Editing Paper size (section)

===Inch-based loose sizes<span class="anchor" id="Loose sizes"></span>===
<!-- Spanish names are in italics, most important sizes are in bold, but all these names are commented out, and I don't know why. -->

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ American loose paper sizes<ref name="PWG"/>
!style="max-width:14ch"| Size
! inch × inch || mm × mm ||title="aspect ratio"| AR
|-
!{{rh}}| [[Ledger]]<ref name="PPD"/>
| {{size|17|11|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="S12R photo print"| Tabloid Extra<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|12|18|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| European EDP <!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|12|14|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh}}| Tabloid
| {{size|11|17|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| {{resx|11|15}}<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|11|15|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| [[Continuous stationery|Fanfold]] <!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|11|14+7/8|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="11R photo print"| EDP <!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|11|14|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| {{resx|11|12}}<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|11|12|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| {{resx|10|14}}<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|10|14|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| {{resx|10|13}}<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|10|13|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| {{resx|10|11}}<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|10|11|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| Legal Extra
| {{size|9+1/2|15|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="one of the standard ISO 1008 photo print sizes"| Letter Extra <!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|9+1/2|12|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="old US alias: Quarto"| Letter Tab <!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|9|11|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh}}| Legal
| {{size|8+1/2|14|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| [[Foolscap folio]] <!--PWG 5101.1--> <!--''Oficio''{{qn}}, ''Imperial''{{qn}}-->
| {{size|8+1/2|13+1/2|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| [[Foolscap folio#Oficio|''Oficio'']] <!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|8+1/2|13+2/5|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="British alias: Foolscap (Folio)"| Government Legal;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mainthebest.com/sizes/government-legal-size/|title=Government Legal Size|website=mainthebest}}</ref> [[#F4|Foolscap]]<ref name="PWG"/><!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|8+1/2|13|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| Letter Plus <!--PWG 5101.1: 12.69-inch, perhaps 215 mm @ 2:3, i.e. 322.5 mm -->
| {{size|8+1/2|12+2/3|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| [[#RA4|European Fanfold]]
| {{size|8+1/2|12|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh}} title="Spanish: carta"| [[Letter (paper size)|Letter]]
| {{size|8+1/2|11|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| ''Quarto'' <!--PWG 5101.1: 10.83-inch-->
| {{size|8+1/2|10+5/6|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| Government Legal<ref name="PWG"/><!--PWG 5101.1 –&nbsp;this may be a mistake in the printer standard--> (Foolscap Folio)
| {{size|8|13|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| [[#Demitab|Demitab]] (Government Letter)
| {{size|8|10+1/2|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="old British alias: (Copy Draught) Quarto; 8R or 6P photo print"| Government Letter<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|8|10|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="old US alias: Monarch"| Executive<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|7+1/4|10+1/2|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="old British alias: Imperial"| {{resx|7|9}}<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|7|9|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| Memo, Statement, Mini, Invoice<!--PWG 5101.1-->;<br> Stationery, Half Letter
| {{size|5+1/2|8+1/2|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}}| Junior Legal
| {{size|5|8|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!{{rh2}} title="5R or 2L photo print"| {{resx|5|7}}<!--PWG 5101.1-->
| {{size|5|7|in|mm|ar=on}}
|}

The United States, Canada, and the Philippines<ref name="CLDR">Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela according to {{cite web |title=Territory Information |work=CLDR |version=31 |url=https://www.unicode.org/cldr/charts/latest/supplemental/territory_information.html |access-date=24 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620043901/http://www.unicode.org/cldr/charts/latest/supplemental/territory_information.html |archive-date=20 June 2018 |url-status=live}}, which is a data collection used by almost all software manufacturers.</ref> primarily use a different system of paper sizes from the rest of the world. The current standard sizes are unique to those countries, although due to the size of the North American market and proliferation of both software and printing hardware from the region, other parts of the world have become increasingly familiar with these sizes (though not necessarily the paper itself). Some traditional North American inch-based sizes differ from the [[#Traditional inch-based paper sizes|Imperial British sizes]] described below.

