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What GSM weight for business cards.

Dal123

Dal123

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
I've designed some business cards, I'm in England and cannot find where to buy any card heavier than 400gsm (ebay only 1 available at 400 gsm) so pretty stuck here.
What weight gsm does everyone think for a perfect business card?
I have some 300gsm, and it's not good enough really, too floppy and don't look professional, I'm limited to what I can put through my printer but would've thought it could handle 500gsm. (Can always go little higher than printers specs I've found).
I should probably have them printed, but can't justify the costs because it's the construction game and 99% really don't take the impression of the card too much, it's done by word of mouth, references and previous jobs. Currently building my website so they'll have a little look at that and shows some nice previous work.
 
300 is kind of the norm here, but I always go for 400 if I can. Any thicker than that and you might as well print on wood 😉
 
Hmmmm. Wooden business cards...

I'll be right back. I need to call a couple of BBQ restaurants real quick.
 
I'm pleased that 300gsm is the norm, thanks for that, gives me a bit more confidence when I'm handing them out now.
Cheers🙂.
 
Yup, 300gsm is pretty standard. Depends on where you go and how much you spend.

200gms = cheap, but with a solid laminate can just about pass.
300gsm/350gms/400gsm pretty normal all around. Can be enhanced with a laminate and/or spot varnish. Depends how nice you want them 🙂

Recycled boards can be a bit trickier to judge as the pulp can be a little more bulky. Gives the difference in texture that you might expect from recycled material.

/Doug
 
Don't confuse weight with bulk. 300gsm is a weight, and does not have anything to do with how rigid the card feels. Bulk of the stock will determine how solid the card feels in your hand. While a rule-of-thumb is the heavier the weight, the more bulk, it is not always totally true. You can hold 2 different 300gsm stocks in your hand, and they may feel very different.

Here we do 420gsm cards with a Matt Celloglaze 2 sides, but we use a 420gsm art board, not a 420gsm coated stock. and they feel very, very thick / rigid / substantial.

If you looking for more, why not consider plastic cards, like a credit card without the numbers. You can't get much thicker than that. They are sctually very affordable.
 
If you looking for more, why not consider plastic cards, like a credit card without the numbers. You can't get much thicker than that. They are sctually very affordable.
Click to expand...
Interesting, they are done via hot-foil printing are they? Would it be possible to make your own by vinyl cutter then place the cut vinyl on-top of the card? This would obviously be a bit tedious, but I don't need too many.
I was not aware of the 'bulk', how is it measured? Anyone know where I can get some?
 
We used CMYK Cards, they are based in Australia, but i think they get it printed in China. Very professional, and affordable. The cards look great. We use them as loyalty / discount give away cards for our hosting. People have commented how good they look.

You can do a full colour photo on the cards. Maybe some wood formwork around the edge with concrete in the middle?
 
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Thanks for them links buddies, I think I may have to just get them printed via printers online, can't find anywhere to get the card/ plastic from. Would've thought I'd be able to find on net but no joy 🙁.
Thanks for input 🙂.
 
brisbaneguy29 said:
Don't confuse weight with bulk. 300gsm is a weight, and does not have anything to do with how rigid the card feels. Bulk of the stock will determine how solid the card feels in your hand. While a rule-of-thumb is the heavier the weight, the more bulk, it is not always totally true. You can hold 2 different 300gsm stocks in your hand, and they may feel very different.

Here we do 420gsm cards with a Matt Celloglaze 2 sides, but we use a 420gsm art board, not a 420gsm coated stock. and they feel very, very thick / rigid / substantial.

If you looking for more, why not consider plastic cards, like a credit card without the numbers. You can't get much thicker than that. They are sctually very affordable.
Click to expand...

Many valid points above and in a country like China were business cards are ubiquitous, texture of cards is also a consideration.
 
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