What Size is A4 Paper? – A Guide to Paper Sizes
What size is A4 paper? And A3 and A5 and A0, for that matter! The most common paper sizes used in the UK for printing and stationery are International Paper Sizes which all begin with the letter A. The range begins with A10 (37mm x 26mm) and goes all the way through to the “Bus Stop Size” A0 (1189mm x 841mm).
A Sized Paper
With A sized paper, however you double the short edge or half the long edge, it will always have the same width to height ratio. For example, the dimensions of A4 paper are 210x297mm, and half of A4 equals A5, and double A4 equals A3.
Starting from A0, all subsequent A paper sizes are determined by halving the paper on its most extended size. A0 halves to become A1, which halves to become A2, all the way down to A10. Remember, the length of the smaller size is always equal to the width of the larger size. For example, the length of A4 is 297mm, which is also the width of A3.
To many people worldwide, excluding North America and Canada, the most standard paper size is A4 (a familiar 210mm x 297mm). It is commonly used for letters and correspondence in the UK, and it is the standard paper size for most home printers. I bet you’ve seen, used, and scribbled on at least one piece of this today!
At The Printroom Group, we print on sizes from A5 to A0, both bound and unbound. We also print custom sizes if needed.
We offer many print products, so please visit our Home Page
If you are looking for posters, Document Printing, or any other cost-effective printing, visit our poster printing page, document printing page, or our print catalogue.
We have Document printing, A1 Poster Printing, A2 poster printing, A0 poster printing, and small format printed posters, A4 and A3 poster printing. And when you visit www.manual-printers.co.uk, you can enjoy a £5.00 Discount on your printing when you join our mailing list!
Paper Sizes and Types: Buying Guide
Different paper is used for various purposes in both the home and the office.
Printer paper is almost always going to be A4 size—posters for internal memos or small signage, maybe A4 or A3. However, larger advertising posters are usually A1 if inside and on a wall; however, A1 and A0 posters are used for outdoor advertising.
Below we have put together a guide on common A” size paper sizes and the most valuable (or standard) uses for the paper size.
At the bottom of the post, you can see a detailed size guide for every paper size. Our paper guide has paper measured in both Imperial (inches) and metric (mm)
What size is A4?
A4 size is 210mm x 297mm. In inches, it is 8.3” x 11.7 inches
A4 paper is commonly used for Letters, Letterheads, bills like electricity and gas bills. Furthermore, most corporate books and magazines in the UK are printed A4. A4 paper is the most commonly used paper size in the UK. Most home and office printers and also office photocopiers use A4 paper as a standard paper.
What are the other common Paper Sizes in the UK?
A5 paper size is 148.5mm x 210mm.
There are many popular uses for A5 sized paper. For instance: flyers, posters, invitations, small booklets, football programmes, planners, and diaries.
A5 paper is exactly an A4 size piece of paper cut in half horizontally.
A6 Paper – 105mm x 148.5mm
Invites and flyers are two of the most popular uses for A6 paper. However, it’s not as popular as A5 or A4 paper for most products.
A6 is a standard size for postcards, scratch cards and smaller flyers.
A7 Size 74mm x 105mm
A7 size is just smaller than the standard 85mm x 105mm business card size.
This size of paper is not a popular size at all. However, it is used for things such as tickets and tags for products.
What Size is A3 Paper?
A3 Size – 297mm x 420mm. This is similar to a Tabloid newspaper size. However, the proportions are slightly different. A3 size printing is most commonly used for small indoor signs and posters.
A few other popular uses for A3 sized paper is for presentations, pie charts, and printing where graphics are used.
A2 Size – 420mm x 594mm.
Paper that is sized A2 is popularly used for small posters. It’s commonly used for smaller posters, maybe hung on a door. Furthermore, A2 posters are also used as advertising posters or for retail shops.
In addition, A2 Paper is also used for charts and graphs if presenting a training session.
A1 Size – 594mm x 841mm
The most common poster size that we print at The Printroom Group is A1. A1 posters look great on a wall or as a piece of art. For the office, they are big and bold and can be used to promote an event or be used as a notice. A1 size posters are also standard in shops and other retail outlets; they can be used for displaying a menu or prices in barbers or Beauty Salon.
A0 Size – 841 m x 1189
A0 size paper is a standard “Bus Stop size” poster. They are nearly a meter wide and just over a meter in length (if you are looking at an A0 poster horizontally). They can be used in an office or also as an advertising poster for an event or service being offered.
