Letter Paper Size – What Size is Letter Paper | Complete Guide to Paper Sizes
What’s letter size paper? Is letter size paper the same as A4? What are the letter size paper dimensions? Is 8 x 11 the same as A4? You can find all your questions about US letter paper sizes answered in this post.
The standard paper size used in the United States and Canada is Letter, also known as ANSI Letter.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) defines paper sizes in the United States.
Internationally, the paper sizes are defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
One of the most common paper sizes used globally (including the UK but excluding North America and parts of Latin America) is A series, also known as international paper sizes.
The A-series is defined by ISO 216 (ISO 216 is the international standard for paper sizes).
There are multiple paper sizes, but the most common ones used are Letter and A4.
- What is letter size paper?
- US Loose Paper Size Series
- North American Loose paper sizes in inches (Table)
- North American Loose paper sizes in millimeters (Table)
- ANSI Paper sizes in inches and millimeters (Table)
- The Architectural Sizes (ARCH)
- Supplementary Raw Format A (SRA)
- How do you print Letter document on A4 paper and vice versa?
- Is letter size paper same as A4?
- What's the difference between Letter and A4?
What is letter size paper?
Letter is the standard paper size for business and academic documents in the United States and Canada.
US letter paper size print dimensions:
8.5 x 11 inches
(216 x 279 mm)
Letter is a paper size 8.5 inches wide and 11 inches long.
DOWNLOAD: US Letter dimensions in inches and millimeters – printable PDF
US Loose Paper Size Series
There are many different paper sizes, but the most commonly used is US Letter, which is 8.5 x 11 inches (216 x 279 mm).
Here are the North American paper sizes:
Letter
- 8.5 x 11 inches
- 216 × 279 mm
Half Letter
- 5.5 x 8.5 inches
- 140 x 216 mm
Legal
- 8.5 x 14 inches
- 216 × 356 mm
Junior Legal
- 5 x 8 inches
- 127 x 203 mm
Tabloid (Portrait)
- 11 x 17 inches
- 279 × 432 mm
Ledger (Landscape)
- 17 x 11 inches
- 432 × 279 mm
Government Letter
- 8 x 10.5 inches
- 203 x 267 mm
Government Legal
- 8.5 x 13 inches
- 216 x 330 mm
DOWNLOAD: Letter paper size guide with dimensions in inches – printable PDF
DOWNLOAD: Paper sizes guide (table with dimensions) PDF
North American Loose paper sizes in inches (Table)
| Paper Size | Width (in) | Length (in) | Dimensions (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | 8.5 in | 11.0 in | 8.5 x 11.0 |
| Half Letter | 5.5 in | 8.5 in | 5.5 x 8.5 |
| Legal | 8.5 in | 14.0 in | 8.5 x 14.0 |
| Junior Legal | 5.0 in | 8.0 in | 5.0 x 8.0 |
| Ledger | 11.0 in | 17.0 in | 11.0 x 17.0 |
| Tabloid | 17.0 in | 11.0 in | 17.0 x 11.0 |
| Government Letter | 8.0 in | 10.0 in | 8.0 x 10.0 |
| Government Legal | 8.5 in | 13.0 in | 8.5 x 13.0 |
North American Loose paper sizes in millimeters (Table)
| Paper Size | Width (mm) | Lenght (mm) | Dimensions (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | 216 mm | 279 mm | 216 x 279 |
| Half Letter | 140 mm | 216 mm | 140 x 216 |
| Legal | 216 mm | 356 mm | 216 x 356 |
| Junior Legal | 127 mm | 203 mm | 127 x 203 |
| Ledger | 279 mm | 432 mm | 279 x 432 |
| Tabloid | 432 mm | 279 mm | 432 x 279 |
| Government Letter | 203 mm | 254 mm | 203 x 254 |
| Government Legal | 216 mm | 330 mm | 216 x 330 |
ANSI Paper sizes in inches and millimeters (Table)
Here are the ANSI sizes in inches (Table)
| Paper Size | Width (in) | Length (in) | Dimensions (in) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANSI A | 8.5 in | 11.0 in | 8.5 x 11.0 | Same as Letter |
| ANSI B | 11.0 in | 17.0 in | 11.0 x 17.0 | Same as Ledger |
| ANSI C | 17.0 in | 22.0 in | 17.0 x 22.0 | |
| ANSI D | 22.0 in | 34.0 in | 22.0 x 34.0 | |
| ANSI E | 34.0 in | 44.0 in | 34.0 x 44.0 |
And here are the ANSI paper sizes in millimeters (Table)
| Paper Size | Width (mm) | Length (mm) | Dimensions (mm) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANSI A | 216 mm | 279 mm | 216 x 279 | Same as Letter |
| ANSI B | 279 mm | 432 mm | 279 x 432 | Same as Ledger |
| ANSI C | 432 mm | 559 mm | 432 x 559 | |
| ANSI D | 559 mm | 864 mm | 559 x 864 | |
| ANSI E | 864 mm | 1118 mm | 864 x 1118 |
The Architectural Sizes (ARCH)
Architects in North America use the Architectural series (ARCH), and they prefer to use this series instead of ANSI because the aspect ratios are ratios of smaller whole numbers (4:3 and 3:2).
