Paper size

Paper size standards govern the size of sheets of paper used as writing paper, stationery, cards, and for some printed documents.

For sizing as the ingredient used in papermaking, see Sizing § Papermaking.

Paper sizes A0 to A8, life-size installation "The invasion of the square root" at the CosmoCaixa Barcelona science museum
A size chart illustrating the ISO A series and a comparison with American letter and legal formats.
Comparison of some paper and photographic paper sizes close to the A4 size.

The ISO 216 standard, which includes the commonly used A4 size, is the international standard for paper size. It is used across the world except in North America and parts of Central and South 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.

International paper sizes
Map of the world showing adoption of ISO A4 (blue) vs. US-Letter (red)
Main article: ISO 216
See Switching costs, Network effects and Standardization for possible reasons for differing regional adoption rates of the ISO standard sizes.

The international paper size standard is ISO 216. It is based on the German DIN 476 standard for paper sizes. ISO paper sizes are all based on a single aspect ratio of the square root of 2, or approximately 1:1.41421. There are different series, as well as several extensions.

The following international paper sizes are included in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS): A3, A4, A5, B4, B5.[2]

A series
A size chart illustrating the ISO A series.

The aspect ratio of A format is, letting 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 .

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).

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. Since

the aspect ratio for the new dimensions of the folded paper is

Thus folding the paper preserves the aspect ratio.

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:

By 1975, so many countries were using the German system that it was established as an ISO standard, as well as the official United Nations document format. By 1977, A4 was the standard letter format in 88 of 148 countries. Today the standard has been adopted by all countries in the world except the United States and Canada. In Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, and the Philippines, the US letter format is still in common use, despite their official adoption of the ISO standard.

B series
A size chart illustrating the ISO 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.

  • Many posters use B-series paper or a close approximation, such as 50 cm × 70 cm ~ B2.
  • B5 is a relatively common choice for books.
  • B7 is equal to the passport size ID-3 from ISO/IEC 7810.
  • B4, B5 and B6 are used for envelopes that fit C-series envelopes.

The B-series is widely used in the printing industry to describe both paper sizes and printing press sizes, including digital presses. B3 paper is used to print two US letter or A4 pages side by side using imposition; four pages would be printed on B2, eight on B1, etc.

C series
A size chart illustrating the ISO 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.

Overview of ISO paper sizes
ISO paper sizes in portrait view (with rounded inch values)
Format A series[5] B series[6] C series[7]
Size mm × mminch × inch mm × mminch × inch mm × mminch × inch
0 841 × 1,189 33 1⁄8 × 46 19⁄24 1,000 × 1,414 39 3⁄8 × 55 2⁄3 917 × 1,297 36 1⁄12 × 51 1⁄12
1 594 × 841 23 3⁄8 × 33 1⁄8 707 × 1,000 27 5⁄6 × 39 3⁄8 648 × 917 25 1⁄2 × 36 1⁄12
2 420 × 594 16 13⁄24 × 23 3⁄8 500 × 707 19 2⁄3 × 27 5⁄6 458 × 648 18 1⁄24 × 25 1⁄2
3 297 × 420 11 17⁄24 × 16 13⁄24 353 × 500 13 11⁄12 × 19 2⁄3 324 × 458 12 3⁄4 × 18 1⁄24
4 210 × 297 8 1⁄4 × 11 17⁄24 250 × 353 9 5⁄6 × 13 11⁄12 229 × 324 9 × 12 3⁄4
5 148 × 210 5 5⁄6 × 8 1⁄4 176 × 250 6 11⁄12 × 9 5⁄6 162 × 229 6 3⁄8 × 9
6 105 × 148 4 1⁄8 × 5 5⁄6 125 × 176 4 11⁄12 × 6 11⁄12 114 × 162 4 1⁄2 × 6 3⁄8
7 74 × 105 2 11⁄12 × 4 1⁄8 88 × 125 3 11⁄24 × 4 11⁄12 81 × 114 3 5⁄24 × 4 1⁄2
8 52 × 74 2 1⁄24 × 2 11⁄12 62 × 88 2 11⁄24 × 3 11⁄24 57 × 81 2 1⁄4 × 3 5⁄24
9 37 × 52 1 11⁄24 × 2 1⁄24 44 × 62 1 3⁄4 × 2 11⁄24 40 × 57 1 7⁄12 × 2 1⁄4
10 26 × 37 1 1⁄24 × 1 11⁄24 31 × 44 1 5⁄24 × 1 3⁄4 28 × 40 1 1⁄12 × 1 7⁄12
i

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 tolerances specified in the standard are

  • ±1.5 mm (0.06 in) for dimensions up to 150 mm (5.9 in),
  • ±2 mm (0.08 in) for lengths in the range 150 to 600 mm (5.9 to 23.6 in) and
  • ±3 mm (0.12 in) for any dimension above 600 mm (23.6 in).

German original

The German standard DIN 476 was published on 18 August 1922 and is the original specification of the A, B and C sizes. In 1991, it was split into DIN 476-1 for the A and B formats and 476-2 for the C series. The former has been withdrawn in 2002 in favor of adopting the international standard as DIN EN ISO 216, but part 2 has been retained and was last updated in 2008.

The first and the second editions of DIN 476 from 1922 and 1925 also included a D series.

DIN D series paper sizes in portrait view (with rounded inch values)
Format D series
Size mm × mminch × inch
0 771 × 1,090 30 3⁄8 × 42 11⁄12
1 545 × 771 21 11⁄24 × 30 3⁄8
2 385 × 545 15 1⁄6 × 21 11⁄24
3 272 × 385 10 17⁄24 × 15 1⁄6
4 192 × 272 7 13⁄24 × 10 17⁄24
5 136 × 192 5 3⁄8 × 7 13⁄24
6 96 × 136 3 19⁄24 × 5 3⁄8
7 68 × 96 2 2⁄3 × 3 19⁄24
8 48 × 68 1 7⁄8 × 2 2⁄3

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.