==== Common American loose sizes<span class="anchor" id="Letter"></span><span class="anchor" id="Legal"></span><span class="anchor" id="Ledger"></span><span class="anchor" id="Tabloid"></span><span class="anchor" id="American Quarto"></span>====
''Letter, Legal'' and ''Ledger/Tabloid'' are by far the most commonly used of these for everyday activities, and the only North American paper sizes included in [[Cascading Style Sheets]] (CSS).<ref name="mozilla.org"/>

The origins of the exact dimensions of Letter size paper are lost in tradition and not well documented. The American Forest and Paper Association argues that the dimension originates from the days of manual papermaking and that the 11-inch length of the page is about a quarter of "the average maximum stretch of an experienced vatman's arms."<ref name="US">{{cite web |url=http://www.afandpa.org/paper.aspx?id=511 |title=Why is the standard paper size in the U.S. 8 1/2" x 11"? |access-date=4 August 2009 |publisher=American Forest and Paper Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220192919/http://www.afandpa.org/paper.aspx?id=511 |archive-date=20 February 2012}}</ref> However, this does not explain the width or aspect ratio.

Outside of North America, Letter size may also be known as "American Quarto".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dimensionsguide.com/junior-legal-paper-size/ |title=Junior Legal Paper Size |publisher=Dimensions Guide |access-date=21 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704081857/http://www.dimensionsguide.com/junior-legal-paper-size/ |archive-date=4 July 2010}}</ref> If one accepts some trimming, the size is indeed one quarter of the old Imperial paper size known as Demy, {{convert|17+1/2|×|22+1/2|inch|mm|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Fyffe |author-first=Charles |title=Basic Copyfitting |publisher=Studio Vista |date=1969 |location=London |isbn=978-0-289-79705-1 |page=74}}</ref>

Manufacturers of computer printers, however, recognize inch-based ''Quarto'' as {{frac|10|5|6}} or {{cvt|10.83|inch|mm}} long.<ref name="PWG"/>

==== Usage and adoption ====

US paper sizes are currently standard in the United States and are the most commonly used formats at least in the Philippines, most of [[Mesoamerica]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armada.mil.co/index.php?idcategoria=251610&download=Y |title=Armada mil |access-date=12 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524053225/http://www.armada.mil.co/index.php?idcategoria=251610&download=Y |archive-date=24 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> and Chile. The latter use US Letter, but their Legal size is 13 inches tall (recognized as ''Foolscap'' by printer manufacturers),<ref name="PWG"/> i.e. one inch shorter than its US equivalent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bz.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=91260 |title=Request for inclusion of Page Size 8.5"×13" |access-date=11 August 2008 |author-first=Rally |author-last=de Leon}}</ref>

<span class="anchor" id="Carta"></span><span class="anchor" id="Oficio"></span>
Mexico and Colombia, for instance, have adopted the ISO standard, but the US Letter format is still the system in use throughout the country. It is rare to encounter ISO standard papers in day-to-day uses, with {{lang|es|Carta}} (Letter), {{lang|es|Oficio}} (Government-Legal), and {{lang|es|Doble carta}} (Ledger/Tabloid) being nearly universal. Printer manufacturers, however, recognize {{lang|es|Oficio}} as {{cvt|13.4|inch|mm}} long.<ref name="PWG"/>

In Canada, select US paper sizes are a ''de facto'' standard.

====Variant American loose sizes<span class="anchor" id="Government Letter"></span>====

There is an additional paper size, {{cvt|8|×|10+1/2|inch|abbr=|round=5}}, to which the name ''Government-Letter'' was given by the [[IEEE]] [[Printer Working Group]] (PWG).<ref name="PWG"/> It was prescribed by [[Herbert Hoover]] when he was [[Secretary of Commerce]] to be used for US government forms, apparently to enable discounts from the purchase of paper for schools, but more likely due to the standard use of trimming books (after binding) and paper from the standard letter size paper to produce consistency and allow "bleed" printing. In later years, as photocopy machines proliferated, citizens wanted to make photocopies of the forms, but the machines did not generally have this size of paper in their bins. [[Ronald Reagan]] therefore had the US government switch to regular Letter size, which is half an inch both longer and wider.<ref name="US"/> The former government size is still commonly used in spiral-bound [[notebook]]s, for children's writing and the like, a result of trimming from the current Letter dimensions.

