Paper Size
Paper Size
Paper size standards govern the size of sheets of paper used as writing paper, stationery,
cards, and for some printed documents.
The ISO 216 standard, which includes the commonly used A4 size, is the international
standard for paper size. It is used everywhere except in North America and parts of Latin
America, where North American paper sizes such as "Letter" and "Legal" are used.[1] The
international standard for envelopes is the C series of ISO 269.
The following international paper sizes are included in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS): A3,
A4, A5, B4, B5.[2] Map of the world showing adoption of
ISO A4 (blue) vs. US-Letter (red)
A series
The aspect ratio of A format is, let a be the long side and b be the short side:
In fact, the original definition of the ISO base size of paper "A0" is defined as having an
area of 1 m2 and a dimension ratio of 1 to √2, making the A0 paper size exactly m×
m.
Rounded to the nearest millimetre, A0 is the format 841 by 1,189 millimetres (33.1 in
× 46.8 in).
Successive paper sizes in the series A1, A2, A3, and so forth, are defined by halving the
preceding paper size across the larger dimension. This also effectively halves the area of
each sheet. The most frequently used paper size is A4 measuring 210 by 297 millimetres
(8.3 in × 11.7 in). A size chart illustrating the ISO A
series.
The significant advantage of this system is its scaling: if a sheet with an aspect ratio of √2
is divided into two equal halves parallel to its shortest sides, then the halves will again have
an aspect ratio of √2. Folded brochures of any size can be made by using sheets of the next larger size, e.g. A4 sheets are folded to
make A5 brochures. The system allows scaling without compromising the aspect ratio from one size to another—as provided by
office photocopiers, e.g. enlarging A4 to A3 or reducing A3 to A4. Similarly, two sheets of A4 can be scaled down and fit exactly
on one sheet without any cutoff or margins.
The behavior of the aspect ratio is easily proven: on a sheet of paper, let a be the long side and b be the short side:
Therefore, the aspect ratio is preserved for the new dimensions of the folded paper.
Weights are easy to calculate as well: a standard A4 sheet made from 80 g/m2 paper weighs 5 g (as it is 1⁄16 of an A0 page,
measuring 1 m2), allowing one to easily compute the weight—and associated postage rate—by counting the number of sheets used.
The advantages of basing a paper size upon an aspect ratio of √2 were first noted in 1786 by the German scientist and philosopher
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg.[3] The formats that became A2, A3, B3, B4 and B5 were developed in France on proposition of the
mathematician Lazare Carnot and published for judiciary purpose in 1798 during the French Revolution.[4] Early in the 20th
century, Dr Walter Porstmann turned Lichtenberg's idea into a proper system of different paper sizes. Porstmann's system was
introduced as a DIN standard (DIN 476) in Germany in 1922, replacing a vast variety of other paper formats. Even today, the paper
sizes are called "DIN A4" (IPA: [diːn.ʔaː.fiːɐ̯]) in everyday use in Germany and Austria.
The DIN 476 standard spread quickly to other countries. Before the outbreak of World War II, it had been adopted by the following
countries:
During World War II, the standard was adopted by Uruguay (1942), Argentina (1943) and Brazil (1943), and afterwards spread to
other countries:
B series
The B series paper sizes are less common than the A series. They have the same aspect ratio
of A series:
However, they have a different area. The area of B series sheets is in fact the geometric
mean of successive A series sheets. B1 is between A0 and A1 in size, with an area of
0.707 m2 (1⁄√2 m2). As a result, B0 is 1 metre wide, and other sizes of the series are a half, a
quarter or further fractions of a metre wide: in general, every B size has one of its sides
1⁄
power of two meters long. That side is the short side for B0, B2, B4, etc and the long side for
B1, B3, B5, etc.
While less common in office use, the B series is used for a variety of special applications.
C series
The C series is defined in ISO 269, which was withdrawn in 2009 without a replacement,
but is still specified in several national standards. It is primarily used for envelopes. The
area of C series sheets is the geometric mean of the areas of the A and B series sheets of the
same number; for instance, the area of a C4 sheet is the geometric mean of the areas of an
A4 sheet and a B4 sheet. This means that C4 is slightly larger than A4, and slightly smaller
than B4. The practical usage of this is that a letter written on A4 paper fits inside a C4
envelope, and both A4 and C4 paper fits inside a B4 envelope.