DIN 476:1922 tiny formats (with rounded inch values)
FormatAB
Sizemm × mminch × inchmm × mminch × inch
11 18 × 26 17⁄24 × 1 1⁄24 22 × 31 7⁄8 × 1 5⁄24
12 13 × 18 1⁄2 × 17⁄24 15 × 22 7⁄12 × 7⁄8
13 9 × 13 3⁄8 × 1⁄2 11 × 15 5⁄12 × 7⁄12

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 overformats (with rounded inch values)
Namemm × mminch × inch
4A0 1,682 × 2,378 66 5⁄24 × 93 5⁄8
2A0 1,189 × 1,682 46 19⁄24 × 66 5⁄24

DIN 476 also used to specify slightly tighter tolerances than ISO 216:

  • ±1 mm (0.04 in) for dimensions up to 150 mm (5.9 in),
  • ±1.5 mm (0.06 in) for lengths in the range 150 mm to 600 mm (5.9 to 23.6 in) and
  • ±2 mm (0.08 in) for any dimension above 600 mm (23.6 in).

Swedish extensions
Comparison of ISO 216 and Swedish standard SIS 014711 paper sizes between A4 and A3 sizes.

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 progression, in which the dimensions grow by a factor 16√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.

SIS 014711 formulas,[10] including the missing step, series *H, between D and A,
n = 0‥10, r = 16√2, s = √½
Designation Shorter edge Longer edge
An r−4 × sn r+4 × sn
En r−3 × sn r+5 × sn
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
*Hn r+3 × sn r+11 × sn
A(n+1) r+4 × sn r+12 × sn
Swedish D through G series
nAECGBFD*H
0 841 × 1189878 × 1242917 × 1297958 × 13541000 × 14141044 × 14771091 × 15421139 × 1610
1 595 × 841621 × 878648 × 917677 × 958707 × 1000738 × 1044771 × 1091805 × 1139
2 420 × 595439 × 621459 × 648479 × 677500 × 707522 × 738545 × 771569 × 805
3 297 × 420310 × 439324 × 459339 × 479354 × 500369 × 522386 × 545403 × 569
4 210 × 297220 × 310229 × 324239 × 339250 × 354261 × 369273 × 386285 × 403
5 149 × 210155 × 220162 × 229169 × 239177 × 250185 × 261193 × 273201 × 285
6 105 × 149110 × 155115 × 162120 × 169125 × 177131 × 185136 × 193142 × 201
7 74 × 10578 × 11081 × 11585 × 12088 × 12592 × 13196 × 136101 × 142
8 53 × 7455 × 7857 × 8160 × 8563 × 8865 × 9268 × 9671 × 101
9 37 × 5339 × 5541 × 5742 × 6044 × 6346 × 6548 × 6850 × 71
10 26 × 3727 × 3929 × 4130 × 4231 × 4433 × 4634 × 4836 × 50

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)
Sizemm × mminch × inch
0 1,030 × 1,456 40 13⁄24 × 57 1⁄3
1 728 × 1,030 28 2⁄3 × 40 13⁄24
2 515 × 728 20 7⁄24 × 28 2⁄3
3 364 × 515 14 1⁄3 × 20 7⁄24
4 257 × 364 10 1⁄8 × 14 1⁄3
5 182 × 257 7 1⁄6 × 10 1⁄8
6 128 × 182 5 1⁄24 × 7 1⁄6
7 91 × 128 3 7⁄12 × 5 1⁄24
8 64 × 91 2 1⁄2 × 3 7⁄12
9 45 × 64 1 19⁄24 × 2 1⁄2
10 32 × 45 1 1⁄4 × 1 19⁄24
11 22 × 32 7⁄8 × 1 1⁄4
12 16 × 22 5⁄8 × 7⁄8
JIS P 0202 raw sizes (plus rounded inch values)
Sizemm × mminch × inchAR
A 625 × 880 24 5⁄8 × 34 5⁄81.408
B 765 × 1,085 30 1⁄8 × 42 17⁄241.418
Shiroku-ban (4-6) 788 × 1,091 31 1⁄24 × 42 23⁄241.385
Kiku-ban (Chrysanthenum) 636 × 939 25 1⁄24 × 36 23⁄241.476
900 × 1,200 35 5⁄12 × 47 1⁄44∶3

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.

Other Japanese paper sizes (plus rounded inch values)
Size mm × mminch × inchAR
AB 210 × 257 8 1⁄4 × 10 1⁄81.224
B40 103 × 182 4 1⁄24 × 7 1⁄61.767
35 84 × 148 3 7⁄24 × 5 5⁄61.762
Shiroku-ban 264 × 379 10 3⁄8 × 14 11⁄121.436
189 × 262 7 11⁄24 × 10 1⁄31.386
127 × 188 5 × 7 5⁄121.48
Kiku-ban 227 × 304 8 11⁄12 × 11 23⁄241.339
218 × 304 8 7⁄12 × 11 23⁄241.394
152 × 227 6 × 8 11⁄121.493
152 × 218 6 × 8 7⁄121.434

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 AR Alias Untrimmed sizes
Size mm × mminch × inch mm × mminch × inch
0 764 × 1,064 30 1⁄12 × 41 7⁄8 1.3927 1K 780 × 1,080 30 17⁄24 × 42 1⁄2
1 532 × 760 20 23⁄24 × 29 11⁄12 1.4286 2K 540 × 780 21 1⁄4 × 30 17⁄24
2 380 × 528 14 23⁄24 × 20 19⁄24 1.3895 4K 390 × 540 15 3⁄8 × 21 1⁄4
3 264 × 376 10 3⁄8 × 14 19⁄24 1.4242 8K 270 × 390 10 5⁄8 × 15 3⁄8
4 188 × 260 7 5⁄12 × 10 1⁄4 1.3830 16K 195 × 270 7 2⁄3 × 10 5⁄8
5 130 × 184 5 1⁄8 × 7 1⁄4 1.4154 32K 135 × 195 5 1⁄3 × 7 2⁄3
6 92 × 126 3 5⁄8 × 4 23⁄24 1.3696 64K 97 × 135 3 5⁄6 × 5 1⁄3

