Letter (paper size)

Letter (paper size)

The paper size Letter is the most common paper size for office use in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and a few other countries. (The most commonly used paper size outside North America is the international standard A4 sized paper.)

Letter size is 8½ × 11 inches, or exactly 215.9 × 279.4 mm (while the A4 standard is 210mm × 297mm). In the Philippines, this paper size is commonly known as "Short" or "Short bond paper."Fact|date=February 2007

Ronald Reagan made this the paper size for U.S. federal forms; previously, the smaller "official" size (8 x 10½ inches) was used.cite web
url= http://www.afandpa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Pulp_and_Paper/Fun_Facts/The_U_S__Standard_Paper_Size.htm
title= Why is the standard paper size in the U.S. 8 ½" x 11"?
accessdate= 2008-03-06
author= American Forest and Paper Association]

People may often see paper described as having a basis weight of 20 pound or 24 pound (typical office paper weights) — the weight of 500 sheets of 17" x 22" paper, which the paper manufacturer will then cut into 4 letter-sized reams. Therefore, 1 ream of 20 pound letter-sized paper weighs 5 pounds and a single letter-sized sheet of 20-pound paper weighs 0.16 ounces or 4.54 grams, which is equivalent to 72 grams per square metre (g/m²).

Unlike the A4 standard paper, which is a geometric subset of a range of paper sizes based on an ISO standard, the origin of the 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 paper making, and that the 11 inch length of the page is about a quarter of "the average maximum stretch of an experienced vatman's arms." However, this does not explain the width or aspect ratio.

ee also

* Paper size
* ISO 216 (definition of metric paper sizes, "e.g.", A4)

Notes


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Letter paper — Letter Let ter, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Paper size — A size chart illustrating the ISO A series and a comparison with American letter and legal formats …   Wikipedia

  • letter paper — noun 1. writing paper for use in writing correspondence • Hypernyms: ↑writing paper 2. paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters; usually with matching envelopes • Syn: ↑stationery • Hypernyms: ↑writing paper …   Useful english dictionary

  • Letter — and similar can mean: *Letter (alphabet), a grapheme, part of an alphabet, abjad, abugida, or syllabary *Letter (message), correspondence, a written message *Letter (paper size), the letter size paper * Letters can also mean literature, as in… …   Wikipedia

  • letter-size — UK US adjective [before noun] (US ► COMMUNICATIONS, WORKPLACE, MEASURES used to describe paper that measures 8½ inches by 11 inches (= 21.59 cm by 27.94 cm), the standard size of office paper in the US: »I reformatted my document to print it on… …   Financial and business terms

  • Letter — Let ter, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Letter book — Letter Let ter, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Letter box — Letter Let ter, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Letter carrier — Letter Let ter, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Letter cutter — Letter Let ter, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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