Some envelope formats with mixed sides from adjacent sizes (and thus an approximate
aspect ratio of 2:1) are also defined in national adaptations of the ISO standard, e.g. DIN
C6/C5 is 114 mm × 229 mm where the common side to C5 and C6 is 162 mm.
0 841 × 1,189 331⁄8 × 4619⁄24 1,000 × 1,414 393⁄8 × 552⁄3 917 × 1,297 361⁄12 × 511⁄12
1 594 × 841 233⁄8 × 331⁄8 707 × 1,000 275⁄6 × 393⁄8 648 × 917 251⁄2 × 361⁄12
2 420 × 594 1613⁄24 × 233⁄8 500 × 707 192⁄3 × 275⁄6 458 × 648 181⁄24 × 251⁄2
3 297 × 420 1117⁄24 × 1613⁄24 353 × 500 1311⁄12 × 192⁄3 324 × 458 123⁄4 × 181⁄24
4 210 × 297 81⁄4 × 1117⁄24 250 × 353 95⁄6 × 1311⁄12 229 × 324 9 × 123⁄4
5 148 × 210 55⁄6 × 81⁄4 176 × 250 611⁄12 × 95⁄6 162 × 229 63⁄8 × 9
6 105 × 148 41⁄8 × 55⁄6 125 × 176 411⁄12 × 611⁄12 114 × 162 41⁄2 × 63⁄8
The α variables are the distinct first terms in the three geometric progressions of the same common-ratio equal to the square root of
two. Each of the three geometric progressions (corresponding to the three series A, B, C) is formed by all possible paper
dimensions (length and width) of the series arranged in a decreasing order. This interesting arrangement of dimensions is also very
useful - not only it forms a geometric progression with easy to remember formulae, it also has that each consecutive pair of values
(like a sliding window of size 2) will automatically correspond to the dimensions of a standard paper format in the series.
The first and the second editions of DIN 476 from 1922 and 1925 also included a D series.
7 68 × 96 22⁄3 × 319⁄24
8 48 × 68 17⁄8 × 22⁄3
The smallest formats specified originally were A13 and B13, which were reduced to x10 in the 1930 edition, as well as C8 and D8;
C9 and C10 have been added in the 1976 revision for compatibility with photography sizes: C8 closely matches 6×9 photos, C9 and
C10 closely match 7×7 and 5×5 slides, respectively.
12 13 × 18 1⁄ × 17⁄24 15 × 22 7⁄ × 7⁄8
2 12
13 9 × 13 3⁄ × 1⁄2 11 × 15 5⁄ × 7⁄12
8 12
DIN 476 provides for formats larger than A0, denoted by a prefix factor. In particular, it lists the formats 2A0 and 4A0, which are
twice and four times the size of A0 respectively. However, ISO 216:2007 notes 2A0 and 4A0 in the table of Main series of trimmed
sizes (ISO A series) as well: "The rarely used sizes [2A0 and 4A0] which follow also belong to this series."
DIN 476 also used to specify slightly tighter tolerances than ISO 216:
Swedish extensions
The Swedish standard SIS 01 47 11[8] generalized the ISO system of A, B, and C formats by adding D, E, F, and G formats to it. Its
D format sits between a B format and the next larger A format (just like C sits between A and the next larger B). The remaining
formats fit in between all these formats, such that the sequence of formats A4, E4, C4, G4, B4, F4, D4, *H4, A3 is a geometric
16
progression, in which the dimensions grow by a factor √2 from one size to the next. However,
this SIS standard does not define any size between a D format and the next larger A format
(called *H in the previous example).
Of these additional formats, G5 (169 × 239 mm) and E5 (155 × 220 mm) are popular in
Sweden and the Netherlands for printing dissertations,[9] but the other formats have not turned
out to be particularly useful in practice. They have not been adopted internationally and the
Swedish standard has been withdrawn.
The Swedish and German D series basically contain the same sizes, but are offset by one, i.e.
DIN D4 equals SIS D5 and so on.