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]

OST 5115 formats (1932)
Formatа (A)б (B)в (V, C)
Size mm × mminch × inch mm × mminch × inch mm × mminch × inch
0 814 × 1,152 32 1⁄24 × 45 3⁄8747 × 1,056 29 5⁄12 × 41 7⁄12
1 576 × 814 22 2⁄3 × 32 1⁄24528 × 747 20 19⁄24 × 29 5⁄12628 × 888 24 17⁄24 × 34 23⁄24
2 407 × 576 16 1⁄24 × 22 2⁄3373 × 528 14 2⁄3 × 20 19⁄24444 × 628 17 1⁄2 × 24 17⁄24
3 288 × 407 11 1⁄3 × 16 1⁄24264 × 373 10 3⁄8 × 14 2⁄3314 × 444 12 3⁄8 × 17 1⁄2
4 203 × 288 8 × 11 1⁄3186 × 264 7 1⁄3 × 10 3⁄8222 × 314 8 3⁄4 × 12 3⁄8
5 144 × 203 5 2⁄3 × 8132 × 186 5 5⁄24 × 7 1⁄3157 × 222 6 1⁄6 × 8 3⁄4
6 101 × 144 3 23⁄24 × 5 2⁄393 × 132 3 2⁄3 × 5 5⁄24111 × 157 4 3⁄8 × 6 1⁄6
7 72 × 101 2 5⁄6 × 3 23⁄2466 × 93 2 7⁄12 × 3 2⁄378 × 111 3 1⁄12 × 4 3⁄8
8 50 × 72 1 23⁄24 × 2 5⁄646 × 66 1 19⁄24 × 2 7⁄1255 × 78 2 1⁄6 × 3 1⁄12
9 36 × 50 1 5⁄12 × 1 23⁄2433 × 46 1 7⁄24 × 1 19⁄2439 × 55 1 13⁄24 × 2 1⁄6
10 25 × 36 1 × 1 5⁄1223 × 33 11⁄12 × 1 7⁄24
11 18 × 25 17⁄24 × 116 × 23 5⁄8 × 11⁄12
12 12 × 18 11⁄24 × 17⁄2411 × 16 5⁄12 × 5⁄8
13 9 × 12 3⁄8 × 11⁄24

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.

A1, A2, A3, A4 and non-ISO sizes as GOST 3450-60 formats

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 841×11891682×11892523×11893364×11894204×11895045×1189
A1 594×841= A01784×8412378×8412973×8413568×841
A2 420×594= A11261×5951682×5952102×5952523×595
A3 297×420= A2892×4201189×4201487×4201784×420
A4 210×297= A3631×297841×2971051×2971261×297
A5 148×210= A4446×210595×210743×210892×210
A2, A3, A4 and some of their derived non-ISO sizes as GOST 2301-68 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.

International envelope and insert sizes
Main article: Envelope § Sizes
Common folded or cut sizes of ISO paper: stripe formats and inserts
Name mm × mminch × inchAR Notes
​1⁄3A4 99 × 210 3 11⁄12 × 8 1⁄42.121 common flyer or stripe size
unnamed 105 × 210 4 1⁄8 × 8 1⁄42∶1 standard folded size of German letters
DIN 5008 Form A

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
Name mm × mminch × inchAR Content Notes
DL 110 × 220 4 1⁄3 × 8 2⁄32∶1 ​1⁄3A4, DIN 5008 A and B designated long, "DIN lang" (DIN long); sometimes erroneously called "DLE", apparently for envelope, instead
C6/C5 114 × 229 4 1⁄2 × 92∶1 common edge of C6 and C5 is 161 mm;

sometimes called "Postfix", "DL+" or "DL Max", but those terms are not standardized

Italian 110 × 230 4 1⁄3 × 9 1⁄242.10∶1
C7/C6 81 × 162 3 5⁄24 × 6 3⁄82∶1 ​1⁄3A5 common edge of C7 and C6 is 114 mm
B6/C4 125 × 324 4 11⁄12 × 12 3⁄42.6 B6 is 125 mm × 176 mm, C4 is 229 mm × 324 mm
Invite 220 × 220 8 2⁄3 × 8 2⁄31∶1 square card with edge of A4 and A5, 210 mm
DIN E4 240 × 400 9 11⁄24 × 15 3⁄45∶3 listed in DIN 476–2, but not part of a series proper

International raw sizes
ISO 217 raw and ISO 5457 untrimmed sheet sizes
raw mm × mminch × inch special raw mm × mminch × inch untrimmed mm × mminch × inch trimmed mm × mminch × inch mm × mminch × inch
RA0 860 × 1,220 33 3⁄4 × 48 SRA0 900 × 1,280 35 1⁄2 × 50 1⁄2 A0U 880 × 1,230 34 3⁄4 × 48 1⁄2 A0T 841 × 1,189 33 × 46 3⁄4 821 × 1,159 32 1⁄4 × 45 3⁄4
RA1 610 × 860 24 × 33 3⁄4 SRA1 640 × 900 25 1⁄4 × 35 1⁄2 A1U 625 × 880 24 1⁄2 × 34 3⁄4 A1T 594 × 841 23 1⁄2 × 33 574 × 811 22 1⁄2 × 32
RA2 430 × 610 17 × 24 SRA2 450 × 640 17 3⁄4 × 25 1⁄4 A2U 450 × 625 17 3⁄4 × 24 1⁄2 A2T 420 × 594 16 1⁄2 × 23 1⁄2 400 × 564 15 3⁄4 × 22 1⁄4
RA3 305 × 430 12 × 17 SRA3 320 × 450 12 1⁄2 × 17 3⁄4 A3U 330 × 450 13 × 17 3⁄4 A3T 297 × 420 11 3⁄4 × 16 1⁄2 277 × 390 11 × 15 1⁄4
RA4 215 × 305 8 1⁄2 × 12 SRA4 225 × 320 8 3⁄4 × 12 1⁄2 A4U 240 × 330 9 1⁄2 × 13 A4T 210 × 297 8 1⁄4 × 11 3⁄4 180 × 277 7 × 11

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.

