The Cardboard Shelf

Sleeved deck thickness

Sleeving makes a deck substantially taller, and that is what stops the lid closing. Work out how tall, and whether it still fits the slot you have.

A sleeve’s micron rating is the film thickness per face, and a card sits between two of them, so a 100 micron sleeve adds 200 microns to every card. Getting that backwards is why sleeved decks come out twice the height people expect.

Depth of the slot or box you need it to fit (mm, optional)
Measure your own cards instead (more accurate)

Card stock varies by print run and finish, and over a few hundred cards that adds up. Square off a known number of unsleeved cards, measure the stack, and enter both. This overrides the card stock preset.

Unsleeved, that stack is
68.2 mm (2.69 in)
220 cards at 0.310 mm each, using the standard board game card figure.
Sleeved, it becomes
94.6 mm (3.72 in)
Each card gains 120 microns of film, taking it to 0.430 mm.
That is an increase of
26.4 mm — 39% taller
A substantial gain. Check the box before committing to sleeving the whole game.
Add the depth of your box or insert slot above to check whether it still fits.

Sleeves for this

Sleeve Kings Card Sleeves 63.5x88mm Standard Size, 60 Micron, 4-Pack, 440ct
Premium Clear Card Sleeves (standard size)
Archival, no-haze sleeves sized to standard board game cards (63.5×88mm) for mixed collections.
View on Amazon →
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Ultra Pro Penny Sleeves for Trading Cards, 3 Pack of 500 (1500)
Penny Sleeves (bulk, acid-free)
Bulk soft sleeves for protecting board game cards that get shuffled every session.
View on Amazon →
Affiliate link — as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

Sleeve thickness figures come from the manufacturers where they publish them, and from community measurement where they do not. Brands do change film without renaming a product, so if your pack states a micron figure, trust the pack.

Working out which sleeve size you need in the first place is the sleeve size finder, and how many packs to buy is the sleeve count calculator.