Cn r−2 × sn r+6 × sn
Gn r−1 × sn r+7 × sn
Bn r 0 × sn r+8 × sn
Fn r+1 × sn r+9 × sn
Dn r+2 × sn r+10 × sn
Japanese variation
The Japanese standard JIS P 0138 defines two main series of paper sizes. The JIS A-series is identical to the ISO A-series, but with
slightly different tolerances. The area of B-series paper is 1.5 times that of the corresponding A-paper (instead of the factor √2 =
1.414... for the ISO B-series), so the length ratio is approximately 1.22 times the length of the corresponding A-series paper. The
aspect ratio of the paper is the same as for A-series paper. Both A- and B-series paper is widely available in Japan, Taiwan and
China, and most photocopiers are loaded with at least A4 and either one of A3, B4 and B5 paper.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) only supports the most popular sizes, JIS-B4 and JIS-B5.[2]
JIS B series paper sizes (plus rounded
inch values)
Size mm × mm inch × inch
8 64 × 91 21⁄2 × 37⁄12
9 45 × 64 119⁄24 × 21⁄2
10 32 × 45 11⁄4 × 119⁄24
11 22 × 32 7⁄ × 11⁄4
8
12 16 × 22 5⁄ × 7⁄8
8
A popular size for books, dubbed AB, combines the shorter edges of A4 and B4. Another two with an aspect ratio approximating
16:9 are 20% narrower variants of A6 and B6, respectively, the latter resulting from cutting B1 into 4 × 10 sheets (thus "B40").
There are also a number of traditional paper sizes, which are now used mostly by printers. The most common of these old series are
the Shiroku-ban and the Kiku paper sizes.
Chinese extensions
The Chinese standard GB/T 148-1997,[11] which replaced GB 148-1989, documents the standard ISO series, A and B, but adds a
custom D series. This Chinese format originates from the Republic of China (1912–1949). The D series is not identical to the
Swedish D series. It does not strictly follow the same principles as ISO paper sizes: The aspect ratio is only very roughly √2. The
short side of a size is always 4 mm longer than the long side of the next smaller size. The long side of a size is always exactly – i.e.
without further rounding – twice as long as the short side of the next smaller size.
SAC paper sizes (with rounded inch values and raw sizes)
Format D series Untrimmed sizes
AR Alias
Size mm × mm inch × inch mm × mm inch × inch
4 188 × 260 75⁄12 × 101⁄4 1.3830 16K 195 × 270 72⁄3 × 105⁄8
5 130 × 184 51⁄8 × 71⁄4 1.4154 32K 135 × 195 51⁄3 × 72⁄3
Soviet variants
The first standard of paper size in the Soviet Union was OST 303 in 1926. Six years later, it was replaced by OST 5115 which
generally followed DIN 476 principles, but used Cyrillic lowercase letters instead of Latin uppercase, had the second row shifted so
that б0 (B0) roughly corresponded to B1 and, more importantly, had slightly different sizes:[12]
1 576 × 814 222⁄3 × 321⁄24 528 × 747 2019⁄24 × 295⁄12 628 × 888 2417⁄24 × 3423⁄24
2 407 × 576 161⁄24 × 222⁄3 373 × 528 142⁄3 × 2019⁄24 444 × 628 171⁄2 × 2417⁄24
3 288 × 407 111⁄3 × 161⁄24 264 × 373 103⁄8 × 142⁄3 314 × 444 123⁄8 × 171⁄2
4 203 × 288 8 × 111⁄3 186 × 264 71⁄3 × 103⁄8 222 × 314 83⁄4 × 123⁄8
5 144 × 203 52⁄3 × 8 132 × 186 55⁄24 × 71⁄3 157 × 222 61⁄6 × 83⁄4
6 101 × 144 323⁄24 × 52⁄3 93 × 132 32⁄3 × 55⁄24 111 × 157 43⁄8 × 61⁄6
10 25 × 36 1 × 15⁄12 23 × 33 11⁄
12 × 17⁄24
11 18 × 25 17⁄ ×1 16 × 23 5⁄ × 11⁄12
24 8
13 9 × 12 3⁄ × 11⁄24
8
The general adaptation of ISO 216 in the Soviet Union, which replaced OST 5115, was GOST 9327. In its 1960 version, it lists
formats down to A13, B12 and C8 and also specifies ½, ¼ and ⅛ prefixes for halving the shorter side (repeatedly) for stripe
formats, e.g. ½A4 = 105 mm × 297 mm.