ISO 2784:1974 correspondence for continuous ADP paper
Size Acceptable equivalent Direct equivalent Exact size Gross size
inch × inchmm × mmAR inch × inchmm × mmAR mm × mm mm × mminch × inch
A4 8 × 12 203.2 × 304.83∶28 1⁄3 × 11 2⁄3 211.7 × 296.37∶5210 × 297250 × 340 9 4⁄5 × 13 2⁄5
A5 6 × 8 152.4 × 203.24∶35 5⁄6 × 8 1⁄3 148.2 × 211.710∶7148 × 210180 × 250 7 1⁄10 × 9 4⁄5
A6 4 × 6 101.6 × 152.43∶24 1⁄6 × 5 5⁄6 105.8 × 148.27∶5105 × 148N/AN/A
A7 3 × 4 76.20 × 101.64∶3N/AN/AN/A74 × 105N/AN/A

Transitional paper sizes

PA4 or L4
Hypothetic PA4-based series
Name mm × mminch × inchAR
PA0 840 × 1,120 33 1⁄8 × 44 1⁄84∶3
PA1 560 × 840 22 × 33 1⁄83∶2
PA2 420 × 560 16 1⁄2 × 224∶3
PA3 280 × 420 11 × 16 1⁄23∶2
PA4 210 × 280 8 1⁄4 × 114∶3
PA5 140 × 210 5 1⁄2 × 8 1⁄43∶2
PA6 105 × 140 4 1⁄8 × 5 1⁄24∶3
PA7 70 × 105 2 3⁄4 × 4 1⁄83∶2
PA8 52 × 70 2 × 2 3⁄41.346
PA9 35 × 52 1 3⁄8 × 21.486
PA10 26 × 35 1 × 1 3⁄81.346

A transitional size called PA4 (210 mm × 280 mm or 8.27 in × 11.02 in), sometimes dubbed L4, was proposed for inclusion into the ISO 216 standard in 1975. It has the height of Canadian P4 paper (215 mm × 280 mm, about ​8 1⁄2 in × 11 in) and the width 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 shows how this format can be generalized into an entire format series.

The PA formats did not end up in ISO 216, because the committee decided that the set of standardized paper formats should be kept to the minimum necessary. However, PA4 remains of practical use today. In landscape orientation, it has the same 4:3 aspect 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 presentation slides.

As a compromise between the two most popular paper sizes globally, PA4 is used today by many international magazines, because it can be printed easily on equipment designed for either A4 or US Letter. That means it is not as much a paper size than a page format. Apple, for instance, requires this format for digital music album booklets.[15]

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".[16]

F4
See also: Foolscap folio § F4
Hypothetic F4-based series
Name mm × mminch × inchAR
F0 841 × 1,321 33 1⁄8 × 521.571
F1 660 × 841 26 × 33 1⁄81.274
F2 420 × 660 16 1⁄2 × 261.571
F3 330 × 420 13 × 16 1⁄21.273
F4 210 × 330 8 1⁄4 × 131.571
F5 165 × 210 6 1⁄2 × 8 1⁄41.273
F6 105 × 165 4 1⁄8 × 6 1⁄21.571
F7 82 × 105 3 1⁄4 × 4 1⁄832∶25
F8 52 × 82 2 × 3 1⁄41.577
F9 41 × 52 1 5⁄8 × 21.268
F10 26 × 41 1 × 1 5⁄81.577

A non-standard F4 paper size is common in Southeast Asia. It is a transitional size with the shorter side from ISO A4 (210 mm, ​8 1⁄4 inch) and the longer side from British Foolscap (13 inch, 330 mm) and is sometimes known as (metric) foolscap or folio as well. It is exactly ​1⁄9, i.e. 33 mm, longer than A4 or, conversely, A4 is exactly 90% the height of F4.

In Indonesia and the Philippines, "F4" paper is slightly broader: 215 × 330 mm, i.e. basically Foolscap 8.5 × 13 in. In Indonesia it is sometimes called folio, while in Philippines it is sometimes also called long bond.

A sheet of F4 can be cut from a sheet of SRA4 with very little wastage. The size is also smaller than its Swedish equivalent SIS F4 at 239 mm × 338 mm.

A0a

Although the movement is towards the international standard metric paper sizes, on the way there from the traditional ones there has been at least one new size just a little larger than that used internationally.

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
Colombian metric paper sizes
Size mm × mminch × inchAR
Pliego 700 × 1,000 27 1⁄2 × 39 1⁄410∶7
​1⁄2 pliego 500 × 700 19 3⁄4 × 27 1⁄27∶5
​1⁄4 pliego 350 × 500 13 3⁄4 × 19 3⁄410∶7
​1⁄8 pliego 250 × 350 9 3⁄4 × 13 3⁄47∶5

The most common paper sizes used for commercial and industrial printing in Colombia are based upon a size referred to as pliego that is ISO B1 (707 mm × 1000 mm) cut to full decimetres. Smaller sizes are derived by halving as usual and just get a vulgar fraction prefix: ​1⁄2 pliego and ​1⁄4 pliego.