Here are the ARCH paper sizes in inches (Table)
| Paper Size | Width (in) | Length (in) | Dimensions (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARCH A | 9.0 in | 12.0 in | 9.0 x 12.0 |
| ARCH B | 12.0 in | 18.0 in | 12.0 x 18.0 |
| ARCH C | 18.0 in | 24.0 in | 18.0 x 24.0 |
| ARCH D | 24.0 in | 36.0 in | 24.0 x 36.0 |
| ARCH E | 36.0 in | 48.0 in | 36.0 x 48.0 |
| ARCH E1 | 30.0 in | 42.0 in | 30.0 x 42.0 |
| ARCH E2 | 26.0 in | 38.0 in | 26.0 × 38.0 |
| ARCH E3 | 27.0 in | 39.0 in | 27.0 × 39.0 |
And here are the ARCH paper sizes in millimeters (Table)
| Paper Size | Width (mm) | Length (mm) | Dimensions (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARCH A | 229 mm | 305 mm | 229 x 305 |
| ARCH B | 305 mm | 457 mm | 305 x 457 |
| ARCH C | 457 mm | 610 mm | 457 x 610 |
| ARCH D | 610 mm | 914 mm | 610 x 914 |
| ARCH E | 914 mm | 1219 mm | 914 x 1219 |
| ARCH E1 | 762 mm | 1067 mm | 762 x 1067 |
| ARCH E2 | 660 mm | 965 mm | 660 × 965 |
| ARCH E3 | 686 mm | 991 mm | 686 × 991 |
Supplementary Raw Format A (SRA)
SRA stands for ”Supplementary Raw Format A,” and it’s commonly used in commercial printing.
It’s untrimmed and a bit larger than usual A sizes. It provides extra space for ink bleed to the paper’s edge before trimming it to the desired finished A size.
How do you print Letter document on A4 paper and vice versa?
To print or copy a letter document on A4 paper, adjust the magnification factor to 97% (as A4 is 3% narrower than Letter).
Conversely, to print or copy an A4 document on Letter paper, set the magnification factor to 94% (as Letter is 6% shorter).
Is letter size paper same as A4?
No, US Letter paper size (8.5 x 11 inches / 216 x 279 mm) is not the same as A4 paper size (8.27 x 11.69 inches / 210 x 297 mm).
What’s the difference between Letter and A4?
The difference between Letter and A4 is their dimensions and where in the world they’re used.
The dimensions of both paper sizes are slightly different, too.
Letter paper measures 8.5 by 11 inches (216 x 279 mm), and A4 measures 210 x 297 millimeters (8.27 x 11.69 inches).
So US letter is wider than A4, but A4 is slightly larger in height.
Here is the size in inches, size in millimeters, and an image comparing the papers.
| Width (in) | Length (in) | Width (mm) | Length (mm) | |
| Letter | 8.5 in | 11.0 in | 216 mm | 279 mm |
| A4 | 8.3 in | 11.7 in | 210 mm | 297 mm |
The width of the US letter size paper is 8.5 inches (216 mm), while the width of the A4 paper is 8.3 inches (210 mm).
The length of the US letter size paper is 11 inches (279 mm), while the A4 paper is 11.7 inches (297 mm).
DOWNLOAD: The difference between US letter size paper and A4 PDF
Letter is the most common paper size used in the US and Canada, while A4 is more commonly used internationally.
The international system’s beauty lies in its aspect ratio format, which equals the square root of 2 (1.4142). This is useful because the A system is based on the A0 format, which has an area of one square meter.
The A0 size can be halved to create two A1 sheets, the A1 sheet can be split to create two A2 sheets, and so on. In other words, two sheets of A5 make an A4. And two sheets of A4 make an A3, and so on.
Internationally, and in the A-series papers (A3, A4, A5, etc.), the same width and height aspect ratios always apply. That’s not the case with the standard paper sizes in the US. The standard page sizes in the US don’t have a consistent aspect ratio.
Learn more about A4 paper size here: A4 Paper Size – What Size Is A4 Paper? | Complete Guide to Paper Sizes
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