More information about paper sizes
Use our helpful visual paper size guide
This page helps you understand how large or small different size signs, poster frames and notice boards look relative to an average size lady. Roll over the size chart, or swipe the image on mobile, to see what every paper size actually looks like.
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Choose with care
Choose frames and cases with care! Some poster frames are pretty large and take up a good deal of space (and are costly to return). On the other hand, smaller sizes may look great when viewed up close, but lose impact when viewed for a distance.
Read more information about choosing a poster frame
Metric Paper Sizes
Metric paper sizes are also known as International Standard (ISO 216) or DIN (German Standard) paper sizes.
They are used in most of the countries in the world - the most important exception being North America.
In United Kingdom a few 'inch' sizes are used alongside metric sizes. However US 'letter' and 'legal' sizes are never used - they are universally replaced by A4 size. Letter size is shown on our diagram for reference - it is slightly wider than A4 and not quite as tall.
Every 'A' size is double the previous size: A3 is twice the size of A4, and so forth.
Remember that A8 is very small (about 2in x 3in) and A0 is big (nearly 3ft x 4ft).
| Metric name | Size in mm (cm) | Size in inches |
| A0 size | 841x1188mm (84x119) | 33-1/8 x 46-3/4 in |
| A1 size | 594x841 mm (60x84) | 23-3/8 x 33-1/8 in |
| A2 size | 420x594 mm (42x60) | 16-1/2 x 23-3/8 in |
| A3 size | 297x420 mm (30x42) | 11-3/4 x 16-1/2 in |
| A4 size | 210x297 mm (21x30) | 8-1/4 x 11-3/4 in |
| A5 size | 148x210mm (15x21) | 5-7/8 x 8-1/4 in |
| A6 size | 105x148 mm (10x15) | 4-1/8 x 5-7/8 in |
| A7 size | 74x105 mm (7.5x10) | 2-7/8 x 4-1/8 in |
| A8 size | 52x74 mm (5x7.5) | 2-1/8 x 2-7/8 in |
| 1/3A4 (DL size) | 99x210 mm (10x21) | 3-7/8 x 8-1/4 in |
| 1/4A4 (Qtr.A4) | 74x210 mm (7.5x21) | 2-7/8 x 8-1/4 in |
To calculate in cm use mm above and move the decimal point one space to the left:
210mm is 21cm. The above cm sizes are nominal (i.e. rounded to the nearest cm)
Imperial Paper Sizes (inches)
| Inch size | Size in mm | Paper name |
| 20x30 in | 508x762 mm | Double Crown |
| 30x40 in | 762x1016 mm | Quad or Quad Crown |
| 40x60 in | 1016x1524 mm | 4 Sheet or |
| Double Quad |
DL Size or 1/3 A4
There is one size which causes a lot of confusion and unfortunately Google doesn't help!
When you fold a piece of A4 paper into 3 you end up with a very popular paper size - with no agreed name!
In the age of the Compliments Slip 'one third A4' written 1/3 A4 was a very common office paper size. When letters were folded into three to fit into a window envelope, people knew to order DL envelopes. Today DL size has been 'adopted' as the name for this size (although the paper size is slightly smaller than the envelope so that they fit).
A common and correct way to describe this size is 1/3 A4. But search engines such as Google do not understand this size and frequently direct users searching for A4 size products to the much smaller (and cheaper) 1/3 A4. Because the user searched for A4 and they trust Google, customers end up ordering a 1/3 A4 product in error (and normally blame the supplier for sending the wrong thing!) So we no longer use "1/3 A4" - sometimes we write 1/3A4 or 1/3rdA4, but generally we use DL size as we find it's the least confusing to our customers.
Some people refer to this size as Trifold or flyer size or tourist leaflet size. In mainland Europe it is sometimes called A6L which stands for A6 Long. But A6 is a quarter of a sheet of A4, rather than one third, so that makes little sense. The certain way is to check the measurements: if your paper or leaflet is 10 cm x 21 cm or roughly 4 inch x 8 inch - you need to order DL size.
