Font Size on Plastic Cards
The smallest text you should print on a plastic card is 6pt. Most of the text on a well-designed card is bigger than that, and how readable it is depends on the font and the colours as much as the size.
This guide shows each size to scale on a card, suggests a size for every part of a card, and covers fonts, contrast, white text on dark backgrounds and the extra care that hot foil needs.
The short versionNothing below 6pt. Contact details at 7 to 9pt, names at 10 to 14pt, the business name larger still. Use a clean sans-serif for small text, keep strong contrast, and give small white text a bold weight. Print your proof at actual size and read it at arm’s length.
Text sizes, to scale on a card
A plastic card is 86 x 54mm, and type sizes are easier to judge against the card than on their own. This drawing is to scale: each line is set at its size in relation to the card, so 24pt takes up as much of the card here as it would on the real one.
A point is 0.35mm, so 6pt type has capital letters about 1.5mm tall in a typeface like Arial. That’s readable on a card held in the hand, but only just, which is why it’s the floor rather than the target.
| Point size | Height of a capital letter (Arial, approx.) |
|---|---|
| 6pt | 1.5mm |
| 8pt | 2.0mm |
| 10pt | 2.5mm |
| 12pt | 3.0mm |
| 18pt | 4.6mm |
| 24pt | 6.1mm |
Suggested sizes for each part of the card
| What it is | Suggested size | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Business or club name | 14 to 24pt | The first thing anyone reads. Long names sit at the lower end. |
| A person’s name | 10 to 14pt | Read at arm’s length, often by someone checking a card at a door. |
| Job title or membership level | 8 to 10pt | Secondary, but still read at a glance. |
| Phone, email, website | 7 to 9pt | Read closely, and copied digit by digit. |
| Membership or card number | 10pt or more | Has to be read in a second or two, and typed in if a scanner fails. |
| Terms, address, small print | 6 to 7pt | The smallest text on the card, and never below 6pt. |
The one ruleKeep all text at 6pt or larger. Anything smaller becomes difficult to read, particularly on gloss cards under bright light.
Fonts that read well on a card
- Use a clean sans-serif for small text. Typefaces like Arial and Helvetica reproduce well at small sizes on plastic cards and are generally the safer choice for contact details.
- No more than two fonts. A distinctive one for your name or business, and a plain one for everything else.
- Avoid light and thin weights below about 9pt. Hairline strokes look elegant on screen and faint on a card.
- Keep script fonts for big words. A handwriting font can work for a business name; it doesn’t work for an email address.
- Don’t set long lines in capitals. Capitals are harder to read than lower case, and take more room.
Before you send your artwork, outline your fonts, also called converting text to curves. If we don’t have your font installed, text can reflow or be substituted; outlining removes that risk. Our guide to which file format to send covers this.
Contrast: the other half of readability
Size is only half of it. Text that is large enough can still be hard to read if it’s too close in tone to the colour behind it. The figure under each sample is its contrast ratio, worked out with the formula used for website accessibility: the higher the number, the easier it is to read. Aim for 4.5:1 or more for small text.
Red on green is the pair to avoid above all. The contrast is low for everyone, and for people with the most common kinds of colour blindness the two colours can look almost the same.
White text on a dark background
White text on a full colour card is the white of the card showing through, with the background printed around it. It looks crisp in larger sizes. At small sizes, a light or thin weight can look faint and broken up, so give small white text a regular or bold weight, and keep it off busy photographs.
White text isn’t possible on metallic base cards, because there’s no white card underneath to show through, so design those in darker colours.
Text on hot foil cards
Our clear frosted, satin black, metallic and white cards are printed with hot foil, and foil needs bigger, bolder text than full colour printing. Fine detail and small wording don’t hold up well: a logo with intricate detail at around 10mm will likely fill in and lose definition.
- Keep text and logos bold and simple, and avoid thin lines and small type.
- Nothing can print within 3mm of the top and bottom edges: the printable area is 86 x 48mm.
- We check foil artwork free of charge and tell you if anything is too fine to foil cleanly.
See what hot foil can and can’t do for the full list.
Names and numbers printed for each card
When every card carries its own name or number, those details are set by us rather than in your artwork, so the font is a choice you make with us.
- Numbering and variable data printed with your order are normally in Arial or Times New Roman, in any CMYK colour, at any size. See numbered plastic cards.
- Bureau personalisation, where we hold your cards and personalise them as members join, prints in one colour, black, white, metallic gold or metallic silver, in a font from our range. See bureau personalisation.
- Embossed characters come in two heights, 5mm and 3mm, with up to 22 characters on a line at 5mm and 27 at 3mm. See embossing.
Leave room for the longest name on your list, not the average one. A space that fits “Sam Lee” at 12pt may need to drop a size for “Alexandra Featherstonehaugh”.
How to check your text before you order
- Print your proof at actual size. In your PDF viewer, choose actual size or 100% rather than fit to page, and print it on paper.
- Read it at arm’s length, in ordinary light, without your glasses if you’d normally need them for close work.
- Read every number aloud. Phone numbers and card numbers are where a misread costs the most.
- Still not sure? A postal proof is a few real printed cards, posted to you before the full run.
Questions & Answers
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What is the smallest font size for a plastic card?
6pt. Keep all text at 6pt or larger: anything smaller becomes difficult to read, particularly on gloss cards under bright light.
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What font size should I use on a business card?
As a guide: the business name at 14 to 24pt, a person’s name at 10 to 14pt, contact details at 7 to 9pt, and small print no smaller than 6pt.
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What are the best fonts for plastic cards?
A clean sans-serif such as Arial or Helvetica for small text, and no more than two fonts on a card. Avoid light or thin weights and script fonts for anything small.
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Do I need to outline my fonts?
Yes. Outlining, or converting text to curves, means the text prints exactly as you set it. If we don’t have your font installed, text that isn’t outlined can reflow or be substituted.
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Can you print white text on a plastic card?
Yes, on our full colour cards: the white is the card itself, with the colour printed around it. Give small white text a regular or bold weight. White text isn’t possible on metallic base cards.
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How small can text be on a hot foil card?
Bigger and bolder than on a full colour card. Fine detail and small wording don’t hold up well in foil, so keep text bold and simple. We check foil artwork free of charge and flag anything too fine.
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What font are names and numbers printed in?
Numbering and variable data are normally printed in Arial or Times New Roman, in any CMYK colour. Bureau personalisation prints in one colour, black, white, metallic gold or metallic silver, in a font from our range.
Not sure your text is big enough?
Send us your artwork and a person will check it before anything is printed. If any text is too small or too close to the edge, we’ll tell you.
Every full colour order comes with a free photorealistic proof, which you can print at actual size to check.