<span class="anchor" id="Statement"></span><span class="anchor" id="Stationery"></span><span class="anchor" id="Memo"></span><span class="anchor" id="Half-Letter"></span><span class="anchor" id="Half-A"></span>
By extension of the American standards, the halved Letter size, {{cvt|5+1/2|×|8+1/2|inch|abbr=|round=5}}, meets the needs of many applications. It is variably known as ''Statement'', ''Stationery'', ''Memo'', ''Half Letter'', ''Half A'' (from ANSI sizes) or simply ''Half Size'', and as ''Invoice'' by printer manufacturers.<ref name="PWG"/> Like the similar-sized ISO A5, it is used for everything from personal letter writing to official aeronautical maps. Organizers, notepads, and diaries also often use this size of paper; thus 3-ring [[binders]] are also available in this size. Booklets of this size are created using word processing tools with landscape printing in two columns on letter paper which are then cut or folded into the final size.

A foot-long sheet with the common width of Letter and (Government) Legal, i.e. {{cvt|8+1/2|x|12|inch|abbr=|round=5}}, would have an aspect ratio very close to the square root of two as used by international paper sizes and would actually almost exactly match [[ISO 217|ISO RA4]] (215&nbsp;mm × 305&nbsp;mm). This size is sometimes known as ''European Fanfold''.<ref name="PWG"/>

<span class="anchor" id="Executive"></span>
While ''Executive'' refers to {{cvt|7+1/4|×|10+1/2|inch|abbr=|round=5}} in America, the Japanese organization for standardization specified it  as {{cvt|216|×|330|mm|abbr=}}, which is elsewhere known as Government Legal or Foolscap.

====Standardized American paper sizes<span class="anchor" id="ANSI paper sizes"></span><span class="anchor" id="ANSI"></span>====
[[File:ANSI size illustration2.svg|thumb|right|A size chart illustrating the ANSI sizes, superimposed on an "ANSI E" sheet]]

In 1996<!-- https://sizes.com/materials/paperUStech.htm claims that it was withdrawn in 1995!-->, the [[American National Standards Institute]] adopted [[ANSI/ASME Y14.1]] which defined a regular series of paper sizes based upon the ''de facto'' standard {{cvt|8+1/2|×|11|inch|mm|sigfig=3}} Letter size which it assigned "ANSI A", intended for technical drawings, hence sometimes labeled "Engineering". This series is somewhat similar to the ISO standard in that cutting a sheet in half would produce two sheets of the next smaller size and therefore also includes Ledger/Tabloid<ref name="PPD">{{cite web  |author=Adobe Systems Incorporated |author-link=Adobe Systems |date=9 February 1996 |title=PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification |edition=4.3 |location=[[San Jose, California]] |page=191 |url=http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/ps/5003.PPD_Spec_v4.3.pdf |access-date=6 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723180944/http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/ps/5003.PPD_Spec_v4.3.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2008}}{{better source|date=July 2016}}</ref> as "ANSI B". Unlike the ISO standard, however, the arbitrary base sides forces this series to have two alternating aspect ratios. For example, ANSI A is less elongated than A4, while ANSI B is more elongated than A3.

The Canadian standard CAN2 9.60-M76 and its successor CAN/CGSB 9.60-94 "Paper Sizes for Correspondence" specified paper sizes P1 through P6, which are the U.S. paper sizes rounded to the nearest 5&nbsp;mm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html |title=International standard paper sizes |access-date=6 March 2008 |author-last=Kuhn |author-first=Markus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115144056/http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html |archive-date=15 January 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> All custom Canadian paper size standards were withdrawn in 2012.<ref name="CAN"><!-- The bare URLs below need placing in some kind of template -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Canadian custom paper size standards 
! Number !! Title !! Original CAN2 release !! CAN/CGSB replacement !! Withdrawal
|-
| 9.60 || Paper Sizes for Correspondence || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/2700 1976-04] || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/5790 1994-07] ||rowspan=4| 2012-04
|-
| 9.61 || Paper Sizes for Printing || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/2701 1976-04] || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/5789 1994-07]
|-
| 9.62 || Paper Sizes for Single Part Continuous Business Forms || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/2417 1981-12] || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/5788 1994-07]
|-
| 9.64 || Drawing Sheet Sizes || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/2512 1979-04] || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/5786 1994-07]
|-
| 200.2 || Common Image Area for Paper Sizes P4 and A4 || [http://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/2464 1979-04] || || 2012-03
|}
</ref>

