Tent fold, not a flat card
Each card prints as a double height rectangle with a fold line across the middle. Score the fold, fold it, and it stands without a stand, a slot or a peg. The name prints on the front half the right way up, which sounds obvious and is the thing most free place card templates get wrong.
A flat card version is also available if you want to lay the name on the plate rather than stand it beside it.
Size and legibility across a table
Standing height is about 50mm and width about 90mm, which is readable from across a table without dominating it. The name sets at 18pt by default. For older guests, raise it to 22pt, which is still comfortable within the card width for most names.
Long names and double-barrelled surnames are shrunk to fit. If you have both a long name and want large type, use the wide layout, which gives four cards per sheet instead of six.
Card weight matters more here
Below 200gsm a tent card leans. At 200gsm to 250gsm it stands square and survives being knocked. This is the one item on the site where the heavier card genuinely changes the result, and most home printers will take 250gsm through the rear tray.
Score the fold first. A folded 250gsm card that was not scored cracks along the spine and the white core shows, which is visible from across the table.
Questions
- Do the place cards stand up on their own?
- Yes. They print as a tent fold, so scoring and folding along the printed line gives a card that stands without any stand or slot. The name prints the right way up on the front half.
- What card weight should I use?
- 200gsm to 250gsm. Below 200 the card leans, and most home printers will take 250gsm through the rear tray. Score the fold before folding or the spine cracks.
- How many place cards print per sheet?
- Six in the standard layout, or four in the wide layout, which gives more room for long names and larger type.
- Can I type the names in?
- Yes. Type one name per line and they set in type at 18pt by default, adjustable up to 22pt. Or print blank cards and write them by hand.