Sheet Yield Calculator
Work out which sheet size cuts the cards or inserts you want, how many fit on one sheet, and how much paper is left over.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Finished piece width, Finished piece height, How many pieces do you need, Sheet size, Custom sheet width, Custom sheet height, Trim between pieces, Smallest usable offcut strip
- What you get
- Pieces from one sheet, Sheets to buy, Pieces from those sheets, Spare pieces, Sheet area used, Offcut as a share of the sheet, Offcut per sheet, Spare paper on the tighter direction, Trim through the layout on the tighter direction, The gap keeps the full yield, Pieces with no gap at all, Spare strip is wide enough to keep, Offcut across the job, Paper to buy, Rotated orientation is better
- Formula shown
- Yes, every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Sheet Yield Calculator
- 1 Enter Finished piece width (mm), The shorter side of the card or insert you want.
- 2 Enter Finished piece height (mm), The longer side of the card or insert you want.
- 3 Enter How many pieces do you need
- 4 Enter Sheet size, Custom uses the width and height below.
- 5 Enter Custom sheet width (mm), Only used when the sheet size above is set to Custom.
- 6 Enter Custom sheet height (mm), Only used when the sheet size above is set to Custom.
- 7 Enter Trim between pieces (mm), Paper left between two pieces so the cut is clean. The A series tiles exactly, so a card cut from A4 has almost no spare paper and adding a gap here drops the yield. Leave it at zero for A sizes and set two or three millimetres only when the sheet size allows it.
- 8 Enter Smallest usable offcut strip (mm), An offcut counts as reusable when at least one of its dimensions reaches this width.
- 9 Press Calculate. You get Pieces from one sheet, Sheets to buy, Pieces from those sheets, Spare pieces, Sheet area used, Offcut as a share of the sheet, Offcut per sheet, Spare paper on the tighter direction, Trim through the layout on the tighter direction, The gap keeps the full yield, Pieces with no gap at all, Spare strip is wide enough to keep, Offcut across the job, Paper to buy, Rotated orientation is better, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 10 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A6 cards cut from A4
Fifty A6 cards at 105 by 148 millimetres from A4 sheets with no gap between pieces.
You enter
- Finished piece width
- 105 mm
- Finished piece height
- 148 mm
- How many pieces do you need
- 50
- Sheet size
- 1
- Custom sheet width
- 0 mm
- Custom sheet height
- 0 mm
- Trim between pieces
- 0 mm
- Smallest usable offcut strip
- 25 mm
You get
- Pieces from one sheet
- 4
- Sheets to buy
- 13
- Pieces from those sheets
- 52
- Spare pieces
- 2
- Sheet area used
- 99.7%
- Offcut as a share of the sheet
- 0.3%
- Offcut per sheet
- 210.00 sq mm
- Spare paper on the tighter direction
- 0.00 mm
- Trim through the layout on the tighter direction
- 0.00 mm
- The gap keeps the full yield
- 1
- Pieces with no gap at all
- 4
- Spare strip is wide enough to keep
- 0
- Offcut across the job
- 2,730.00 sq mm
- Paper to buy
- 0.81 sq m
- Rotated orientation is better
- 0
Two by two is four cards per sheet, so fifty cards needs 13 sheets. The A series tiles exactly, so the spare paper on the tighter direction is zero and nothing is left over except a single millimetre of height.
The same cards with a three millimetre gap
The same A6 cards from the same A4 sheet, with three millimetres between pieces.
You enter
- Finished piece width
- 105 mm
- Finished piece height
- 148 mm
- How many pieces do you need
- 50
- Sheet size
- 1
- Custom sheet width
- 0 mm
- Custom sheet height
- 0 mm
- Trim between pieces
- 3 mm
- Smallest usable offcut strip
- 25 mm
You get
- Pieces from one sheet
- 2
- Sheets to buy
- 25
- Pieces from those sheets
- 50
- Spare pieces
- 0
- Sheet area used
- 49.8%
- Offcut as a share of the sheet
- 50.2%
- Offcut per sheet
- 31,290.00 sq mm
- Spare paper on the tighter direction
- 62.00 mm
- Trim through the layout on the tighter direction
- 65.00 mm
- The gap keeps the full yield
- 1
- Pieces with no gap at all
- 2
- Spare strip is wide enough to keep
- 1
- Offcut across the job
- 782,250.00 sq mm
- Paper to buy
- 1.56 sq m
- Rotated orientation is better
- 1
The yield collapses from four cards to two, because a second A6 card plus a two millimetre gap needs 212 millimetres and A4 is 210 wide. Any gap at all costs you half the yield on this particular combination, which is the tightest common card layout there is.
A custom insert for a box
Ninety inserts at 90 by 55 millimetres on a custom 320 by 450 millimetre sheet.
You enter
- Finished piece width
- 90 mm
- Finished piece height
- 55 mm
- How many pieces do you need
- 90
- Sheet size
- 8
- Custom sheet width
- 320 mm
- Custom sheet height
- 450 mm
- Trim between pieces
- 2 mm
- Smallest usable offcut strip
- 20 mm
You get
- Pieces from one sheet
- 21
- Sheets to buy
- 5
- Pieces from those sheets
- 105
- Spare pieces
- 15
- Sheet area used
- 72.2%
- Offcut as a share of the sheet
- 27.8%
- Offcut per sheet
- 40,050.00 sq mm
- Spare paper on the tighter direction
- 46.00 mm
- Trim through the layout on the tighter direction
- 48.00 mm
- The gap keeps the full yield
- 0
- Pieces with no gap at all
- 24
- Spare strip is wide enough to keep
- 1
- Offcut across the job
- 200,250.00 sq mm
- Paper to buy
- 0.72 sq m
- Rotated orientation is better
- 0
A large trade sheet fits far more pieces than A4, which is why card manufacturers sell it cut to size.
Guides that go with it
Standard Paper Sizes for Crafts and Handmade Projects
If you are pricing a paper project, the honest headline is this: most small handmade paper projects cost somewhere between a few dollars and about $30 in materials, and a bigger run of cards, journals...
The Complete Handcraft Measurement Guide for Beginners
If you are new to crafting, measuring is usually the first place things go sideways: a cut is 3 mm short, two "identical" squares are not identical, or a pattern that looked fine on paper does not fit...
How to Avoid Wasting Materials When Making Crafts
Most craft waste is not caused by clumsy hands. It is caused by decisions made before you pick up a tool: buying too much, cutting before measuring, or starting a project with no plan for the offcuts....