Standard paper sizes give designers, printers and everyone else involved in printing or publishing a convenient, efficient way to agree on product specs and keep costs down. The standardisation of paper sizes traces all the way back to the paper makers of Bologna, Italy.
A-series paper sizes go from largest to smallest as A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8. The basic logic is that each size is half the next one up. Take A4 for example — two A5 sheets put together give you the size of an A4 sheet.
From smallest to largest, the sizes line up like this:
- A8 = 52 × 74 mm
- A7 = 74 × 105 mm
- A6 = 148.5 × 105 mm
- A5 = 210 × 148.5 mm
- A4 = 297 × 210 mm
- A3 = 420 × 297 mm
- A2 = 594 × 420 mm
- A1 = 840 × 594 mm
- A0 = 1188 × 840 mm
If you look closely at the dimensions, you’ll notice that the width of one becomes the height of the next. Think of it as folding the paper — that’s the easy way to keep the numbers straight.
All the dimensions in this visual reflect the real A-series paper sizes. Right-click the image and choose “save as” to download it to your computer.
