How Many Business Cards Fit on a Sheet? (Letter, 12x18, SRA3, A3)

What Is the Formula for Cards Per Sheet?

Every cards-per-sheet count reduces to the same two divisions, one for columns and one for rows:

The + gap inside each numerator looks unusual but it's correct: it cancels the one gap that would otherwise be "missing" after the last card in a row, since there are always one fewer gaps than cards. Set gap to 0 for a kiss-cut layout where cards butt directly against a shared trim line, or use a real gap for a double-cut layout that carves a visible waste strip between cards.

Worked example, Letter sheet, US card, kiss-cut, 10mm margin: columns = floor((216 − 20 + 0) / (88.9 + 0 + 0)) = floor(196 / 88.9) = 2. Rows = floor((279 − 20 + 0) / (50.8 + 0 + 0)) = floor(259 / 50.8) = 5. Total = 2 × 5 = 10 cards.

What Are the Exact Counts by Sheet and Card Size?

The table below applies one consistent rule set across every sheet: a 10mm margin on all four sides, and either a kiss-cut interior (no gap, bleed absorbed by the neighbouring card) or a double-cut interior (3mm bleed plus a 3mm physical gap on every card). Change your own margin or bleed and the counts will move; use the calculator to test your exact numbers.

Two patterns stand out. First, the EU/UK 85 x 55mm card reaches the highest kiss-cut counts on the two larger sheets, 25-up on both 12x18in and SRA3, because 85 and 55 divide into those sheet dimensions with very little left over. Second, the gap between the kiss-cut and double-cut columns is largest on the bigger sheets: going from 25 to 18 on SRA3 is a 28% drop, purely from adding a 3mm gap and per-card bleed instead of sharing a trim line.

Does Rotating the Card Change the Count?

Yes, and the effect is easy to underestimate. A card is not square, so laying it landscape versus portrait changes which sheet dimension absorbs the larger card measurement. On the 12x18in sheet, the EU/UK card reaches 25-up (5 columns x 5 rows) only in its rotated orientation; laid the other way, it manages fewer columns because 85mm columns fit the 305mm width less efficiently than 55mm columns do.

This is exactly why the table above always reports the best of the two orientations rather than a single fixed one. A calculator, or a person doing the arithmetic by hand, should always test both the normal and the rotated grid and keep whichever produces the higher card count, since there is rarely a reason to prefer the lower-yield orientation once bleed and margin are accounted for.

Sheet dimensions themselves follow standards worth knowing. SRA3 and A3 both derive from the ISO 216 paper size system: A3 is a finished trim size at 297 x 420mm, while SRA3 at 320 x 450mm is an oversized "supplementary raw" format meant to give a press enough extra sheet to bleed full-page designs before trimming down to A3 or smaller. Letter and 12x18in, by contrast, are North American sizes with no ISO relationship to the A-series at all, which is one reason a US shop's stock list looks so different from a European one.

How Much Sheet Goes to Waste at Each Count?

"Waste" here means paper that is margin, gutter, or bleed rather than usable printed card. A tightly packed kiss-cut Letter sheet at 10-up still loses about 25% of its area to margin, since 2 x 5 cards at 88.9 x 50.8mm cover 177.8 x 254mm inside a 216 x 279mm sheet. A double-cut version of the same sheet at 8-up loses closer to 40%, because every card now carries its own bleed and every row and column carries a real gap.

Sheet usage is not the only variable that matters for cost. A shop billing by the sheet cares mainly about the total card count; a shop billing by weight of stock consumed cares more about usage percentage. Ask which basis your invoice uses before assuming a higher-usage layout is automatically the cheaper one.

Calculate Your Own Sheet

The table above covers four standard sheets and three card standards under one fixed set of assumptions. Your job may use a different margin, a tighter or looser gap, or a custom sheet altogether. Use the calculator below to get an exact grid for your own numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions