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.

Paper sizes A0 to A8, life-size

installation "The invasion of the
Contents square root" at the CosmoCaixa
International paper sizes Barcelona science museum
A series
B series
C series
Overview of ISO paper sizes
German original
Swedish extensions
Japanese variation
Chinese extensions
Soviet variants
International envelope and insert sizes
International raw sizes
Transitional paper sizes
PA4 or L4
F4
A0a
Pliego A size chart illustrating the ISO A
series and a comparison with
North American paper sizes
American letter and legal formats.
Inch-based loose sizes
Common American loose sizes
Usage and adoption
Variant American loose sizes
Standardized American paper sizes
Architectural sizes
Notebook sizes
Envelope sizes
Personal organizer sizes
Index card sizes
Photography sizes
Grain
Demitab
Traditional inch-based paper sizes
Traditional British paper sizes
Traditional French paper sizes
Business card sizes
Newspaper sizes Comparison of some paper and
See also photographic paper sizes close to the
A4 size.
References
Further reading
 External links

International paper 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 1:1.4142. 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] 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:

by rearranging the terms, we get:

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:

Belgium (1924) Finland (1927) Soviet Union (1934)

Netherlands (1925) Switzerland (1929) Hungary (1938)
Norway (1926) Sweden (1930) Italy (1939)

During World War II, the standard was adopted by Uruguay (1942), Argentina (1943) and Brazil (1943), and afterwards spread to
other countries:

Spain (1947) New Zealand (1963)

Austria (1948) Iceland (1964)
Iran (1948) Mexico (1965)
Romania (1949) South Africa (1966)
Japan (1951) France (1967)
Denmark (1953) Peru (1967)
Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia) Turkey (1967)
(1953) Chile (1968)
Israel (1954) Greece (1970)
Portugal (1954) Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) (1970)
Yugoslavia (now Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Singapore (1970)
Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia) Bangladesh (1972)
(1956)
Thailand (1973)
India (1957)
Barbados (1973)
Poland (1957)
Australia (1974)
United Kingdom (1959)
Ecuador (1974)
Ireland (1959)
Colombia (1975)
Venezuela (1962)
Kuwait (1975)
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
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. A size chart illustrating the ISO B
B5 is a relatively common choice for books. series.

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
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

A size chart illustrating the ISO C

series.

ISO paper sizes in portrait view (with rounded inch values)

Format A series[5] B series[6] C series[7]

Size mm × mm inch × inch mm × mm inch × inch mm × mm inch × inch

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

7 74 × 105 211⁄12 × 41⁄8 88 × 125 311⁄24 × 411⁄12 81 × 114 35⁄24 × 41⁄2

8 52 × 74 21⁄24 × 211⁄12 62 × 88 211⁄24 × 311⁄24 57 × 81 21⁄4 × 35⁄24

9 37 × 52 111⁄24 × 21⁄24 44 × 62 13⁄4 × 211⁄24 40 × 57 17⁄12 × 21⁄4

10 26 × 37 11⁄24 × 111⁄24 31 × 44 15⁄24 × 13⁄4 28 × 40 11⁄12 × 17⁄12

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 × mm inch × inch

0 771 × 1,090 303⁄8 × 4211⁄12

1 545 × 771 2111⁄24 × 303⁄8

2 385 × 545 151⁄6 × 2111⁄24

3 272 × 385 1017⁄24 × 151⁄6

4 192 × 272 713⁄24 × 1017⁄24

5 136 × 192 53⁄8 × 713⁄24

6 96 × 136 319⁄24 × 53⁄8

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.

DIN 476:1922 tiny formats (with rounded inch values)

Format A B
Size mm × mm inch × inch mm × mm inch × inch

11 18 × 26 17⁄ × 11⁄24 22 × 31 7⁄ × 15⁄24

24 8

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 overformats (with rounded inch

values)
Name mm × mm inch × inch

4A0 1,682 × 2,378 665⁄24 × 935⁄8

2A0 1,189 × 1,682 4619⁄24 × 665⁄24

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
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.

