Business card text size: what actually reads
The point sizes that survive a wallet and bad café lighting — name, title, contact details and the fine print, explained simply.
A business card gets about two seconds of attention, usually in average light, held at arm's length by someone whose eyes are not getting any younger. Yet cards keep arriving at our Moorebank studio with 5pt contact details squeezed into the corner — technically printable, practically invisible. Here is the plain guide: the sizes that actually read for each element on the card, why some small type looks worse than others, and the layout rules that stop anything getting trimmed off at the printer's edge.
The sizes that work, element by element
| Card element | Readable size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | 9–11pt | The largest type on the card after the logo — it is the thing people scan first |
| Title / role | 7–8pt | Sits under the name; 7pt is the practical floor for anything people must read |
| Phone & email | 8–9pt | The detail people actually use — do not shrink it to fit a design idea |
| Address / website | 7–8pt | Fine at 7pt if it is one line and a clean face |
| ABN, licence numbers, legal | 6pt minimum | Compliance text, not selling text — 6pt is the absolute floor on uncoated stock |
Why 8pt on some cards looks like 6pt
- Stock changes everything. Uncoated paper soaks ink and softens letter edges, so the same 8pt reads a full point smaller than it does on gloss. If the type is already small, lean towards a silk or coated stock — our paper stock guide covers the trade-offs.
- Light weights vanish. A thin or light font weight drops its fine strokes at small sizes, especially in reverse (white type on a dark card — the most common way we see cards become unreadable). Use a regular or medium weight for anything under 9pt.
- Decorative faces cost a size. Script and ultra-condensed fonts need about a point more than a clean sans-serif to be equally readable. Save them for the logo and headings.
- Arm's length is the test. Hold the proof out at the distance someone would actually read it, in ordinary indoor light. If you squint, your customer squints.
Safe zones and the 3mm rule
- Keep text 3mm inside the trim. guillotines and die-cutters drift by a millimetre or two; type closer than 3mm to the edge can end up shaved. The sizes on our Australian business card sizes guide all assume this margin.
- Do not fill every corner. A card with breathing room reads bigger than the same text crammed edge to edge. White space is a design decision, not wasted space.
- One side for detail, one for brand. If the type will not fit, the honest fix is putting contact details on the reverse at a readable size — not shrinking everything to 6pt on one side.
Trades and real estate: when to go bigger
Agent cards get read across a kitchen bench or passed hand to hand at opens. Name and phone at 10–11pt is common for a reason — legibility is the brand.
Gloves, dust and sunlight: bump the phone number to the top of the reverse side at 9–10pt. If it cannot be dialled from a glance, the card has failed at its one job.
The default stack that works: name 10pt, title 7.5pt, phone and email 8.5pt, ABN 6pt. Adjust from there, never below the floors above.
Gloss laminations can shift under some lights and fight thin type; matte and uncoated finishes flatter small text. Our card finishes guide pairs well with this one.
FAQs
For anything people must actually read — name, phone, email — treat 8pt as the practical floor, and 7pt only for secondary lines in a clean font. Fine print like an ABN can go to 6pt, but nothing smaller is honestly readable at arm's length.
There is no general legal requirement to print an ABN on a business card, but many Australian businesses do it for credibility, and some industries (like building and construction) display licence numbers by rule. Keep it at 6pt or above and let it live on the reverse side.
Yes — and it is usually the right call when the front cannot fit everything at readable sizes. A common split: brand and name on the front, all contact details and the ABN on the back at comfortable sizes.
Screen type is backlit and sharp; printed type is ink on fibre. Uncoated stock spreads slightly, gloss can reflect, and viewing light changes everything. Approve a printed proof at arm's length rather than zooming to 400% on screen.
Sizing is one piece of the puzzle — pair it with our Australian business card sizes guide and the paper stock explainer, or browse the full range on our print services page. If the whole card needs a rethink, our Business Card Pack covers design through print in one go.
A card people can actually read.
Send us your current card and we will tell you straight whether the type holds up — or design you one that does, printed and delivered from Moorebank.