A standard for technical drawings from 1960, GOST 3450,[13] introduces alternative numeric format designations to deal with very
high or very wide sheets. These 2-digit codes are based upon A4 = "11": The first digit is the factor the longer side (297 mm) is
multiplied by and the second digit is the one for the shorter side (210 mm), so "24" is 2×297 mm × 4×210 mm = 594 mm ×
840 mm.
Soviet formats with multiplied shorter side (mm×mm)
n (×1) ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6
A0 841×1189 1682×1189 2523×1189 3364×1189 4204×1189 5045×1189
A1 594×841 = A0 1784×841 2378×841 2973×841 3568×841
A2 420×594 = A1 1261×595 1682×595 2102×595 2523×595
A3 297×420 = A2 892×420 1189×420 1487×420 1784×420
A4 210×297 = A3 631×297 841×297 1051×297 1261×297
A1, A2, A3, A4 and non-ISO sizes as
A5 148×210 = A4 446×210 595×210 743×210 892×210
GOST 3450-60 formats
GOST 3450 from 1960 was replaced by ESKD GOST 2301 in 1968,[14] but the numeric
designations remained in popular use much longer. The new designations
were not purely numeric, but consisted of the ISO label followed by an 'x',
or possibly the multiplication sign '×', and the factor, e.g. DIN 2A0 =
GOST A0×2, but DIN 4A0 ≠ GOST A0×4, also listed are: A0×3, A1×3,
A1×4, A2×3–A2×5, A3×3–A3×7, A4×3–A4×9. The formats ...×1 and
...×2 usually would be aliases for existing formats.
Common folded or cut sizes of ISO paper: stripe formats and inserts
mm × inch ×
Name AR Notes
mm inch
1⁄ A4 311⁄12
3 99 × 210 2.121 common flyer or stripe size
× 81⁄4
DIN 5008 (previously DIN 676) prescribes, among many other things, two variants, A and
B, for the location of the address field on the first page of a business letter and how to fold
the A4 sheet accordingly, so the only part visible of the main content is the subject line.
Common envelopes for ISO paper, that are not simple C-series and B-series formats
mm
inch ×
Name × AR Content Notes
inch
mm
81 35⁄24 1⁄ A5
C7/C6 2∶1 3 common edge of C7 and C6 is 114 mm
× 162 × 63⁄8
square card
220 82⁄3 with edge of A4
Invite 1∶1
× 220 × 82⁄3 and A5, 210
mm
DIN 240 911⁄24 listed in DIN 476-2, but not part of a series
5∶3
E4 × 400 × 153⁄4 proper
International raw sizes
ISO 217 raw and ISO 5457 untrimmed sheet sizes
mm × inch × special mm × inch × mm × inch × mm × inch × mm × inch ×
raw untrimmed trimmed
mm inch raw mm inch mm inch mm inch mm inch
ISO 5457 specifies drawing paper sizes with a trimmed size equal to the A series sizes from A4 upward. The untrimmed sizes are 3
to 4 cm larger and rounded to the nearest centimeter. A0 through A3 are used in landscape orientation, while A4 is used in portrait
orientation. Designations for preprinted drawing paper include the base sizes and a suffix, either T for trimmed or U for untrimmed
sheets.
The withdrawn standard ISO 2784 did specify sizes of continuous, fan-fold forms based upon whole inches as was common for
paper in continuous lengths in automatic data processing (ADP) equipment. Specifically, 12 inches (304.8 mm) were considered an
untrimmed variant of the A4 height of 297 mm.
A4 8 × 12 203.2 × 304.8 3∶2 81⁄3 × 112⁄3 211.7 × 296.3 7∶5 210 × 297 250 × 340 94⁄5 × 132⁄5
A5 6×8 152.4 × 203.2 4∶3 55⁄6 × 81⁄3 148.2 × 211.7 10∶7 148 × 210 180 × 250 71⁄10 × 94⁄5
A6 4×6 101.6 × 152.4 3∶2 41⁄6 × 55⁄6 105.8 × 148.2 7∶5 105 × 148 N/A N/A
A7 3×4 76.20 × 101.6 4∶3 N/A N/A N/A 74 × 105 N/A N/A
PA4 or L4
A transitional size called PA4 (210 mm × 280 mm or 8.27 in × 11.02 in), sometimes Hypothetic PA4-based series
dubbed L4, was proposed for inclusion into the ISO 216 standard in 1975. It has the Name mm × mm inch × inch AR
height of Canadian P4 paper (215 mm × 280 mm, about 81⁄2 in × 11 in) and the width PA0 840 × 1,120 331⁄8 × 441⁄8 4∶3
of international A4 paper (210 mm × 297 mm or 8.27 in × 11.69 in), i.e. it uses the
smaller value among the two for each side. The table below, shows how this format PA1 560 × 840 22 × 331⁄8 3∶2
can be generalized into an entire format series. PA2 420 × 560 161⁄2 × 22 4∶3
The PA formats did not end up in ISO 216, because the committee decided that the set PA3 280 × 420 11 × 161⁄2 3∶2
of standardized paper formats should be kept to the minimum necessary. However, PA4 210 × 280 81⁄4 × 11 4∶3
PA4 remains of practical use today. In landscape orientation, it has the same 4:3 aspect
PA5 140 × 210 51⁄2 × 81⁄4 3∶2
ratio as the displays of traditional TV sets, some computer displays (e.g. iPad) and data
projectors. PA4, with appropriate margins, is therefore a good choice as the format of PA6 105 × 140 41⁄8 × 51⁄2 4∶3
presentation slides. PA7 70 × 105 23⁄4 × 41⁄8 3∶2
As a compromise between the two most popular paper sizes globally, PA4 is used PA8 52 × 70 2 × 23⁄4 1.346
today by many international magazines, because it can be printed easily on equipment PA9 35 × 52 13⁄8 × 2 1.486
designed for either A4 or US Letter. That means it is not as much a paper size than a
PA10 26 × 35 1× 13⁄8 1.346
page format.
The size 210 mm × 280 mm was documented in the Canadian standard CAN2-200.2-M79 "Common Image Area for Paper Sizes
P4 and A4".[15]
F4
A non-standard F4 paper size is common in Southeast Asia. It is a transitional size with Hypothetic F4-based series
the shorter side from ISO A4 (210 mm, 81⁄4 inch) and the longer side from British Name mm × mm inch × inch AR
Foolscap (13 inch, 330 mm) and is sometimes known as (metric) foolscap or folio as F0 841 × 1,321 331⁄8 × 52 1.571
well. It is exactly 1⁄9, i.e. 33 mm, longer than A4 or, conversely, A4 is exactly 90% the
F1 660 × 841 26 × 331⁄8 1.274
height of F4.
F2 420 × 660 161⁄2 × 26 1.571
In Indonesia and the Philippines, "F4" paper is slightly broader: 215 × 330 mm, i.e.
F3 330 × 420 13 × 161⁄2 1.273
basically Foolscap 8.5 × 13 in. In Indonesia it is sometimes called folio, while in
Philippines it is sometimes also called long bond. F4 210 × 330 81⁄4 × 13 1.571
British architects and industrial designers once used a size called "Antiquarian", 31 in × 53 in (787 mm × 1,346 mm), as listed
above, but given in the New Metric Handbook (Tutt & Adler 1981) as 813 mm × 1,372 mm (32 in × 54 in) for board size. This is a
little larger than ISO A0, 841 mm × 1189 mm. So for a short time, a size called A0a of 1,000 mm × 1,370 mm (39.4 in × 53.9 in)
was used in Britain, which is actually just a slightly shorter version of ISO B0 at 1414 mm.
Pliego
The most common paper sizes used for commercial and industrial printing in Colombian metric paper sizes
Colombia are based upon a size referred to as pliego that is ISO B1 (707 mm × Size mm × mm inch × inch AR
1000 mm) cut to full decimetres. Smaller sizes are derived by halving as usual and Pliego 700 × 1,000 271⁄2 × 391⁄4 10∶7
just get a vulgar fraction prefix: 1⁄2 pliego and 1⁄4 pliego.