With care, documents can be prepared so that the text and images fit on either ANSI or their equivalent ISO sheets at a 1:1 reproduction scale.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ ANSI and CAN paper sizes
|-
! US size
! inch × inch !! mm × mm !!title="aspect ratio"| AR !!colspan=2| Canadian size (mm × mm) !!colspan=2| Similar size (mm × mm)
|-
| colspan=4 {{n/a}} || CAN P6 || 107 × 140 || ISO A6 || 105 × 148
|- title="Memo, Statement"
| colspan=4 {{n/a}} || CAN P5 || 140 × 215 || ISO A5 || 148 × 210
|- title="Letter"
! ANSI A
|  {{frac|8|1|2}} × 11 || 216 × 279 || 17:22 || CAN P4 || 215 × 280 || ISO A4 || 210 × 297
|- title="Ledger, Tabloid"
! ANSI B
| 11 × 17 || 279 × 432 || 11:17 || CAN P3 || 280 × 430 || ISO A3 || 297 × 420
|-
! ANSI C
| 17 × 22 || 432 × 559 || 17:22 || CAN P2 || 430 × 560 || ISO A2 || 420 × 594
|-
! ANSI D
| 22 × 34 || 559 × 864 || 11:17 || CAN P1 || 560 × 860 || ISO A1 || 594 × 841
|-
! ANSI E
| 34 × 44 || 864 × 1118 || 17:22 || colspan=2 {{n/a}} || ISO A0 || 841 × 1187
|}

Other, informal, larger sizes continuing the alphabetic series illustrated above exist, but they are not part of the series ''per se'', because they do not exhibit the same aspect ratios. For example, Engineering F size is {{cvt|28|×|40|inch|mm|0|disp=or}} with approximately 1.4286:1; it is commonly required for [[Naval Facilities Engineering Command|NAVFAC]] drawings, but is generally less commonly used. Engineering G size is {{cvt|22+1/2|inch|mm|0}} high, but it is a roll format with a variable width up to {{cvt|90|inch|m}} in increments of {{cvt|8+1/2|inch|mm|0}}. Engineering H through N sizes are also roll formats.

Such huge sheets were at one time used for full-scale layouts of aircraft parts, automotive parts, wiring harnesses, and the like, but are slowly being phased out, due to widespread use of [[computer-aided design]] (CAD) and [[computer-aided manufacturing]] (CAM). Some visual arts fields also continue to use these paper formats for large-scale printouts, such as for displaying digitally painted character renderings at life-size as references for makeup artists and costume designers or to provide an immersive landscape reference.

==== Architectural sizes ====

[[File:ARCH PAPER SIZES v3.svg|thumb|right|A size chart illustrating the Architectural sizes]]
In addition to the system as listed above, there is a corresponding series of paper sizes used for [[architecture|architectural]] purposes defined in the same standard, ANSI/ASME Y14.1, which is usually abbreviated "Arch". This series also shares the property that bisecting each size produces two of the size below, with alternating aspect ratios. It may be preferred by North American architects because the aspect ratios (4:3 and 3:2) are ratios of small integers, unlike their ANSI (or ISO) counterparts. Furthermore, the aspect ratio 4:3 matches the traditional aspect ratio for computer displays.

The size Arch E1 has a different aspect ratio because it derives from adding 6 inches to each side of Arch D or subtracting the same amount from Arch E. Printer manufacturer recognize it as ''wide-format''.<ref name="PWG"/> An intermediate size between Arch C and D with a long side of {{convert|30|inch|mm}} does not exist.
<!-- Someone please explain the weird E2 and E3 here! PWG 5101.1 now has them -->

{| class="wikitable"
|+ US architectural standard paper sizes<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sizes.com/materials/paperUStech.htm |title=Technical drawing paper sizes in the United States |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008145734/http://sizes.com/materials/paperUStech.htm |archive-date=8 October 2016}} at sizes.com</ref>
|-
!colspan=2| Names
! inch × inch !! mm × mm !!title="aspect ratio"| AR
|-
! Arch A !! Arch 1
| {{size|9|12|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
! Arch B !! Arch 2
| {{size|12|18|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
! Arch C !! Arch 3
| {{size|18|24|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
! Arch D !! Arch 4
| {{size|24|36|in|mm|ar=on}}
|- title="wide format"|
! Arch E1 !! Arch 5
| {{size|30|42|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!colspan=2| Arch E2<ref name="PWG"/>
| {{size|26|38|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
!colspan=2| Arch E3<ref name="PWG"/>
| {{size|27|39|in|mm|ar=on}}
|-
! Arch E !! Arch 6
| {{size|36|48|in|mm|ar=on}}
|}