SIS 014711 formulas,[10] including the missing

step, series *H, between D and A,
16
n = 0‥10, r = √2, s = √½
Comparison of ISO 216 and
Designation Shorter edge Longer edge
Swedish standard SIS 014711
An r−4 × sn r+4 × sn paper sizes between A4 and A3
sizes.
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

n E G F D
0 878 × 1242 958 × 1354 1044 × 1477 1091 × 1542
1 621 × 878 677 × 958 738 × 1044 771 × 1091
2 439 × 621 479 × 677 522 × 738 545 × 771
3 310 × 439 339 × 479 369 × 522 386 × 545
4 220 × 310 239 × 339 261 × 369 273 × 386
5 155 × 220 169 × 239 185 × 261 193 × 273
6 110 × 155 120 × 169 131 × 185 136 × 193
7 78 × 110 85 × 120 92 × 131 96 × 136
8 55 × 78 60 × 85 65 × 92 68 × 96
9 39 × 55 42 × 60 46 × 65 48 × 68
10 27 × 39 30 × 42 33 × 46 34 × 48

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

0 1,030 × 1,456 4013⁄24 × 571⁄3

1 728 × 1,030 282⁄3 × 4013⁄24

2 515 × 728 207⁄24 × 282⁄3

3 364 × 515 141⁄3 × 207⁄24

4 257 × 364 101⁄8 × 141⁄3

5 182 × 257 71⁄6 × 101⁄8

6 128 × 182 51⁄24 × 71⁄6

7 91 × 128 37⁄12 × 51⁄24

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

JIS P 0202 raw sizes (plus rounded inch values)

Size mm × mm inch × inch AR

A 625 × 880 245⁄8 × 345⁄8 1.408

B 765 × 1,085 301⁄8 × 4217⁄24 1.418

Shiroku-ban (4-6) 788 × 1,091 311⁄24 × 4223⁄24 1.385

Kiku-ban (Chrysanthenum) 636 × 939 251⁄24 × 3623⁄24 1.476

900 × 1,200 355⁄12 × 471⁄4 4∶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 × mm inch × inch AR

AB 210 × 257 81⁄4 × 101⁄8 1.224

B40 103 × 182 41⁄24 × 71⁄6 1.767

35 84 × 148 37⁄24 × 55⁄6 1.762

264 × 379 103⁄8 × 1411⁄12 1.436

Shiroku-ban 189 × 262 711⁄24 × 101⁄3 1.386

127 × 188 5 × 75⁄12 1.48

227 × 304 811⁄12 × 1123⁄24 1.339

218 × 304 87⁄12 × 1123⁄24 1.394

Kiku-ban
152 × 227 6 × 811⁄12 1.493

152 × 218 6 × 87⁄12 1.434

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 Untrimmed sizes
AR Alias
Size mm × mm inch × inch mm × mm inch × inch

0 764 × 1,064 301⁄12 × 417⁄8 1.3927 1K 780 × 1,080 3017⁄24 × 421⁄2

1 532 × 760 2023⁄24 × 2911⁄12 1.4286 2K 540 × 780 211⁄4 × 3017⁄24

2 380 × 528 1423⁄24 × 2019⁄24 1.3895 4K 390 × 540 153⁄8 × 211⁄4

3 264 × 376 103⁄8 × 1419⁄24 1.4242 8K 270 × 390 105⁄8 × 153⁄8

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

6 92 × 126 35⁄8 × 423⁄24 1.3696 64K 97 × 135 35⁄6 × 51⁄3

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)

Format а (A) б (B) в (V, C)
Size mm × mm inch × inch mm × mm inch × inch mm × mm inch × inch

0 814 × 1,152 321⁄24 × 453⁄8 747 × 1,056 295⁄12 × 417⁄12

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

7 72 × 101 25⁄6 × 323⁄24 66 × 93 27⁄12 × 32⁄3 78 × 111 31⁄12 × 43⁄8

8 50 × 72 123⁄24 × 25⁄6 46 × 66 119⁄24 × 27⁄12 55 × 78 21⁄6 × 31⁄12

9 36 × 50 15⁄12 × 123⁄24 33 × 46 17⁄24 × 119⁄24 39 × 55 113⁄24 × 21⁄6

10 25 × 36 1 × 15⁄12 23 × 33 11⁄
12 × 17⁄24

11 18 × 25 17⁄ ×1 16 × 23 5⁄ × 11⁄12
24 8

12 12 × 18 11⁄ × 17⁄24 11 × 16 5⁄ × 5⁄8

24 12

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.

