"14PT" means the card stock is 0.014 inches thick, about 0.36 mm. A point is one thousandth of an inch, so 16PT is 0.016 inches and 18PT is 0.018 inches. That is the whole of it. The number describes caliper, which is physical thickness, and nothing else. It says nothing about the coating, the finish or the colour.
Those differences sound trivial written down. In the hand they are not. Thickness is the first thing a person registers about a card, before they read a single word on it.
The numbers, in one table
| Stock | Inches | Millimetres | Feel | Where we use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13PT | 0.013" | 0.33 mm | Light, flexible, textured | Recycled, linen |
| 14PT | 0.014" | 0.36 mm | The industry standard. Firm, stacks well | Standard, glossy, matte, high gloss |
| 16PT | 0.016" | 0.41 mm | Noticeably stiffer, resists bending | Premium matte, silk matte, spot UV |
| 18PT | 0.018" | 0.46 mm | Rigid. The card becomes the impression | Premium writable |
The jump from 14PT to 18PT is four thousandths of an inch. It is also roughly a 29 percent increase in thickness, which is why the difference is obvious the moment you pick one up.
Something worth knowing before you choose
On several of our lines, 16PT costs the same as 14PT.
Our 14PT matte cards at 100 pieces, full colour front, standard turnaround, are $23.42. Our 16PT premium matte at the same quantity and spec are also $23.42. The same thing happens on UV: 14PT high gloss at 25 pieces is $17.80, and 16PT premium high gloss at 25 pieces is $17.80.
Prices as of September 2026. Stock pricing moves, so check both product pages at your quantity before ordering rather than taking these figures as permanent.
This is not a promotion. It is how gang-run pricing works: at low quantities the setup dominates and the paper cost barely registers, so the heavier stock lands in the same price band. At higher volumes the gap reappears, because then you are genuinely paying for more material.
The practical advice: check both before you order. At small quantities you can often take the heavier card for nothing. Most print sites will not tell you this because it moves you off the product they would rather sell.
Why points and not GSM
European stock is usually quoted in GSM, grams per square metre. You will see business cards described as 300 GSM or 350 GSM. GSM measures mass per unit area, not thickness, and those are different things.
Two stocks at an identical GSM can have noticeably different caliper, because one is denser than the other. A bulky uncoated sheet and a compressed coated sheet can weigh the same per square metre while one is visibly thicker. For a business card, what the recipient feels is thickness and stiffness, so caliper is the more honest measure. That is why the North American print trade quotes cards in points.
If you are comparing a quote in GSM against one in points, treat any conversion you find online as approximate. It depends on the specific mill and stock, and anyone publishing a single exact conversion is oversimplifying.
14PT: the everyday standard
14PT is the workhorse of the industry and there is a good reason for that. It is firm enough to hand over with confidence, thin enough to stack five hundred in a drawer, and it keeps the price down when you print in volume.
Our standard, glossy, matte and high gloss cards all run on 14PT. If your cards get handed out constantly, which is true for trades, real estate and restaurants, 14PT gives you the most impressions per dollar.
16PT: the premium tier
Adding two thousandths of an inch changes how a card behaves. A 16PT card resists bending, sits flatter in the hand, and reads as more substantial.
It is also the base stock for most premium treatments. Soft touch lamination, spot UV, silk matte lamination and real metallic foil all start from 16PT. There is a production reason: laminating film and foil stamping both apply heat and pressure, and a thinner sheet is more likely to curl or distort under them.
Choose 16PT when the card is part of the pitch. Consultants, designers and boutique services are the usual case.
18PT: the statement
18PT is the heaviest card we print, and our premium writable cards use it in an 18PT C1S stock.
At this weight the card itself becomes the impression. It does not flex, it does not vanish unnoticed into a wallet, and it survives being carried around for months. It costs more per card, which is rather the point: it signals that you did not pick the cheapest option on the page.
Coating matters as much as thickness
Two cards of identical caliper can feel completely different, and this is where most people go wrong. Thickness is only half the decision.
An uncoated 14PT card feels natural and takes ballpoint pen, which is why appointment cards are uncoated. A gloss coated 14PT feels slicker and pushes colour harder. Lamination adds a physical film on top of the stock, increasing both thickness and durability, which is why a 16PT silk laminated card feels thicker than a bare 16PT card of the same nominal caliper.
What the option names on our configurator actually mean
Our ordering options use trade shorthand. Here is the translation, because nobody should have to guess what they are buying.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| No Coating / Uncoated | Bare stock. Takes pen and pencil. Matte by nature, slightly porous |
| Matte Finish | A matte aqueous coating sprayed on press. Non reflective, still smooth. Not the same as uncoated |
| Gloss AQ | Aqueous gloss coating. Water based, applied on press. Adds sheen and light scuff protection |
| UV | UV cured coating. Much glossier and harder than AQ. High shine, will not take pen |
| Matte / Gloss Lamination 2 Sided | A physical plastic film bonded to both faces. Thicker, far more durable, tear resistant |
| PG 1 Only | Coating on page one only. The back stays uncoated so it can be written on |
| C1S | Coated one side. The stock itself is coated on one face at the mill, uncoated on the other |
| 4/0 | Full colour on the front, nothing printed on the back |
| 4/4 | Full colour on both sides |
So "14PT Matte" in a dropdown means 0.014 inch stock with a matte aqueous coating. It is not uncoated, and you will not reliably be able to write on it with a ballpoint. If you need to write on the card, which matters for appointment cards and referral cards, you want uncoated stock, a C1S stock, or a PG 1 Only coating.
How to decide in thirty seconds
- Handing out hundreds a month? 14PT. Coated for colour, uncoated if you write on them.
- Want a premium feel or a special finish? 16PT, then pick the finish. Check the 14PT price first, they are sometimes identical.
- Want the card itself to be memorable? 18PT, or a specialty material like plastic.
- Need to write on it? Uncoated, C1S or PG 1 Only. Avoid UV entirely.
- Cards live in a pocket for months? Laminated 16PT. The film is what survives, not the stock.
Common questions
How thick is a 14PT business card?
0.014 inches, which is about 0.36 mm. For comparison, a standard credit card is roughly 0.030 inches, so a 14PT card is a little under half the thickness of a credit card.
Is 16PT worth it over 14PT?
If the card is part of a pitch, yes, because the stiffness is immediately noticeable. If you are handing out hundreds a month, 14PT is the better value. Check both prices at your quantity first, because at low quantities they are sometimes the same.
What does 14PT matte mean?
Stock 0.014 inches thick with a matte aqueous coating applied on press. Non reflective, smooth, and generally not writable with a ballpoint pen.
Can you write on a matte business card?
Not reliably. A matte aqueous coating still seals the surface. For a writable card choose uncoated stock, a C1S stock such as our 18PT premium writable, or a PG 1 Only coating that leaves the back bare.
What is the thickest business card you print?
18PT in paper stock. For something heavier in feel, plastic business cards are a different material entirely and behave more like a gift card.
Does lamination make the card thicker?
Yes. Lamination bonds a film to each face, so a 16PT laminated card measures more than 0.016 inches in total and feels stiffer than the stock alone would suggest.
Why is my 16PT card the same price as 14PT?
At low quantities the press setup dominates the cost and the paper is a small share of it, so both stocks land in the same price band. The gap reappears at higher volumes where material cost becomes the larger factor.
Before you order
Every FlashyPrint order includes a free hand-checked artwork review before anything goes to press. Bleed, resolution, colour mode and fonts, checked by a person rather than a script. If something will not print the way you are expecting, we would rather tell you before the run than after it.