Guide · Updated 4 September 2026 · 4 min read
What is the smallest text you can print on a business card?
Keep every piece of type at 5.5 pt or larger, and anything long enough to be read as a line, an address or a strapline, at 6.5 pt or larger. Below that, type prints but does not read. Contrast matters as much as size: at least 4.5:1 between the type and whatever is directly behind it, measured where the type actually sits.
The floors
| What it is | Floor | In mm (cap height, roughly) |
|---|---|---|
| A short detail: postcode, a web address, a label | 5.5 pt | 1.4 mm |
| Anything read as a line (60+ characters) | 6.5 pt | 1.6 mm |
| A printed rule, border or line | 0.5 pt | 0.2 mm |
These are floors, not targets. The details on most well-set cards sit at 7 to 9 pt and the name at 10 to 14. A card is read at arm's length, often in poor light, by someone who did not choose the typeface.
Why a screen lies about this
On a screen a card is shown two or three times its real size, and 5 pt type looks fine. Print it and the same line is 1.2 mm tall. The check that catches this is to view the card at 100% on screen, which is still generous, or better, to print a proof on an office printer and hold it.
Contrast is measured where the type sits
The usual floor is 4.5:1 between the type colour and its background, dropping to 3:1 for large type, 14 pt and over or bold from 11 pt. The trap is a background that changes under a line. A company name in pale type on a dark panel that overflows onto the white paper averages a comfortable mid-tone, and the half on white is invisible. A line of type is as readable as its least readable part, so the worst stretch decides.
Reversed type goes heavier, not smaller
White type on a dark ground is harder to print than dark on light: ink spreads slightly into the paper, so the white shapes shrink and thin strokes close up. The fix is weight, not size. Set reversed type a step bolder than you would on white, and avoid light and thin weights entirely below 9 pt.
Hairlines
A rule or border thinner than 0.5 pt looks crisp on screen and breaks up on paper. The same applies to strokes inside a logo, and to the thin parts of a high-contrast serif face at small sizes. If a line has to be delicate, make it a tint of the ink rather than thinner.
How Cardsetting checks this
Each side is rendered and measured. Any text under 5.5 pt, or under 6.5 pt for a run of 60 characters or more, is an error. Contrast is sampled in bands along each line against the actual rendered background, and the worst band has to clear the floor. Type hidden under another element is caught by comparing how much ink the line puts down inside the overlap with how much it puts down elsewhere. Borders and SVG strokes thinner than 0.5 pt are reported. A card that fails any of these is never shown.
Questions people also ask
- What font size should a business card be?
- The name at 10 to 14 pt, the job title and contact details at 7 to 9 pt, and nothing under 5.5 pt. Longer lines need 6.5 pt at least.
- Is 6 pt font readable on a business card?
- For a short detail like a postcode, just: it is above the 5.5 pt floor. For a line of text it is under the 6.5 pt floor and will strain. Use 7 pt or more for anything somebody actually has to read.
- Which fonts print best small?
- Faces with open shapes and even stroke weight: a humanist sans or a sturdy text serif. Thin, condensed or high-contrast display faces lose their thin strokes on press below about 9 pt.