A2, A3, A4 and some of their derived non-ISO sizes as

International envelope and insert sizes GOST 2301-68 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

105 standard folded size of German

unnamed 41⁄8 × 81⁄4 2∶1
× 210 letters

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

41⁄3 designated long, "DIN lang" (DIN long);

110
DL 2∶1 sometimes erroneously called "DLE",
× 220 × 82⁄3 apparently for envelope, instead
common edge of C6 and C5 is 161 mm;
1⁄ A4,DIN 5008 sometimes called "Postfix", "DL+"
114 41⁄2 3
C6/C5 2∶1 A and B or "DL Max", but those terms are
× 229 ×9
not standardized

41⁄3 DIN 5008 Form A

110
Italian 2.10∶1
× 230 × 91⁄24

81 35⁄24 1⁄ A5
C7/C6 2∶1 3 common edge of C7 and C6 is 114 mm
× 162 × 63⁄8

125 411⁄12 B6 is 125 mm × 176 mm, C4 is

B6/C4 2.6
× 324 × 123⁄4 229 mm × 324 mm

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

860 333⁄4 900 351⁄2 880 343⁄4 841 33 821 321⁄4

RA0 SRA0 A0U A0T
× 1,220 × 48 × 1,280 × 501⁄2 × 1,230 × 481⁄2 × 1,189 × 463⁄4 × 1,159 × 453⁄4

610 24 640 251⁄4 625 241⁄2 594 231⁄2 574 221⁄2

RA1 SRA1 A1U A1T
× 860 × 333⁄4 × 900 × 351⁄2 × 880 × 343⁄4 × 841 × 33 × 811 × 32

430 17 450 173⁄4 450 173⁄4 420 161⁄2 400 153⁄4

RA2 SRA2 A2U A2T
× 610 × 24 × 640 × 251⁄4 × 625 × 241⁄2 × 594 × 231⁄2 × 564 × 221⁄4

305 12 320 121⁄2 330 13 297 113⁄4 277 11

RA3 SRA3 A3U A3T
× 430 × 17 × 450 × 173⁄4 × 450 × 173⁄4 × 420 × 161⁄2 × 390 × 151⁄4

215 81⁄2 225 83⁄4 240 91⁄2 210 81⁄4 180

RA4 SRA4 A4U A4T 7 × 11
× 305 × 12 × 320 × 121⁄2 × 330 × 13 × 297 × 113⁄4 × 277

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

Acceptable equivalent Direct equivalent Exact size Gross size
Size
inch × inch mm × mm AR inch × inch mm × mm AR mm × mm mm × mm inch × inch

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

Transitional paper sizes

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

F5 165 × 210 61⁄2 × 81⁄4 1.273

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. F6 105 × 165 41⁄8 × 61⁄2 1.571

F7 82 × 105 31⁄4 × 41⁄8 32∶25

A0a F8 52 × 82 2× 31⁄4 1.577
Although the movement is towards the international standard metric paper sizes, on the F9 41 × 52 15⁄8 × 2 1.268
way there from the traditional ones there has been at least one new size just a little
F10 26 × 41 1 × 15⁄8 1.577
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
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

North American paper sizes 1⁄

4 pliego 350 × 500 133⁄4 × 193⁄4 10∶7
1⁄ pliego 250 × 350 93⁄4 × 133⁄4 7∶5
8

Inch-based loose sizes

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."[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

Variant American loose sizes 10 × 11 10 × 11 254 × 279 10∶11

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]

Standardized American paper sizes

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 81⁄2 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[17] 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 ANSI paper
sizes rounded to the nearest 5 mm.[23] All custom Canadian paper size standards were
withdrawn in 2012 and the respective ISO standards took their places.[24]