North American paper sizes

Inch-based loose sizes
American loose paper sizes[17]
Size inch × inchmm × mmAR
Ledger[18] 17 × 11 432 × 2790.647
Tabloid Extra,
Extra Tabloide		 12 × 18 305 × 4573∶2
European EDP 12 × 14 305 × 3567∶6
Tabloid, Doble Carta 11 × 17 279 × 4321.545
11 × 15 11 × 15 279 × 38115∶11
Fanfold 11 × 14 7⁄8 279 × 3781.352
EDP 11 × 14 279 × 3561.273
11 × 12 11 × 12 279 × 30512∶11
10 × 14 10 × 14 254 × 3567∶5
10 × 13 10 × 13 254 × 3301.3
10 × 11 10 × 11 254 × 27910∶11
Legal Extra 9 1⁄2 × 15 241 × 3811.579
Letter Extra 9 1⁄2 × 12 241 × 3051.263
Letter Tab, 9 × 11 9 × 11 229 × 27911∶9
Legal 8 1⁄2 × 14 216 × 3561.647
Oficio 8 1⁄2 × 13 2⁄5 216 × 3401.576
Foolscap Folio 8 1⁄2 × 13 216 × 3301.529
Letter Plus 8 1⁄2 × 12 2⁄3 216 × 3221.49
European Fanfold 8 1⁄2 × 12 216 × 3051.412
Letter, Carta 8 1⁄2 × 11 216 × 2791.294
Quarto 8 1⁄2 × 10 5⁄6 216 × 2751.275
Government Legal 8 × 13 203 × 330ϕ∶1
Demitab 8 × 10 1⁄2 203 × 2671.313
Government Letter, 8 × 10 8 × 10 203 × 2545∶4
Executive 7 1⁄4 × 10 1⁄2 184 × 2671.448
7 × 9 7 × 9 178 × 2291.286
Memo, Statement,
Mini, Invoice,
Stationary, Half Letter		 5 1⁄2 × 8 1⁄2 140 × 2161.545
Junior Legal 5 × 8 127 × 2038∶5
5 × 7 5 × 7 127 × 1787∶5

The United States, Canada, and the Philippines[1] primarily use a different system of paper sizes from the rest of the world. The current standard sizes are unique to those countries, although due to the size of the North American market and proliferation of both software and printing hardware from the region, other parts of the world have become increasingly familiar with these sizes (though not necessarily the paper itself). Some traditional North American inch-based sizes differ from the Imperial British sizes described below.

Common American loose sizes

Letter, Legal and Ledger/Tabloid are by far the most commonly used of these for everyday activities, and the only ones included in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

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."[19] However, this does not explain the width or aspect ratio.

Outside of North America, Letter size may also be known as "American Quarto".[20] If one accepts some trimming, the size is indeed one quarter of the old Imperial paper size known as Demy, 17 1⁄2 in × 22 1⁄2 in (444 mm × 572 mm).[21] Printer manufacturers, however, recognize inch-based Quarto as 10.83 in (275 mm) long.[17]

Usage and adoption

US paper sizes are currently standard in the United States and are the most commonly used formats at least in the Philippines, most of Mesoamerica[22] and Chile. The latter use US Letter, but their Legal size is one inch shorter than its US equivalent.[23]

Mexico and Colombia, for instance, have adopted the ISO standard, but US Letter format is still the system in use throughout the country. It is virtually impossible to encounter ISO standard papers in day-to-day uses, with Carta (Letter), Oficio (Government-Legal) and Doble carta (Ledger/Tabloid) being nearly universal. Printer manufacturers, however, recognize Oficio as 13.4 in (340 mm) long.[17]

In Canada, US paper sizes are a de facto standard. The government, however, also uses ISO paper sizes.

Variant American loose sizes

There is an additional paper size, 8 in × 10 1⁄2 in (200 mm × 270 mm), to which the name Government-Letter was given by the IEEE Printer Working Group (PWG).[17] It was prescribed by Herbert Hoover when he was Secretary of Commerce to be used for US government forms, apparently to enable discounts from the purchase of paper for schools, but more likely due to the standard use of trimming books (after binding) and paper from the standard letter size paper to produce consistency and allow "bleed" printing. In later years, as photocopy machines proliferated, citizens wanted to make photocopies of the forms, but the machines did not generally have this size paper in their bins. Ronald Reagan therefore had the US government switch to regular Letter size, which is both half an inch longer and wider.[19] The former government size is still commonly used in spiral-bound notebooks, for children's writing and the like, a result of trimming from the current Letter dimensions.

By extension of the American standards, the halved Letter size, 5 1⁄2 in × 8 1⁄2 in (140 mm × 220 mm), meets the needs of many applications. It is variably known as Statement, Stationery, Memo, Half Letter, Half A (from ANSI sizes) or simply Half Size. Like the similar-sized ISO A5, it is used for everything from personal letter writing to official aeronautical maps. Organizers, notepads, and 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 processing tools with landscape printing in two columns on letter 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. 8 1⁄2 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.[17]

Standardized American paper sizes
A size chart illustrating the ANSI sizes, superimposed on an "ANSI E" sheet.

In 1996, the American National Standards Institute adopted ANSI/ASME Y14.1 which defined a regular series of paper sizes based upon the de facto standard 8 1⁄2 in × 11 in (220 mm × 280 mm) Letter size which it assigned "ANSI A", intended for technical drawings, hence sometimes labeled "Engineering". This series is somewhat similar to the ISO standard in that cutting a sheet in half would produce two sheets of the next smaller size and therefore also includes Ledger/Tabloid[18] as "ANSI B". Unlike the ISO standard, however, the arbitrary base sides forces this series to have two alternating aspect ratios. For example, ANSI A is less elongated than A4, while ANSI B is more elongated than A3.

The Canadian standard CAN2 9.60-M76 and its successor CAN/CGSB 9.60-94 "Paper Sizes for Correspondence" specified paper sizes P1 through P6, which are the U.S. paper sizes rounded to the nearest 5 mm.[24] All custom Canadian paper size standards were withdrawn in 2012.[25]

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.

