U2207

  toc Paper size standard 

Brief history
 First attempts of making standard paper sizes were made by French. But unfortunately French format was not adapted and soon totally disappeared. Afterwards the first series of paper sizes were represented by German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald, who was a Nobel prize winner, at the end of the 19th century. He offered to use paper sizes with 1cm by 1.414 cm.



**ISO A series**
 Within the ISO metric system, the base format is a sheet of paper measuring 1 m² in area (A0 paper size). There are four types of paper sizes: A1, A2, A3 and A4. Today people mostly use A4 format which is 210× 297 mm . This paper size has an advantage: A4 sheets made from 80 grams/  m² paper weighs 5 grams allows to know the weight by counting the number of sheets used. ISO paper size is based on a single aspect ration of the square root of 2, or approximately 1:1.4142. German scientist Georg C. Lichtenberg was first who mentioned the advantage of basing a paper size upon this ratio in his letter to Johann Beckmann: “if a sheet with aspect ratio √2 is divided into two equal halves parallel to its shortest side, then the halves will again have aspect ratio √2”. DIN 476 standard in Germany appeared in 1922. Dr. Walter Porstmann used Lichtenberg’s idea and put it in an appropriate system of different paper formats, replacing a vast variety of other paper sizes. So, today in Germany people use this paper size which is known as “DIN A4”. <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The DIN 476 paper standard is used in other countries of the world as well. It is common in the following countries: <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Belgium <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1924) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Netherlands <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1925) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Norway <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1926) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Finland <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1927) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Switzerland <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1929) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Sweden <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1930) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Soviet Union <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1934) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Hungary <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1938) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Italy <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (1939) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">It was also accepted in Uruguay in 1942, Argentina in 1943, and Brazil in 1943 during the Second World War. And straight after the war it was delivered to the following countries: <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Spain (1947) Austria (1948) Romania (1949) Japan (1951) Denmark (1953) Czechoslovakia (1953) Iran (1948) Israel (1954) Portugal (1954) Yugoslavia (1956) India (1957) Poland (1957) United Kingdom (1959) Ireland (1959) Venezuela (1962) New Zealand (1963) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Iceland (1964) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> Mexico (1965) South Africa (1966) France (1967) Peru (1967) Turkey (1967) Chile (1968) Greece (1970) Rhodesia (1970) Singapore (1970) Bangladesh (1972) Thailand (1973) Barbados (1973) Australia (1974) Ecuador (1974) Colombia (1975) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Kuwait (1975) <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">

<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">DIN 476 was established as a ISO standard in 1975 when so many countries were switched to the German system. By 1977 A4 size was the standard format in 88 countries out of 148, but the USA and Canada. <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The largest standard paper size is A0. It has an area of 1 m². The length of the long side of the sheet in meters is the 4th root of 2—approximately 1.189 meters. The short side is the reciprocal of this number, approximately 0.841 meters. A1 is formed by cutting a piece of A0 into 2 equal area rectangles. Because of the choice of lengths, the aspect ratio is the same for A1 as for A0 (as it is for A2, A3, etc). This particular measurement system was chosen to allow folding of one standard size into another, which cannot be accomplished with traditional paper sizes. <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">While preparing brochures next method is used: paper at A3 is folded to make A4 brochures or paper at A4 is used to make A5 brochures. <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">

<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">**ISO B series**
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Apart from A series of paper size there is also B paper size. Here, the area of is the geometric mean of successive A series sheets. B1 has an area of 0.71 m², which lies between A0 and A1. As a result, B0 has one side 1-meter long, and other sizes in the B series have one side that is a half, quarter or eighth of a meter. While less common in office use, it is used for a variety of special situations. Many posters use B-series paper or a close approximation, such as 50 cm×70 cm; B5 is a relatively common choice for books. The B series is also used for envelopes and passports. <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">

** ISO C series **
There is also C format of papers which is known as ISO 269. It is only used for envelops. The area of C series sheets is the geometric mean of the areas of the A and B series sheets of the same number; for instance, the area of a C4 sheet is the geometric mean of the areas of an A4 sheet and a B4 sheet. This means that C4 is slightly larger than A4, and B4 slightly larger than C4. The practical usage of this is that a letter written on A4 paper fits inside a C4 envelope, and a C4 envelope fits inside a B4 envelope.
 * **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 || 33.1 × 46.8 || 1000 × 1414 || 39.4 × 55.7 || 917 × 1297 || 36.1 × 51.1 ||
 * **1** || 594 × 841 || 23.4 × 33.1 || 707 × 1000 || 17.8 × 39.4 || 648 × 917 || 25.5 × 36.1 ||
 * **2** || 420 × 594 || 16.5 × 23.4 || 500 × 707 || 19.7 × 27.8 || 458 × 648 || 18.0 × 25.5 ||
 * **3** || 297 × 420 || 11.7 × 16.5 || 353 × 500 || 13.9 × 19.7 || 324 × 458 || 12.8 × 18.0 ||
 * **4** || 210 × 297 || 8.3 × 11.7 || 250 × 353 || 9.8 × 13.9 || 228 × 324 || 9.0 × 12.8 ||
 * **5** || 148 × 210 || 5.8 × 8.3 || 176 × 250 || 6.9 × 9.8 || 162 × 229 || 6.4 × 9.0 ||
 * **6** || 105 × 148 || 4.1 × 5.8 || 125 × 176 || 4.9 × 6.9 || 114 × 162 || 4.5 × 6.4 ||
 * **7** || 74 × 105 || 2.9 × 4.1 || 88 × 125 || 3.5 × 4.9 || 81 × 114.9 || 3.2 × 4.5 ||
 * **8** || 52 × 74 || 2.0 × 2.9 || 62 × 88 || 2.4 × 3.5 || 57 × 81 || 2.2 × 3.2 ||
 * **9** || 37 × 52 || 1.5 × 2.0 || 44 × 62 || 1.7 × 2.4 || 40 × 57 || 1.6 × 2.2 ||
 * **10** || 26 × 37 || 1.0 × 1.5 || 31 × 44 || 1.2 × 1.7 || 28 × 40 || 1.1 × 1.6 ||

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).

** ISO F series **
F4 paper size, which is known as “foolscap”, exists as well. It is mostly used in Southeast Asia and Australia. It has the same width as A4, but is longer.

There are also North American, Swedish and Japanese paper size standards. In the United States and Canada they use their own traditional paper sizes which are measured in inches. The most common used paper sizes are 8.5x11, 11x17, 17x22, 19x25, 23x35, 25x38. In Sweden there are not only A, B, and C formats but also D, E, F and G sizes. Commonly used paper sizes are only G and E paper sizes which are used for dissertations, the rest of them are not that popular neither in Sweden, nor in the world. In Japan people use 2 types of paper sizes: A and B. Both of them are quite in demand. The JIS A-series is much the same as the ISO A-series. The JIS B-series is 1.5 times that of the corresponding A-paper and the length is 1.22 times than that of the A-paper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html http://www.sizes.com/materls/paperISO.htm** http://www.weltchronik.de/ws/bio/o/ostwald/ow01932a-OstwaldWilhelm-18530902b-19320404d.htm
 * References: