In North America and parts of South America, the most common paper size you will find in offices and homes alike is 8.5″ x 11″ (also known as “letter paper”). However, internationally, the standard is A4, which measures 8.27″ x 11.69″.
In this guide we'll walk you through everything you need to know about A4 paper.
How Can A4 Paper Be Used?
A4 paper is typically sold in reams of 500 sheets and can be used to print many different types of documents, as it's considered standard size.
- Letters and business letterhead
- Resume paper
- Tax forms
- Faxes
- Magazine pages
A4 Paper Size in inches, cm, and pixels
Are you printing or designing a project on A4 paper? Refer to these dimensions for accuracy:
- A4 size in inches: 8.27 x 11.69 in.
- A4 size in centimeters: 21.01 x 29.62 cm.
- A4 size in millimeters: 210 x 297 mm.
- A4 size in pixels at 72 DPI: 595 x 842 pixels
- DPI stands for “dots per inch”. This is the ratio printers use to calculate how much space is needed for each pixel of the image being printed.
- A4 size in pixels at 300 DPI: 2480 x 3508 pixels
- For a quality print, you need about 300 DPI to ensure the image is clear.
Is US letter size (8.5 x 11 inches) the same as A4?
Letter paper is the United States equivalent to A4 paper. A4 is only slightly larger, at 8.27″ x 11.69″ compared to 8.5″ x 11″. Standard paper sizes in the US are individually set rather than determined by a consistent aspect ratio.
What size is legal vs ledger paper?
Two other common sizes are legal size and ledger size paper:
- Legal size (8.5 x 14 inches)
- Legal size paper is taller than letter paper. It was traditionally used for lengthy legal contracts and is sometimes still used this way today. You shouldn't need a special printer to print on legal size paper, as the width is the same as letter paper.
- Ledger size (11 x 17 inches)
- Ledger paper is also known as “tabloid paper”. A3 paper is the international equivalent, measuring 11.69″ x 16.54″. See our A3 paper size guide for everything you need to know about A3 paper.
A-Series Paper Size & uses
A4 is just one of eleven sizes in the A-Series of paper sizes. Learn more about sizes A0 – A10 and see what's right for your needs in our A-Series paper sizes guide.
