should fit into typical business card holders (wallets and card holders after being handed over). There are two classic size types:

In the UK, USA, and Australia: 85 x 55 mm (same as payment cards)
Most common in the rest of the world: 90 x 50 mm

To stand out, cards with different shapes have also been created (square, circle, octagon, oval, etc.), but their size is calculated to fit within the aforementioned standards, considering storage space.

The card should be printed in a way and on a material that ensures durability when dropped or carried in a wallet. Its luxurious nature and appearance are important so that the recipient wants to keep it, perhaps even to show and introduce to others.

First, attention should be paid to the choice of printing material. Starting from simpler and more affordable classic business card paper (emphasizing print and printing effects on its surface) to design papers, where the material's own color and/or surface finish play a role (textured, hammered, grooved, dotted, etc.).

Guide to Choosing Business Card Paper

There is no specific brand that is the most common material for printing business cards. The most common, however, is business card paper that falls within a specific thickness/weight range.

Weight (Thickness)

In the world of printing materials, the most common unit of measurement is gram weight (GSM - grams per square meter).

The typical material weight/thickness for business cards is 300 g/m², which is about 1.4 mm (14 Pt, 0.04 inches) thick. Gram weight doesn't always indicate the actual thickness of the material, as many papers are more voluminous and feel thicker when held. Therefore, it's recommended to visit a printing house to feel the material yourself and assess its weight, thickness, and strength.

Currently, the new trend is for thicker materials – 700 g/m². Since the selection of such thick materials is limited, laminating papers together has become popular to achieve the desired thickness. This also allows, for example, digital or offset printing on one side and screen printing on the other side on a colored volumetric design paper. The result is special cards that are kept and shown to others because they are memorably thick, strong, and uniquely designed.

Some have gone even further, gluing several papers together so that the color of the middle papers is only visible from the edge.

Surface Finishing, Surface Coatings, and Post-Processing Options

Starting from the most common and cheapest business card paper, we can move on to more special or design papers, where the selection of different paper types, surface finishes, and colors is endless through catalogs.

The main thing that generally distinguishes them first is coated and uncoated surface papers. The former are recognized by their chalky and glossy or semi-glossy surface (which are then referred to as semi-coated papers).

Coated papers are predominantly cardstock and are divided into one-sided and two-sided, their selection is much more limited than uncoated papers. It can be said that most design papers are uncoated, including various surface finishes and patterns (textured, sandy, hammered, with different patterns such as lines, waves, dots, etc.).

Currently, the most popular smooth design paper is the leather-like Skin paper brand, and from the patterned ones, the wavy Rivers.

Lamination

More affordable papers can be made exclusive with surface coatings – laminates. These are ultra-thin plastics with adhesive layers that can have:

Matte or glossy surface
Scratch-resistant matte
Soft touch (leather or rubber-like silky surface)
Sandy surface
Patterned (linen fabric, deerskin, wood pattern)

Paper laminated on both sides is more resistant to moisture, corner bending, and smudging. Currently, the most demanded are matte and soft touch surface laminates, which look exclusive, especially with printing effects such as UV spot varnish, 3D varnish, or raised foil(I-foil).

UV Spot Varnishes and Other Printing Effects

UV spot varnish is one of the most valued post-processing effects in the printing world, and this applies to business cards as well. It is a varnish that instantly solidifies under a UV lamp and can be applied using both screen printing and digital technology, allowing coverage of just the desired part of the print (logo, slogan, image, or other element).

Classic options:

Special solutions:

3D varnish (allows 2-4 different height layers of varnish on one surface)
Bubble pattern effect varnish
Sandy textured structured varnish
Luminescent varnish (glow-in-the-dark)
Fluorescent varnish (visible under UV light, used as a security element)

Screen printing special effects:

Glitter added to UV spot varnish (you decide from 30%-100%)
Adding pearl powder to UV spot varnish
Tinted effect varnish

All these modern and eye-catching printing effects are available in our house, allowing just the right finish to be added to your business cards or other prints to best highlight your brand.

Foils

Distinguished between:

Classic foil (foil with adhesive layer is pressed onto the surface of paper or laminate)
Digital I-foil (UV varnish as adhesive)

The latter, unlike classic foil (which is very delicate and can come off upon contact with another paper or something textured), is strong and durable, making it valued especially on business cards, book and magazine covers, and packaging.

Different Papers and Printing Materials for Different Industries

Different business sectors have different approaches to business card design. The following recommendations are based on current needs and experiences, but the main purpose of a business card is always the same – to introduce the employee and the company.

For example, in medicine, rehabilitation, cosmetics, hairdressers, etc., it is recommended to use simpler, smoother papers or matte laminate so that it's easier to make notes on them (visit and treatment times, messages, etc.).

In the field of graphic design, you should use slightly more extravagant post-processing/printing effects so that the main emphasis is on the design that invites people to use your services.

With your choice of printing material, you emphasize your position and what you want to communicate. For example, for doctors, lawyers, advisors, consultants, beauty and health workers (hairdressers, masseurs, nail and eyelash technicians, etc.), the business card is like the packaging of their business, communicating the price, luxury, etc. of the service.

We have printed for representatives of very different professions on very different materials, for example, for a grinding company on sandpaper, for a roofing sheet company on metal sheet. Printing on plastic has also become fashionable, especially on transparent or semi-matte plastic, and these have emphasized the direction of the business they are engaged in.

For example, photographers have conveyed the uniqueness of their field with a view through a camera focus window, architects have had a ruler printed on the edge of the card, a wall tile selling company ordered plastic cards with rounded corners for salespeople, who hand the card to the client saying, if you need help, call, but in any case, you can use my card's corner to finish the grout joints of your new tiled surface... Thus, since plastic cards are weather-resistant, they are especially suitable for businesses providing outdoor services, such as construction, arboriculture, gardening, yard and house facade cleaning companies, etc.

How Professional Business Cards Are Made

Whether it's simpler and more affordable cards or particularly exclusive and distinctive solutions, find the right printing method, solution, and printing house to bring it to life. You can always read more on our blog, ask for help if you wish, and when you're ready, also order.

FAQ

What paper is used for business cards?

The most common is 300 g/m² business card paper, but design papers, plastic, and special cards are also used. A newer trend is 700 g/m² or multi-layered cards. Soft touch (silky matte) surface finish is currently very trendy.

Can I print business cards at home?

You certainly can, but we don't recommend it. A professional printing house ensures better quality, durability, and the possibility to use special effects (UV varnish, foil, lamination, etc.).