The measurements of the A series paper formats (A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10) They were created at the beginning of the 20th century under the name of DIN 476 or DIN A. Currently the formats are maintained under the ISO 216 standard.
The A or DIN A series begins with the A0 format, which has a measurement close to a square meter. From there, the following formats will be half of the previous size. This means that A1 is half the size of A0, A2 is half the size of the A1 sheet, and so on.
In the reverse direction, each sheet format measures twice the size that follows it. That means that A9 is twice the size of A10, A4 is twice the size of A5, etc.
At the moment, formats ranging from A0 to A3 are used in the graphic and advertising industry to make posters, while the A3 to A5 formats are often used in the publishing industry to make brochures, books, magazines and stationery. While the smaller formats A7 to A10 are used to make cards.
Table of measures of paper series A
Paper size Millimeters Centimeters Inches A0 841 x 1189 mm 84.1 x 118.9 cm 33 X 46.8 inches A1 594 x 841 mm
59.4 x 84.1cm
23.4 x 33.1 inches
A2
420 x 594mm
42 x 59.4cm
16.5 x 23.4 inches A3 297 x 420mm
11.5″ x 16.5″
1.7 x 16.5 inches
A4
210 x 297mm
21 x 29.7cm
8.3 x 11.7 inches
TO 5
148x210mm
14.8 x 21cm
5.8 x 8.3 inches
A6
105x148mm
10.5 x 14.8cm
4.1 x 5.8 inches
A7
74x105mm
7.4 x 10.5cm
2.9 x 4.1 inches
A8 52x74mm
5.2 x 7.4cm
2 x 2.9 inch A9 37 x 52mm
3.7 x 5.2cm
1.5 x 2 inches
A10 26x37mm
1″ x 1.5″
1 x 1.5 inch
Why is the A series called DIN A or ISO 216?
Series A blade sizes are used almost everywhere in the world, except Canada, the United States, and most Latin American countries. In these countries, letter, legal, official and tabloid sizes are used, which belong to the American measurement system.
In the rest of the world the ISO 216 standard is used, which in turn comes from the DIN 476 format, Created after World War I to standardize paper measurements. This is where the A series comes from, also known as DIN A or fundamental series.
The importance of the DIN A series is that the rest of the measurements used in the graphic industry are obtained from there. In addition, these measurements are the most used in the world because they are those of the paper used in photocopiers and printers, office supplies, envelopes, posters, etc., so they are a reference.
Although the measurements between the American standard (which includes letter size, letters, folio and tabloid) and the ISO 216 format are very different from each other, in many cases A4 sheet and letter size paper are considered similar, although they really are not. This is especially useful in the use of photocopiers and printers.
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