1⁄ pliego 500 × 700 193⁄4 × 271⁄2 7∶5
2
The origins of the exact dimensions of Letter size paper are lost in tradition and not well documented. The American Forest and
Paper Association argues that the dimension originates from the days of manual paper making, and that the 11-inch length of the
page is about a quarter of "the average maximum stretch of an experienced vatman's arms."[18] However, this does not explain the
width or aspect ratio.
Outside of North America, Letter size may also be known as "American Quarto".[19] If one accepts some trimming, the size is
indeed one quarter of the old Imperial paper size known as Demy, 171⁄2 in × 221⁄2 in (444 mm × 572 mm).[20] Printer
manufacturers, however, recognize inch-based Quarto as 10.83 in (275 mm) long.[16]
Usage and adoption American loose paper sizes[16]
US paper sizes are currently standard in the United States and are the Size inch × inch mm × mm AR
most commonly used formats at least in the Philippines, most of
Ledger[17] 17 × 11 432 × 279 0.647
Mesoamerica[21] and Chile. The latter use US Letter, but their Legal
size is one inch shorter than its US equivalent.[22] Tabloid Extra,
12 × 18 305 × 457 3∶2
Extra Tabloide
Mexico and Colombia, for instance, have adopted the ISO standard, European EDP 12 × 14 305 × 356 7∶6
but US Letter format is still the system in use throughout the country. Tabloid, Doble Carta 11 × 17 279 × 432 1.545
It is virtually impossible to encounter ISO standard papers in day-to-
11 × 15 11 × 15 279 × 381 15∶11
day uses, with Carta (Letter), Oficio (Government-Legal) and Doble
carta (Ledger/Tabloid) being nearly universal. Printer manufacturers, Fanfold 11 × 147⁄8 279 × 378 1.352
however, recognize Oficio as 13.4 in (340 mm) long. [16] EDP 11 × 14 279 × 356 1.273
11 × 12 11 × 12 279 × 305 12∶11
In Canada, US paper sizes are a de facto standard. The government,
however, also uses ISO paper sizes. 10 × 14 10 × 14 254 × 356 7∶5
10 × 13 10 × 13 254 × 330 1.3
There is an additional paper size, 8 in × 101⁄2 in (200 mm × 270 mm), Legal Extra 91⁄2 × 15 241 × 381 1.579
to which the name Government-Letter was given by the IEEE Printer Letter Extra 91⁄2 × 12 241 × 305 1.263
Working Group (PWG).[16] It was prescribed by Herbert Hoover
Letter Tab, 9 × 11 9 × 11 229 × 279 11∶9
when he was Secretary of Commerce to be used for US government
forms, apparently to enable discounts from the purchase of paper for Legal 81⁄2 × 14 216 × 356 1.647
schools, but more likely due to the standard use of trimming books Oficio 81⁄2 × 132⁄5 216 × 340 1.576
(after binding) and paper from the standard letter size paper to
Foolscap Folio 81⁄2 × 13 216 × 330 1.529
produce consistency and allow "bleed" printing. In later years, as
photocopy machines proliferated, citizens wanted to make Letter Plus 81⁄2 × 122⁄3 216 × 322 1.49
photocopies of the forms, but the machines did not generally have European Fanfold 81⁄2 × 12 216 × 305 1.412
this size paper in their bins. Ronald Reagan therefore had the US
government switch to regular Letter size, which is both half an inch Letter, Carta 81⁄2 × 11 216 × 279 1.294
longer and wider.[18] The former government size is still commonly Quarto 81⁄2 × 105⁄6 216 × 275 1.275
used in spiral-bound notebooks, for children's writing and the like, a
Government Legal 8 × 13 203 × 330 ϕ∶1
result of trimming from the current Letter dimensions.
Demitab 8× 101⁄2 203 × 267 1.313
By extension of the American standards, the halved Letter size, Government Letter, 8 × 10 8 × 10 203 × 254 5∶4
51⁄2 in × 81⁄2 in (140 mm × 220 mm), meets the needs of many
Executive 71⁄4 × 101⁄2 184 × 267 1.448
applications. It is variably known as Statement, Stationery, Memo,
Half Letter, Half A (from ANSI sizes) or simply Half Size. Like the 7×9 7×9 178 × 229 1.286
similar-sized ISO A5, it is used for everything from personal letter Memo, Statement,
writing to official aeronautical maps. Organizers, notepads, and Mini, Invoice, 51⁄2 × 81⁄2 140 × 216 1.545
Stationary, Half Letter
diaries also often use this size of paper; thus 3-ring binders are also
available in this size. Booklets of this size are created using word Junior Legal 5×8 127 × 203 8∶5
processing tools with landscape printing in two columns on letter 5×7 5×7 127 × 178 7∶5
paper which are then cut or folded into the final size.