Printing tips and info:
Printing requires a resolution in dpi (dots per inch or dots per inch in English). The two main resolutions used are as follows:
HR / 300 dpi: high resolution (for quality documents with photos or graphics)
BR / 72 dpi: low resolution (for text or possibly for graphics for internal use)
If printing an image, you should use 300dpi images. This is because it will give a clear and sharp image once printed out.
Paper Margins (also known as a print bleed)
Also, remember to include a bleed margin which is an area of between 2 and 5 millimeters around the template. This will be cut off and will not usually appear on the printed document.
This extra area is cut off. Consequently, allowing the print to run right to the edge of the sheet of paper.
Nearly all paper in the UK paper mills is now FSC Approved. This means that the paper is responsibly harvested. Subsequently helping the economy of whole towns and villages. FSC approves all paper farms and makes sure that workers are being paid a fair price and not taken advantage of. Paper for trees is grown especially to make paper. Once trees are cut down, they are immediately replanted. Once all the trees are made into paper, the new trees have grown to start the production cycle again.
Paper can be a good choice. It comes at three levels:
Recycled paper: Made from recycled fibres, it does not offer the same level of whiteness as virgin paper, which can be a wise choice if your business is keen to showcase its environmental commitment to its customers. Mixed paper: by adding virgin fibres from controlled forests to recycled fibres, we obtain a paper whose quality is equivalent to your usual paper while preserving the environment.
To describe the thickness and the quality feel of a sheet of paper, we speak of its gram-mage, that is to say, the mass (in grams) of a sheet of 1 square meter. The higher the basis weight, the heavier, thicker, and stronger the sheet will be. For photocopy paper, we will generally choose light and inexpensive sheets of 80 gsm in A4 size (dimensions 21 cm by 29.7 cm), whereas a magazine cover will require a gram-mage of at least 170 gsm and size of A3 paper.
List of the different gram-mages available and their uses:
Paper Weight Use
- 80 – 100gsm Internal or temporary documents, preferably containing only text (memos, photocopies, fax)
- 110 – 120gsm Letterhead or external correspondence.
- 130 -170gsm More durable paper generally reserved for printing brochures or flyers.
- 170 – 200gsm From 170 gsm, we talk about cardboard sheets.
- This paper can, for example, be used for the cover of a magazine or a brochure or the printing of two-sided booklets.
- 200 – 250gsm The usual grammage of postcards. It can also be used to create an excellent quality blanket.
- 300 – 400gsm We enter the category of cardboard boxes. Ideal for business cards or a book or magazine cover
- (be careful to adapt the binding).
- 400gsm and above To create luxury business cards.
Shiny, also called “glossy paper”, is mainly used for printing photos. For the pages of a magazine, glossy coated paper is used.
Mast without the above shine effect, matte paper will stand up to repeated handling and fingerprints better.
The coated paper results from the printer’s work and has a better look, feel, and colours.
Paper sizes and formats
A4 paper is measured in A paper sizes. Especially since the paper format from A0 to A10 has the advantage of always keeping its proportions. In other words, the length of a sheet Ax will always be equal to the width of A (x + 1), while the width of Ax will always equal the length of A (x-1). For example, fold an A1 size sheet in half to get A2 size paper.
The most oversized standardized printing format is the A0 format (dimensions 118.9 x 84.1 cm), used in particular for on-site communication (kakemonos, posters). The paper formats A1 (dimensions 84.1 x 59.4 cm) and A2 (dimensions 59.4 x 42 cm) are also used for advertising communication but also architectural plans. A4 (dimensions 29.7 x 21 cm) and A3 (dimensions 42 x 29.7 cm) are the most common and compatible with most printers and photocopiers. A5 paper (dimensions 21 x 14.8 cm) is used in particular for printing advertising brochures. Finally, A6 is the standard size for photo paper, A7 is for printing menus or small advertising documents, A8 is the size of playing cards or business cards, and A9 is the size of self-adhesive labels.