ANSI and CAN paper sizes
US size inch × inchmm × mmARCanadian size (mm × mm)Similar size (mm × mm)
N/ACAN P6107 × 140ISO A6105 × 148
N/ACAN P5140 × 215ISO A5148 × 210
ANSI A ​8 1⁄2 × 11216 × 2791.2941CAN P4215 × 280ISO A4210 × 297
ANSI B 11 × 17279 × 4321.5455CAN P3280 × 430ISO A3297 × 420
ANSI C 17 × 22432 × 5591.2941CAN P2430 × 560ISO A2420 × 594
ANSI D 22 × 34559 × 8641.5455CAN P1560 × 860ISO A1594 × 841
ANSI E 34 × 44864 × 11181.2941N/AISO A0841 × 1187

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 22 1⁄2 in (572 mm) high, but it is a roll format with a variable width up to 90 in (2.3 m) in increments of 8 1⁄2 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
A size chart illustrating the 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.[17] An intermediate size between Arch C and D with a long side of 30 inches (760 mm) does not exist.

US architectural standard paper sizes[26]
Names inch × inchmm × mmAR
Arch AArch 1 9 × 12 229 × 3054∶3
Arch BArch 2 12 × 18 305 × 4573∶2
Arch CArch 3 18 × 24 457 × 6104∶3
Arch DArch 4 24 × 36 610 × 9143∶2
Arch E1Arch 5 30 × 42 762 × 1,0707∶5
Arch E2[17] 26 × 38 660 × 9651.462
Arch E3[17] 27 × 39 686 × 99113∶9
Arch EArch 6 36 × 48 914 × 1,2204∶3

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 8 1⁄2 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 8 1⁄2 in × 14 in (220 mm × 360 mm). Stenographers use "steno pads" of 6 in × 9 in (150 mm × 230 mm).

Envelope sizes
US envelopes[17]
Nameinch × inchmm × mmAR
Personal 3 5⁄8 × 6 1⁄2 92.1 × 1651.793
Monarch 3 7⁄8 × 7 1⁄2 98.4 × 1911.935
A2 4 3⁄8 × 5 3⁄4 111 × 1461.314
#9 3 7⁄8 × 8 7⁄8 98.4 × 2252.29
#10, Commercial 4 1⁄8 × 9 1⁄2 105 × 2412.303
#11 4 1⁄2 × 10 3⁄8 114 × 2642.306
#12 4 3⁄4 × 11 121 × 2792.316
#14 5 × 11 1⁄2 127 × 2922.3
US Postal Service size limitations, height × width × thickness[27]
Mail piece inch × inch × inchmm × mm × mm
Minimum 3 1⁄2 × 5 × 0.009 88.9 × 127 × 0.229
Postcard maximum 4 1⁄4 × 6 × 0.016 108 × 152 × 0.406
Letter maximum 6 1⁄8 × 11 1⁄2 × 1⁄4 156 × 292 × 6.35
Flat-size maximum 12 × 15 × 3⁄4 305 × 381 × 19.1

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.

Personal organizer sizes
US personal organizers
CompanyNameinch × inchmm × mmHoles
Filofax[28] M2 2 1⁄2 × 4 63.5 × 1023 holes
Mini 2 5⁄8 × 4 1⁄8 66.7 × 1055 holes
Pocket 3 1⁄6 × 4 3⁄4 80.4 × 1216 holes
Personal, Slimline 3 3⁄4 × 6 3⁄4 95.2 × 1716 holes
A5 (​5 13⁄16 × ​8 9⁄32148 × 2106 holes
Deskfax (B5) (​6 15⁄16 × ​9 27⁄32) 176 × 2509 holes
A4 (​8 9⁄32 × ​11 11⁄16) 210 × 2974 holes
Franklin Planner[29] Micro (⅛-Letter) 2 5⁄8 × 4 1⁄4 66.7 × 108
Pocket 3 1⁄2 × 6 88.9 × 152
Compact 4 1⁄4 × 6 3⁄4 108 × 171
Classic (½-Letter) 5 1⁄2 × 8 1⁄2 140 × 216
Monarch (Letter) 8 1⁄2 × 11 216 × 279
Jeppesen Aeronautical Chart (½-Letter) 5 1⁄2 × 8 1⁄2 140 × 2167 holes; FAA: 3 holes at top

Index card sizes
Main article: index card
US index cards
inch × inchmm × mmAR
3 × 5 76.2 × 1275∶3
4 × 6 102 × 1523∶2
5 × 8 127 × 2038∶5
6 × 8 152 × 2034∶3

Photography sizes
Main article: Photo print sizes

US photographic paper sizes
Name inch × inchmm × mmAR
2R 2 1⁄2 × 3 1⁄2 63.5 × 88.97∶5
- 3 × 5 76.2 × 1275∶3
LD, DSC 3 1⁄2 × 4 2⁄3 88.9 × 1194∶3
3R, L 3 1⁄2 × 5 88.9 × 12710∶7
LW 3 1⁄2 × 5 1⁄4 88.9 × 1333∶2
KGD 4 × 5 1⁄3 102 × 1354∶3
4R, KG 4 × 6 102 × 1523∶2
2LD, DSCW 5 × 6 2⁄3 127 × 1694∶3
5R, 2L 5 × 7 127 × 1787∶5
2LW 5 × 7 1⁄2 127 × 1913∶2
6R 6 × 8 152 × 2034∶3
8R, 6P 8 × 10 203 × 2545∶4
S8R, 6PW 8 × 12 203 × 3053∶2
11R 11 × 14 279 × 3561.273
A3+, Super B 13 × 19 330 × 4831.462

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.[30] 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 5 1⁄2 in × 8 1⁄2 in (140 mm × 216 mm) or 8 in × 10 1⁄2 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.[31]

Neither demitab, broadsheet nor tabloid newspapers are necessarily printed on paper measuring exactly its nominal size.

