A Series Paper Sizes and How To Impose Files On Them
A series paper sizes are a collection of sizes that follow an international organization standard (ISO) for paper size. Within the A series there are 11 sizes. They range from A0 which is the largest down to A10 which is the smallest. If you are from North America or Canada you may and probably haven’t heard of the A series paper sizes but if you are from anywhere else, especially the UK you’re familiar with A sizes.
If you want to read about the thrilling history of the A series of papers please do so here, Springfield did a great write up on the topic. The most important fact is they were started in Germany 1922 based upon a concept also founded in Germany from 1786 of having paper size with a 1:√2 aspect ratio.
What Are The Different A Size Papers?
There are 11 sizes of A series papers. And before you ask, yes there is a B series of papers (and C & D, etc.) but we’ll talk about that in another article. Here is the list of the 11 A series of papers with the sizes:
Paper Size |
Inches |
Millimeters |
Centimeters |
|
A0 |
33-1/8 x 46-13/16 |
841 x 1188 |
84.1 x 118.8 |
|
A1 |
23-3/8 x 33-1/8 |
594 x 841 |
59.4 x 84.1 |
|
A2 |
16-1/2 x 23-3/8 |
420 x 594 |
42.0 x 59.4 |
|
A3 |
11-3/4 x 16-1/2 |
297 x 420 |
29.7 x 42.0 |
|
A4 |
8-1/4 x 11-3/4 |
210 x 297 |
21.0 x 29.7 |
|
A5 |
5-7/8 x 8-1/4 |
148 x 210 |
14.8 x 21.0 |
|
A6 |
4-1/8 x 5-7/8 |
105 x 148 |
10.5 x 14.8 |
|
A7 |
2-15/16 x 4-1/8 |
74 x 105 |
7.4 x 10.5 |
|
A8 |
2-1/16 x 2-15/16 |
52 x 74 |
5.2 x 7.4 |
|
A9 |
1-1/5 x 2 |
37 x 52 |
3.7 x 5.2 |
|
A10 |
1 x 1.5 |
26 x 37 |
2.6 x 3.7 |
What Do The A Size Papers Look Like?
Going back to the history we mentioned earlier, A series papers were developed with a 1:√2 aspect ratio in mind. With that each size is half the size of its larger number. So for example A1 is half the size of A0 and A2 is half the size of A1 and so on. Here is an infographic that makes it easy to visualize including the dimensions in millimeters.
Imposing Files On A Series Paper Sizes
Since A series paper sizes are the most popular and common for publications, stationery, promotional materials and other common printed products there is a large demand to impose files upon all of the A paper sizes. Using our software here at File Splice you can set up templates in any of the A series paper sizes and impose files with any layout you like. Specify your page margins, bleeds and more.
Visit our A3 demo page to test out the system and sign up if you need to get started imposing files on the A series paper sizes immediately. We always offer free setup and support, just ask!