Paper size A
Dimensions in millimetres Length x Width (mm) Dimensions in centimetres
Length x Width
Size in pixels Length x Width (px)
A0 paper size 1189 x 841 mm 118.9 x 84.1 cm HR – 14043 x 9933px
BR – 3370 x 2384px
A1 paper dimensions 841 x 594 mm 84.1 x 59.4 cm HR – 9933 x 7016px
BR – 2384 x 1684px
A2 paper size
594 x 420 mm 59.4 x 42 cm HR – 7016 x 4961px
BR – 1648 x 1191px
A3 paper dimensions
420 x 297 mm 42 x 29.7 cm HR – 4961 x 3508px
BR – 1191 x 842px
A4 paper dimensions
297 x 210 mm 29.7 x 21 cm HR – 3508 x 2480px
BR – 842 x 595px
A5 paper dimensions
210 x 148 mm 21 x 14.8 cm HR – 2480 x 1748px
BR – 595 x 420px
A6 paper size
148 x 105 mm 14.8 x 10.5 cm HR – 1748 x 1240px
BR – 420 x 298px
A7 paper size
105 x 74 mm 10.5 x 7.4 cm HR – 1240 x 874px
BR – 298 x 210px
A8 paper size
74 x 52 mm 7.4 x 5.2 cm HR – 874 x 614px
BR – 210 x 147px
A9 paper size
52 x 37 mm 5.2 x 3.7 cm HR – 614 x 437px
BR – 147 x 105px
A10 paper size
37 x 26 mm 3.7 x 2.5 cm HR – 437 x 307px
BR – 105 x 74px
Paper size B
Less common on a daily basis, B-format paper is used by professional printers for books, brochures, passports, etc. For an equivalent figure, a B-format sheet of paper will be slightly larger than its A-series counterpart.
Dimensions in millimeters
Width x Length (mm)
Dimensions in centimetres
Width x Length
Dimensions in pixels
Width x Length (px)
B0 paper dimensions 1000 x 1414 mm 100 x 141.4 cm HR – 11811 x 16701px
BR – 2835 x 4008px
B1 paper dimensions 707 x 1000 mm 70.7 x 100.0 cm HR – 8350 x 11811px
BR – 2004 x 2835px
B2 paper dimensions 500 x 707 mm 50.0 x 70.7 cm HR – 5906 x 8350px
BR – 1417 x 2004px
B3 paper dimensions 353 x 500 mm 35.3 x 50.0 cm HR – 4169 x 5906px
BR – 1001 x 1417px
B4 paper dimensions 250 x 353 mm 25.0 x 35.3 cm HR – 2953 x 4169px
BR – 709 x 1001px
B5 paper dimensions 176 x 250 mm 17.6 x 25.0 cm HR – 2079 x 2953px
BR – 499 x 709px
B6 paper dimensions 125 x 176 mm 12.5 x 17.6 cm HR – 1476 x 2079px
BR – 354 x 499px
B7 paper dimensions 88 x 125 mm 8.8 x 12.5 cm HR – 1039 x 1476px
BR – 249 x 354px
B8 paper dimensions 62 x 88 mm 6.2 x 8.8 cm HR – 732 x 1039px
BR – 176 x 249px
B9 paper dimensions 44 x 62 mm 4.4 x 6.2 cm HR – 520 x 732px
BR – 125 x 176px
B10 paper dimensions 31 x 44 mm 3.1 x 4.4 cm HR – 366 x 520px
BR – 88 x 125px
Paper dimensions C
C0 to C10 size paper is more common than you might think: it is the equivalent envelope to the sheet of paper with the same number. A C5 envelope will, for example, ideally contain an A5 sheet. And as if by magic, a C5 sheet is the perfect size to send in a B5 envelope.
Dimensions in millimeters
Width x Length
(mm) Dimensions in centimetres
Width x Length
C0 paper dimensions 917 x 1297 mm 91.7 x 129.7 cm
C1 paper dimensions 648 X 917 mm 64.8 x 91.7 cm
C2 paper dimensions 458 x 648 mm 45.8 x 64.8 cm
C3 paper dimensions 324 x 458 mm 32.4 x 45.8 cm
C4 paper dimensions 229 x 324 mm 22.9 x 32.4 cm
C5 paper dimensions 162 x 229 mm 16.2 x 22.9 cm
C6 paper dimensions 114 x 162 mm 11.4 x 16.2 cm
C7 paper dimensions 81 x 114 mm 8.1 x 11.4 cm
C8 paper dimensions 57 x 81 mm 5.7 x 8.1 cm
C9 paper dimensions 40 x 57 mm 4.0 x 5.7 cm
C10 paper dimensions 28 x 40 mm 2.8 x 4.0 cm
To summarize, we have gathered the list of documents most frequently printed in the office or at your printer and the corresponding paper type.
Product Weight Paper size Finish
Standard document (memo, photocopy, fax) 80 – 100gsm A4 Mast
Correspondence, report, a document intended for a client 110 – 120gsm A4 Mast
Magazine 170 – 200gsm A4 / A5 Glossy coated
Business cards 300 – 400gsm AT 8 Mast
Leaflets, restaurant menus, brochures and flyers 130 -170gsm AT 5 Shiny
Brochure covers and reports 200-250gsm A4 / A5 Matt or glossy, textured
Posters or posters 130 -170gsm A0-A1, B0-B2 Glossy coated
Books 130 -170gsm A4-A6, B3-B5 Velvet
Envelopes 110 – 120gsm Any C size Mast