Traditional inch-based paper sizes
Traditional and standardized paper formats still relevant in the US

Traditionally, a number of different sizes were defined for large sheets of paper, and paper sizes were defined by the sheet name and the number of times it had been folded. Thus a full sheet of "royal" paper was 25 × 20 inches, and "royal octavo" was this size folded three times, so as to make eight sheets, and was thus 10 × ​6 1⁄4 inches. Royal sizes were used for posters and billboards.

Common divisions and their abbreviations
Name Abbr.FoldsLeavesPages
Folio fo, f124
Quarto 4to248
Sexto, sixmo 6to, 6mo3612
Octavo 8vo3816
Duodecimo, twelvemo 12mo41224
Sextodecimo, sixteenmo 16mo41632

Imperial sizes were used in the United Kingdom and its territories and some survived in US book printing.

Imperial paper sizes
NameVariant inch × inchmm × mmAR
Emperor UK48 × 72 1,220 × 1,8301.5
Quad Royal US40 × 50 1,020 × 1,2701.25
Quad Demy US35 × 40 889 × 1,0201.2857
Antiquarian UK31 × 53 787 × 1,3501.7097
Grand Eagle UK28 3⁄4 × 42 730 × 1,0701.4609
Double Elephant UK26 3⁄4 × 40 679 × 1,0201.4984
Atlas UK26 × 34 660 × 8641.3077
Double Royal US25 × 40 635 × 1,0201.6
Colombier UK23 1⁄2 × 34 1⁄2 597 × 8761.4681
Double Demy UK22 1⁄2 × 35 1⁄2 572 × 9021.57
US22 1⁄2 × 35 572 × 8891.5
Imperial UK22 × 30 559 × 7621.3636
Double Large Post UK21 × 33 533 × 8381.5713
Elephant both23 × 28 584 × 7111.2174
Princess UK22 1⁄2 × 28 572 × 7111.3023
Cartridge UK21 × 26 533 × 6601.2381
Royal both20 × 25 508 × 6351.25
Sheet, Half Post UK19 1⁄2 × 23 1⁄2 495 × 5971.2051
Double Post UK19 × 30 1⁄2 483 × 7751.6052
Super Royal UK19 × 27 483 × 6861.4203
Broadsheet US18 × 24 457 × 6101.3
Medium UK17 1⁄2 × 23 444 × 5841.2425
US18 × 23 457 × 5841.27
Demy both17 1⁄2 × 22 1⁄2 444 × 5721.2857
Copy Draught UK16 × 20 406 × 5081.25
Large Post UK15 1⁄2 × 20 394 × 5081.2903
US16 1⁄2 × 21 419 × 5331.27
Post UK15 1⁄2 × 19 1⁄4 394 × 4891.2419
US15 1⁄2 × 19 1⁄2 394 × 4951.2581
Crown both15 × 20 381 × 5081.3
Pinched Post UK14 3⁄4 × 18 1⁄2 375 × 4701.2533
Foolscap UK13 1⁄2 × 17 343 × 4321.2593
US13 × 18 330 × 4571.3846
Small Foolscap UK13 1⁄4 × 16 1⁄2 337 × 4191.2453
Brief UK13 1⁄2 × 16 343 × 4061.1852
Pott UK12 1⁄2 × 15 317 × 3811.2
Quarto US9 × 11 229 × 2791.2
Executive, Monarch US7 1⁄4 × 10 1⁄2 184 × 2671.4483

Traditional British paper sizes

These sizes are no longer so widely used, since the UK began using ISO sizes.[32] Many of these sizes were only used for making books (see bookbinding), or for publishing plays (historically, all the published plays of William Shakespeare during his lifetime were printed in Quarto), or for printing story papers and comics, and most types were not offered for ordinary stationery purposes, with the exception of foolscap (which was commonly used in schools and universities).[33]

Previous British writing paper sizes
Name inch × inchmm × mmAR
Foolscap 8 × 13 203 × 330ϕ∶1
Quarto 8 × 10 203 × 2545∶4
Imperial 7 × 9 178 × 2291.286
Kings 6 1⁄2 × 8 165 × 2031.231
Dukes 5 1⁄2 × 7 140 × 1781.273

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".

Traditional French paper sizes

Before the adoption of the ISO standard system in 1967, France had its own paper size system. Some of these formats are still used today, and they are standardized by the AFNOR.[34] Their names come from the watermarks that the papers were branded with when they were handcrafted, which is still the case for certain art papers. They also generally exist in double versions where the smallest measure is multiplied by two, or in quadruple versions where both measures have been doubled.

AFNOR paper sizes
NameFormat (cm × cm)Use
Cloche 30 × 40
Pot, écolier 31 × 40
Tellière 34 × 44 old French administration
Couronne écriture 36 × 46
Couronne édition 37 × 47
Roberto 39 × 50 anatomic drawing
Écu 40 × 52
Coquille 44 × 56
Carré 45 × 56
Cavalier 46 × 62
Demi-raisin 32,5 × 50 drawing
Raisin 50 × 65 drawing
Double raisin 65 × 100
Jésus 56 × 76 Atlas des sentiers et chemins vicinaux
Soleil 60 × 80
Colombier affiche 60 × 80
Colombier commercial 63 × 90
Petit Aigle 70 × 94
Grand Aigle 75 × 105 Plans cadastraux primitifs
(Napoleonic land registry)
75 × 106[35]
75 × 110[36]
Grand Monde 90 × 126
Univers 100 × 130

Business card sizes
Main article: Business card § Dimensions
Common business card sizes
Origin mm × mminch × inchAR
A8 74 × 52​2 15⁄16 × ​2 1⁄16√2
B8 88 × 62​3 4⁄9 × ​2 4⁄9√2
C8 81 × 57​3 3⁄16 × ​2 1⁄4√2
Iranian 85 × 48​3 1⁄3 × ​1 8⁄91.771
Western Europe 85 × 55​3 1⁄3 × ​2 1⁄617∶11
International 86 × 54​3 3⁄8 × ​2 1⁄827∶17
North America 89 × 51​3 1⁄2 × 27∶4
Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, South America 90 × 50​3 9⁄16 × 29∶5
East Asia 90 × 54​3 9⁄16 × ​2 1⁄85∶3
Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, Oceania 90 × 55​3 9⁄16 × ​2 1⁄618∶11
Japan 91 × 55​3 7⁄12 × ​2 1⁄61.654

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
Main article: Newspaper format
Comparison of some newspaper sizes with metric paper sizes. Approximate nominal dimensions are in millimetres.