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 inch × mm × Canadian size (mm × Similar size (mm ×
AR
size inch mm mm) mm)
N/A CAN P6 107 × 140 ISO A6 105 × 148
N/A CAN P5 140 × 215 ISO A5 148 × 210
ANSI
81⁄2 × 11 216 × 279 1.2941 CAN P4 215 × 280 ISO A4 210 × 297 A size chart illustrating the ANSI
A
sizes, superimposed on an "ANSI E"
ANSI sheet.
11 × 17 279 × 432 1.5455 CAN P3 280 × 430 ISO A3 297 × 420
B
ANSI
17 × 22 432 × 559 1.2941 CAN P2 430 × 560 ISO A2 420 × 594
C
ANSI
22 × 34 559 × 864 1.5455 CAN P1 560 × 860 ISO A1 594 × 841
D
ANSI 864 ×
34 × 44 1.2941 N/A ISO A0 841 × 1187
E 1118

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.

A size chart illustrating the

Architectural sizes.
 US architectural standard paper sizes[25]
Names inch × inch mm × mm AR
Arch A Arch 1 9 × 12 229 × 305 4∶3
Arch B Arch 2 12 × 18 305 × 457 3∶2
Arch C Arch 3 18 × 24 457 × 610 4∶3
Arch D Arch 4 24 × 36 610 × 914 3∶2
Arch E1 Arch 5 30 × 42 762 × 1,070 7∶5

Arch E2[16] 26 × 38 660 × 965 1.462

Arch E3[16] 27 × 39 686 × 991 13∶9

Arch E Arch 6 36 × 48 914 × 1,220 4∶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 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

Personal 35⁄8 × 61⁄2 92.1 × 165 1.793

Monarch 37⁄8 × 71⁄2 98.4 × 191 1.935

A2 43⁄8 × 53⁄4 111 × 146 1.314

#9 37⁄8 × 87⁄8 98.4 × 225 2.29

#10, Commercial 41⁄8 × 91⁄2 105 × 241 2.303

#11 41⁄2 × 103⁄8 114 × 264 2.306

#12 43⁄4 × 11 121 × 279 2.316

#14 5× 111⁄2 127 × 292 2.3

US Postal Service size limitations, height × width × thickness[26]

Mail piece inch × inch × inch mm × mm × mm

Minimum 31⁄2 × 5 × 0.009 88.9 × 127 × 0.229

Postcard maximum 41⁄4 × 6 × 0.016 108 × 152 × 0.406

Letter maximum 61⁄8 × 111⁄2 × 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
Company Name inch × inch mm × mm Holes

M2 21⁄2 ×4 63.5 × 102 3 holes

Mini 25⁄8 × 41⁄8 66.7 × 105 5 holes

Pocket 31⁄6 × 43⁄4 80.4 × 121 6 holes

Filofax[27] Personal, Slimline 33⁄4 × 63⁄4 95.2 × 171 6 holes

A5 (513⁄16 × 89⁄32 148 × 210 6 holes

Deskfax (B5) (615⁄16 × 927⁄32) 176 × 250 9 holes

A4 (89⁄32 × 1111⁄16) 210 × 297 4 holes

Micro (⅛-Letter) 25⁄8 × 41⁄4 66.7 × 108

Pocket 31⁄2 ×6 88.9 × 152

Franklin Planner[28] Compact 41⁄4 × 63⁄4 108 × 171

Classic (½-Letter) 51⁄2 × 81⁄2 140 × 216

Monarch (Letter) 81⁄2 × 11 216 × 279

Jeppesen Aeronautical Chart (½-Letter) 51⁄2 × 81⁄2 140 × 216 7 holes; FAA: 3 holes at top

Index card sizes

US index cards
inch × inch mm × mm AR
3×5 76.2 × 127 5∶3
4×6 102 × 152 3∶2
5×8 127 × 203 8∶5
6×8 152 × 203 4∶3

