Why size matters - when it comes to paper

Metric paper sizes are widely understood in Europe, Australia, Japan and most of the countries on this planet.  But in North and Central America things are done differently.  The imperial system lives on.

This can make life complicated in several fields, poster frames being one of them.  Will the Americans change?  Probably not as it is such a large and developed market.  But one leading American authority on paper sizes says:

Globalization starts with getting the details right. Inconsistent use of SI units and international standard paper sizes remain today a primary cause for U.S. businesses failing to meet the expectations of the global economy.

                                            Refer to the full text of Markus Kuhn’s in depth article on paper sizes.

Of course it’s a problem both ways.  For the enthusiastic American visitors to our UK website and exhibition stands it comes as a frustrating disappointment that our ingenious and adaptable display systems don’t cater for US letter and legal size paper.

ISO (International Standards Organisation) paper sizes are based on the metric system – more properly known as the SI system.  The A-series paper size concept is well thought out and very convenient.

Each size in the series is double the size of the previous one.  So A3 paper is double the size of A4.  But the cunning bit is this: the ratio of width to height remains the same throughout the range.  So you can enlarge or shrink the image to your heart’s content and it will fit the next page size (in fact ANY page size) perfectly.  The proportion of width to height remains constant.

Mathematically this is achieved simply.  The ratio of the two sides is always 1: square root of 2.  This is the perfect ratio that will achieve a halving (or doubling) of successive paper sizes while maintaining a constant proportion of width to height.

It all starts with the largest size sheet in the series called A0.  The size of this works out to 1 square metre.  This is handy as paper weights are usually quoted in gm/m2.  Halve an A0 sheet and you get two sheets of A1 – with the same proportion of width to height as the original.  This works all the way down to A6 postcard size and beyond.  Refer to our Help with Paper Sizes link for the exact dimensions.

 

Here in the UK everyone knows what a sheet of A4 looks like.  Brochures, letters, school exercise books etc all utilise this size.  It is close to US letter size but a little taller and narrower.  Every office laser or home inkjet printer manufactured takes A4 paper as a default.  Naturally therefore, we offer lots of styles of print holder and poster frame specifically sized to take A4 sheets.

However things get a little more complicated because laminating or encapsulating prints is a popular option.  Low cost desktop laminators are to be found everywhere.  The resulting page is waterproof and protected against dirt and grime.  But it is also bigger – to the tune of about 3mm all round – due to the laminating pouch being designed to form a seal all round the sheet.  As a consequence we manufacture some poster frames sized to fit laminated A4. 

In fact this style of poster frame is a best seller.  Slim frames are plastic injection moulded frames designed to accommodate true A5, A4 and A3 paper, but also laminated A5, A4 and A3.  These are the very frames which are often appealing to the US counterparts of our UK garden centre customers.  But the Americans want to use letter size – and sorry, it won’t fit!

As mentioned above, our other frames which are manufactured from profiles rather than moulded in one piece can be made to special sizes.   However some frames of these types are readily available in the USA and Canada so it may not be economic to ship them from Europe.

A point not widely appreciated by Americans is that metric size paper CAN be purchased in the USA.  Because in some academic and commercial circles the advantages of using A4 as a standard has been recognised, the metric size is available if you look for it.  But we understand the reluctance to change.

However, as someone old enough to have been brought up with inches and foolscap paper this author urges Americans to consider the benefits of change.  Personally I am dimensionally bilingual.  But give me millimetres any day rather than those horrendous fractions of an inch if you want me to do any calculations for you!