Curiously, a foot-long sheet with the common width of Letter and (Government) Legal, i.e. 81⁄2 in × 12 in (220 mm × 300 mm),
would have an aspect ratio very close to the square root of two as used by international paper sizes and would actually almost
exactly match ISO RA4 (215 mm × 305 mm). This size is sometimes known as European Fanfold.[16]
With care, documents can be prepared so that the text and images fit on either ANSI or their
equivalent ISO sheets at 1:1 reproduction scale.
Other, informal, larger sizes continuing the alphabetic series illustrated above exist, but they are not part of the series per se,
because they do not exhibit the same aspect ratios. For example, Engineering F size is 28 in × 40 in or 711 mm × 1,016 mm with
ca. 1.4286:1; it is commonly required for NAVFAC drawings, but is generally less commonly used. Engineering G size is 221⁄2 in
(572 mm) high, but it is a roll format with a variable width up to 90 in (2.3 m) in increments of 81⁄2 in (216 mm). Engineering H
through N sizes are also roll formats.
Such huge sheets were at one time used for full-scale layouts of aircraft parts, automotive parts, wiring harnesses and the like, but
are slowly being phased out, due to widespread use of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM).
Some visual arts fields also continue to use these paper formats for large-scale printouts, such as for displaying digitally painted
character renderings at life-size as references for makeup artists and costume designers, or to provide an immersive landscape
reference.
Architectural sizes
In addition to the system as listed above, there is a corresponding series of paper sizes used
for architectural purposes defined in the same standard, ANSI/ASME Y14.1, which is
usually abbreviated "Arch". This series also shares the property that bisecting each size
produces two of the size below, with alternating aspect ratios. It may be preferred by North
American architects because the aspect ratios (4:3 and 3:2) are ratios of small integers,
unlike their ANSI (or ISO) counterparts. Furthermore, the aspect ratio 4:3 matches the
traditional aspect ratio for computer displays.
The size Arch E1 has a different aspect ratio because it derives from adding 6 inches to each
side of Arch D or subtracting the same amount from Arch E. Printer manufacturer recognize
it as wide format.[16] An intermediate size between Arch C and D with a long side of 30
inches (760 mm) does not exist.
Notebook sizes
The sizes listed above are for paper sold loose in reams. There are many sizes of tablets of paper, that is, sheets of paper bound at
one edge, usually by a strip of plastic or hardened PVA adhesive. Often there is a pad of cardboard (also known as paperboard or
greyboard) at the bottom of the stack. Such a tablet serves as a portable writing surface, and the sheets often have lines printed on
them, usually in non-repro blue, to make writing in a line easier. An older means of binding is to have the sheets stapled to the
cardboard along the top of the tablet; there is a line of perforated holes across every page just below the top edge from which any
page may be torn off. Lastly, a pad of sheets each weakly stuck with adhesive to the sheet below, trademarked as "Post-It" or
"Stick-Em" and available in various sizes, serve as a sort of tablet.
"Letter pads" are 81⁄2 in × 11 in (220 mm × 280 mm), while the term "legal pad" is often used by laymen to refer to pads of various
sizes including those of 81⁄2 in × 14 in (220 mm × 360 mm). Stenographers use "steno pads" of 6 in × 9 in (150 mm × 230 mm).
Envelope sizes
US envelopes[16]
Name inch × inch mm × mm AR
This implies that all postcards have an aspect ratio in the range from 20∶17 = 1.18 to 12∶7 = 1.71, but the machinable aspect ratio is
further restricted to a minimum of 1.30. The only ISO 216 size in the US post card range is A6. The theoretical maximum aspect
ratio for enveloped letters is 23∶7 = 3.29, but is explicitly limited to 2.50.
