Dimensions Of A Series Paper Sizes

Paper sizes are categorized into two standards, the ISO standard and the North American size standard. ISO standard has A, B and C series, while NA standard is based on inches.

• "A-series", for general printing 
• "B-series", for posters 
• "C-series", for envelopes, postcards, and folders

The "A" series is used most commonly with sizes ranging from A0,which is the largest, down to A8. The A-series sizes are represented as a part of the area of one square meter with a length to width ratio of 1.414. Size A0 is equivalent to the area of one square meter while each smaller size being 50% of the size of the preceding one. A1 is 50% of the area of A0; A2 is 50% of A1, and so on.  Another way to look at it is that when an A0 sheet cut in half yields two A1 sheets, and an A1 sheet cut in half yields two A2 sheets. 

ISO paper sizes (plus rounded inch values)

Format	A series		B series		C series
Size	mm × mm	in × in	mm × mm	in × in	mm × mm	in × in
0	841 × 1189	33.11 × 46.81	1000 × 1414	39.37 × 55.67	917 × 1297	36.10 × 51.06
1	594 x 841	23.39 × 33.11	707 × 1000	27.83 × 39.37	648 × 917	25.51 × 36.10
2	420 × 594	16.54 × 23.39	500 × 707	19.69 × 27.83	458 × 648	18.03 × 25.51
3	297 × 420	11.69 × 16.54	353 × 500	13.90 × 19.69	324 × 458	12.76 × 18.03
4	210 × 297	8.27 × 11.69	250 × 353	9.84 × 13.90	229 × 324	9.02 × 12.76
5	148 × 210	5.83 × 8.27	176 × 250	6.93 × 9.84	162 × 229	6.38 × 9.02
6	105 × 148	4.13 × 5.83	125 × 176	4.92 × 6.93	114 × 162	4.49 × 6.38
7	74 × 105	2.91 × 4.13	88 × 125	3.46 × 4.92	81 × 114	3.19 × 4.49
8	52 × 74	2.05 × 2.91	62 × 88	2.44 × 3.46	57 × 81	2.24 × 3.19
9	37 × 52	1.46 × 2.05	44 × 62	1.73 × 2.44	40 × 57	1.57 × 2.24
10	26 × 37	1.02 × 1.46	31 × 44	1.22 × 1.73	28 × 40	1.10 × 1.57

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).

Dimensions of Paper Sizes

North American Size Standards

Although the ISO size standards are common in many parts of the world where the metric system is the established standard for measurement, North American sheet sizes are based on inches. The most common size of cut sheet for copier/printers is 8.5”x11” (Letter Size) that is based on basis size of 17”x22”. (Letter being the quarter of the size of the 17” x 22”). Other popular sizes are 8.5”x14” (Legal Size), and 11”x17” (Ledger Size). The other sizes such as 12”x18” and 9”x12” are becoming popular for color applications. These paper sizes are based on paper sizes used in offset printing.

Engineering paper sizes are also in this category with sizes such as 9”x12” (A size), 12”x18” (B size), 18”x 24” (C size), 24”x36” (D), 36”x48” (E size).

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