Photography sizes

US photographic paper sizes

Name inch × inch mm × mm AR

2R 21⁄2 × 31⁄2 63.5 × 88.9 7∶5

- 3×5 76.2 × 127 5∶3

LD, DSC 31⁄2 × 42⁄3 88.9 × 119 4∶3

3R, L 31⁄2 ×5 88.9 × 127 10∶7

LW 31⁄2 × 51⁄4 88.9 × 133 3∶2

KGD 4 × 51⁄3 102 × 135 4∶3

4R, KG 4×6 102 × 152 3∶2

2LD, DSCW 5 × 62⁄3 127 × 169 4∶3

5R, 2L 5×7 127 × 178 7∶5

2LW 5 × 71⁄2 127 × 191 3∶2

6R 6×8 152 × 203 4∶3

8R, 6P 8 × 10 203 × 254 5∶4
S8R, 6PW 8 × 12 203 × 305 3∶2
11R 11 × 14 279 × 356 1.273
A3+, Super B 13 × 19 330 × 483 1.462

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.[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.

Traditional inch-based paper sizes

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 × 61⁄4 inches. Royal sizes were used for
posters and billboards.

Common divisions and their abbreviations

Traditional and standardized paper formats still relevant
Name Abbr. Folds Leaves Pages in the US
Folio fo, f 1 2 4
Quarto 4to 2 4 8
Sexto, sixmo 6to, 6mo 3 6 12
Octavo 8vo 3 8 16
Duodecimo, twelvemo 12mo 4 12 24
Sextodecimo, sixteenmo 16mo 4 16 32

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

Grand Eagle UK 283⁄4 × 42 730 × 1,070 1.4609

Double Elephant UK 263⁄4 × 40 679 × 1,020 1.4984

Atlas UK 26 × 34 660 × 864 1.3077

Double Royal US 25 × 40 635 × 1,020 1.6

Colombier UK 231⁄2 × 341⁄2 597 × 876 1.4681

UK 221⁄2 × 351⁄2 572 × 902 1.57

Double Demy
US 221⁄2 × 35 572 × 889 1.5

Imperial UK 22 × 30 559 × 762 1.3636

Double Large Post UK 21 × 33 533 × 838 1.5713
Elephant both 23 × 28 584 × 711 1.2174

Princess UK 221⁄2 × 28 572 × 711 1.3023

Cartridge UK 21 × 26 533 × 660 1.2381

Royal both 20 × 25 508 × 635 1.25

Sheet, Half Post UK 191⁄2 × 231⁄2 495 × 597 1.2051

Double Post UK 19 × 301⁄2 483 × 775 1.6052

Super Royal UK 19 × 27 483 × 686 1.4203

Broadsheet US 18 × 24 457 × 610 1.3

UK 171⁄2 × 23 444 × 584 1.2425

Medium
US 18 × 23 457 × 584 1.27

Demy both 171⁄2 × 221⁄2 444 × 572 1.2857

Copy Draught UK 16 × 20 406 × 508 1.25

UK 151⁄2 × 20 394 × 508 1.2903

Large Post
US 161⁄2 × 21 419 × 533 1.27

UK 151⁄2 × 191⁄4 394 × 489 1.2419

Post
US 151⁄2 × 191⁄2 394 × 495 1.2581

Crown both 15 × 20 381 × 508 1.3

Pinched Post UK 143⁄4 × 181⁄2 375 × 470 1.2533

UK 131⁄2 × 17 343 × 432 1.2593

Foolscap
US 13 × 18 330 × 457 1.3846

Small Foolscap UK 131⁄4 × 161⁄2 337 × 419 1.2453

Brief UK 131⁄2 × 16 343 × 406 1.1852

Pott UK 121⁄2 × 15 317 × 381 1.2

Quarto US 9 × 11 229 × 279 1.2

Executive, Monarch US 71⁄4 × 101⁄2 184 × 267 1.4483

Traditional British paper sizes

These sizes are no longer so widely used, since the UK began using ISO sizes.[31] 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).[32]
 Previous British writing paper sizes
Name inch × inch mm × mm AR
Foolscap 8 × 13 203 × 330 ϕ∶1
Quarto 8 × 10 203 × 254 5∶4
Imperial 7×9 178 × 229 1.286