Newspapers have a separate set of sizes.

In a recent trend[37] 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.

gollark: > but its fascinating to see the stupidityI was looking at some reddit subreddit about allegedly "free-thinkers resisting the new normal" and *actually* seemingly about people complaining about masks, having to isolate after positive tests, talking about herd immunity, and saying "plandemic" a bit for similar reasons; morbid curiosity or something I guess.
gollark: Electric models of what?
gollark: ...
gollark: > ELECTRIC UNIVERSE®... *why* is it capitalized and ®-ed?
gollark: > he said two bright flashes and obliteration of the probe in the mission with no crater would occur

See also

References
  1. Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela according to "Territory Information". CLDR. 31. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-03-24., which is a data collection used by almost all software manufacturers.
  2. "size". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  3. "Lichtenberg's letter to Johann Beckmann". Cl.cam.ac.uk. 2006-02-07. Archived from the original on 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
  4. "Loi sur le timbre (Nº 2136)". Bulletin des Lois de la République (in French) (237): 1–2. 1798-11-03. Archived from the original on 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  5. "A Paper Sizes - A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10". Archived from the original on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  6. "B Paper Sizes - B0, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B10". Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  7. "Envelope Sizes - ISO C Series & DL Envelopes". Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  8. "Papper—Formatserier A-G". Svensk standard. Swedish Standards Institute. Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2019-12-25.(subscription required)
  9. "Print format for dissertations" (PDF). Karolinska University press. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2012-10-19. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. Barber, Dave (2012-05-08). "International paper sizes. A, B, C and D series". Archived from the original on 2014-07-01.
  11. "国家标准 | GB/T 148-1997". Standardization Administration of China. 1997-05-26. Archived from the original on 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  12. "(unknown)" (PDF).
  13. "Formaty" Форматы [Formats]. Мир Сварки (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  14. "Formaty (ESKD GOST 2.301-68)" Форматы (ЕСКД ГОСТ 2.301-68) [Formats]. Единая Система Конструкторской Документации (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  15. Apple iTunes Store (2019). "Music Digital Booklet Profile". iTunes Video and Audio Asset Guide.
  16. "CAN2-200.2-M79: "Common Image Area for Paper Sizes P4 and A4"". 1979-04-01. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. (NB. Withdrawn 2012-03-01.)
  17. "IEEE-ISTO PWG 5101.1-2013 "PWG Media Standardized Names 2.0"" (PDF). Alt URL
  18. Adobe Systems Incorporated (1996-02-09). "PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification" (PDF) (4.3 ed.). San Jose, California. p. 191. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  19. "Why is the standard paper size in the U.S. 8½" x 11"?". American Forest and Paper Association. Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  20. "Junior Legal Paper Size". Dimensions Guide. Archived from the original on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  21. Fyffe, Charles (1969). Basic Copyfitting. London: Studio Vista. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-289-79705-1.
  22. "Armada mil". Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
  23. de Leon, Rally. "Request for inclusion of Page Size 8.5"×13"". Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  24. Kuhn, Markus. "International standard paper sizes". Archived from the original on 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  25. Canadian custom paper size standards
    NumberTitleOriginal CAN2 releaseCAN/CGSB replacementWithdrawal
    9.60Paper Sizes for Correspondence1976-041994-072012-04
    9.61Paper Sizes for Printing1976-041994-07
    9.62Paper Sizes for Single Part Continuous Business Forms1981-121994-07
    9.64Drawing Sheet Sizes1979-041994-07
    200.2Common Image Area for Paper Sizes P4 and A41979-042012-03
  26. "Technical drawing paper sizes in the United States". Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. at sizes.com
  27. "Section 6.3.2: Postcard Dimensions". DMM 101: Physical Standards. United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  28. "Filofax". Archived from the original on 2010-09-27.
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  30. "Paper Grain & Smoothness: Don't Go Against the Grain". Xerox Corp. Archived from the original on 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-10. A paper mill may indicate paper grain on carton and ream labels, product brochures, swatch books and price lists in several ways:
    1. You may see the words Grain Long or Grain Short.
    2. The dimension parallel to the grain may be underscored. For example, 8.5x11 indicates long grain, while 11x17 indicates short grain.
    3. "M" may be used to indicate machine direction, for example, 11Mx17 indicates short grain.
    Fold paper parallel to the grain direction. Paper folded against the grain may be rough and crack along the folded edge. The heavier the paper, the more likely roughness and cracking will occur.
  31. "Max Image Area". Horizon Publications. Archived from the original on 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2009-08-28. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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  33. "Book sizes, with reference tables". Archived from the original on 2004-06-18. Retrieved 2004-06-30.
  34. Norme NF Q 02-000: Dimensions des papiers d'écriture et de certaines catégories de papiers d'impression (in French). Association française de normalisation.
  35. "AIGLE: Définition de AIGLE" (in French). Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales (CNRTL). Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  36. "L'origine des noms de papier" (in French). Archived from the original on 2006-03-19.
  37. "Press web". Naa.org. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

Further reading
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