Jeppesen Aeronautical Chart (½-Letter) 51⁄2 × 81⁄2 140 × 216 7 holes; FAA: 3 holes at top
Photography sizes
Grain
Most industry standards express the direction of the grain last when giving dimensions (that is, 17 × 11 inches is short grain paper
and 11 × 17 inches is long grain paper), although alternatively the grain alignment can be explicitly indicated with an underline
(11 × 17 is short grain) or the letter "M" for "machine" (11M × 17 is short grain). Grain is important because paper will crack if
folded across the grain: for example, if a sheet 17 × 11 inches is to be folded to divide the sheet into two 8.5 × 11 halves, then the
grain will be along the 11-inch side.[29] Paper intended to be fed into a machine that will bend the paper around rollers, such as a
printing press, photocopier or typewriter, should be fed grain edge first so that the axis of the rollers is along the grain.
Demitab
The demitab or demi-tab (from the French "demi" for half tabloid) is either 51⁄2 in × 81⁄2 in (140 mm × 216 mm) or 8 in × 101⁄2 in
(203 mm × 267 mm), i.e. either one quarter or one half of a sheet of 11 in × 17 in (279 mm × 432 mm) tabloid-size paper.[30]
Neither demitab, broadsheet nor tabloid newspapers are necessarily printed on paper measuring exactly its nominal size.
Imperial sizes were used in the United Kingdom and its territories and some survived in US book printing.
Imperial paper sizes
Name Variant inch × inch mm × mm AR
Emperor UK 48 × 72 1,220 × 1,830 1.5
Quad Royal US 40 × 50 1,020 × 1,270 1.25
Quad Demy US 35 × 40 889 × 1,020 1.2857
Antiquarian UK 31 × 53 787 × 1,350 1.7097
Foolscap folio is often referred to simply as "folio" or "foolscap". Similarly, "quarto" is more correctly "copy draught quarto" and
"Kings" is an alias for "Foolscap quarto".
A8 74 × 52 215⁄16 × 21⁄16 √2
B8 88 × 62 34⁄9 × 24⁄9 √2
The international business card has the size of the smallest rectangle containing a credit card rounded to full millimeters, but in
Western Europe it is rounded to half centimeters (rounded up in Northern Europe), in Eastern Europe to full centimeters, in North
America to half inches. However, credit card size, as defined in ISO/IEC 7810, also specifies rounded corners and thickness.
Newspaper sizes
Newspapers have a separate set of sizes.
Compact: AR 1.54
Berliner: aspect ratio is 1.5
Rhenish: AR 1.4-1.5
Tabloid 1.34
Broadsheet: aspect ratio 1.25
In a recent trend[36] many newspapers have been undergoing what is known as
"web cut down", in which the publication is redesigned to print using a
narrower (and less expensive) roll of paper. In extreme examples, some
broadsheet papers are nearly as narrow as traditional tabloids.
References
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24.
Canadian custom paper size standards
Further reading
International standard ISO 216, Writing paper and certain classes of printed matter—Trimmed sizes—A and B
series. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, 1975.
International standard ISO 217: Paper—Untrimmed sizes—Designation and tolerances for primary and
supplementary ranges, and indication of machine direction. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva,
1995.
Helbig, Max; Hennig, Winfried (1998). DIN-Format A4—Ein Erfolgssystem in Gefahr. Beuth-Kommentare (in
German). Berlin: Beuth Verlag. ISBN 3-410-11878-0.
Dunn, Arthur D. (1972). Notes on the standardization of paper sizes (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/volatile/dunn-
papersizes.pdf) (PDF). Ottawa, Canada. (54 pages)
External links
Palme, Jacob (May 1998). Making Postscript and PDF International (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2346). IETF.
doi:10.17487/RFC2346 (https://doi.org/10.17487%2FRFC2346). RFC 2346. Retrieved 2012-06-22. — Notably:
About margin settings for using just the space common to both A4 and US Letter.
"IEEE-ISTO PWG 5101.1-2013 "PWG Media Standardized Names 2.0" " (http://ftp.pwg.org/pub/pwg/candidates/cs-
pwgmsn20-20130328-5101.1.pdf) (PDF).
Parker, Matt. "Paper Sizes Explained" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHeo62B0d0E). BBC Number Hub
(YouTube video).
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