Kings 61⁄2 ×8 165 × 203 1.231

Dukes 51⁄2 × 7 140 × 178 1.273

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.[33] 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

Name Format (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
75 × 105
Plans cadastraux primitifs
Grand Aigle 75 × 106[34]
(Napoleonic land registry)
75 × 110[35]
Grand Monde 90 × 126
Univers 100 × 130

Business card sizes

 Common business card sizes
Origin mm × mm inch × inch AR

A8 74 × 52 215⁄16 × 21⁄16 √2

B8 88 × 62 34⁄9 × 24⁄9 √2

Western Europe 85 × 55 31⁄3 × 21⁄6 17∶11

International 86 × 54 33⁄8 × 21⁄8 27∶17

North America 89 × 51 31⁄2 × 2 7∶4

Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, South America 90 × 50 39⁄16 ×2 9∶5

East Asia 90 × 54 39⁄16 × 21⁄8 5∶3

Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, Oceania 90 × 55 39⁄16 × 21⁄6 18∶11

Japan 91 × 55 37⁄12 × 21⁄6 1.654

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
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.

Comparison of some newspaper sizes with metric

See also paper sizes. Approximate nominal dimensions are
in millimetres.
Book size
Paper density
Units of paper quantity – ream, quire etc.
New Zealand standard for school stationery
PC LOAD LETTER
Hole punch – filing holes

References
1. Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines,
Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela according to "Territory Information" (https://www.unicode.org/cldr/charts/lates
t/supplemental/territory_information.html). CLDR. 31. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180620043901/http://
www.unicode.org/cldr/charts/latest/supplemental/territory_information.html) from the original on 2018-06-20.
Retrieved 2018-03-24., which is a data collection used by almost all software manufacturers.
2. "size" (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/@page/size). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
70202023142/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/@page/size) from the original on 2017-02-02.
Retrieved 2017-01-25.
3. "Lichtenberg's letter to Johann Beckmann" (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/lichtenberg-letter.html). Cl.cam.ac.uk.
2006-02-07. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20111231214454/http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/lichtenberg-l
etter.html) from the original on 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
4. "Loi sur le timbre (Nº 2136)" (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/loi-timbre.html). Bulletin des Lois de la République (in
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strations/ipp-registrations-4.csv). Archived from the original (http://ftp.pwg.org/pub/pwg/candidates/cs-pwgmsn20-20
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24.
Canadian custom paper size standards

Number Title Original CAN2 release CAN/CGSB replacement Withdrawal

1976-04 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stan 1994-07 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stand

9.60 Paper Sizes for Correspondence
dardsdb/standards/2700) ardsdb/standards/5790)

1976-04 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stan 1994-07 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stand

9.61 Paper Sizes for Printing
dardsdb/standards/2701) ardsdb/standards/5789)
2012-04
Paper Sizes for Single Part 1981-12 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stan 1994-07 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stand
9.62
Continuous Business Forms dardsdb/standards/2417) ardsdb/standards/5788)

1979-04 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stan 1994-07 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stand

9.64 Drawing Sheet Sizes
dardsdb/standards/2512) ardsdb/standards/5786)

Common Image Area for Paper 1979-04 (http://www.scc.ca/en/stan

200.2 2012-03
Sizes P4 and A4 dardsdb/standards/2464)

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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."
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2004-06-30.
33. Norme NF Q 02-000: Dimensions des papiers d’écriture et de certaines catégories de papiers d’impression (in
French). Association française de normalisation.
34. "AIGLE: Définition de AIGLE" (http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/aigle) (in French). Centre national de ressources
textuelles et lexicales (CNRTL). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150522112240/http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicogra
phie/aigle) from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
35. "L'origine des noms de papier" (https://web.archive.org/web/20060319010826/http://www.clairefontaine.com/Dossie
rs/Beaux-Arts/Plus-d-infos-sur-le-papier-Beaux-Arts/Les-formats.html) (in French). Archived from the original (http://
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19.
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2010-12-12.

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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