What Paper Size Is 8.5 X 11

Paper size of eight.5 past 11 inches

Comparing of Alphabetic character (shaded light blue) and Regime alphabetic character sizes with some similar paper and photographic paper sizes

Letter or ANSI Letter of the alphabet is a paper size standard defined by the American National Standards Plant, unremarkably used as home or office stationery in the United States, Canada, Republic of chile, Colombia, Republic of costa rica, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines. It measures eight.5 by 11 inches (215.ix past 279.4 mm), similar to the A4 paper standard used past almost other countries, defined in ISO 216 by the International Organisation for Standardization.

Details [edit]

The Reagan administration made Letter-size paper the norm for U.Southward. federal forms in the early 1980s; previously, the smaller "official" Regime Letter size, eight by 10.5 inches (203.2 by 266.7 mm) (aspect ratio: 1.3125), was used in regime, while eight.5-past-11-inch (215.9 by 279.4 mm) paper was standard in most other offices.^[1] The aspect ratio is 22 / 17 ≈ ane.294 and the diagonal is 13.901 inches (353.one mm) (√viii.fiveⁱⁱ + 11² ) in length.

In the U.Due south., paper density is ordinarily measured in "pound per reams" (of 500 sheets). Typical Letter paper has a basis weight of paper of 20 or 24 pounds (9.1 or 10.9 kg) – the weight of 500 sheets (a ream) of 17-by-22-inch (431.8 past 558.8 mm) paper at 70 °F (21 °C) and at 50% humidity.^[2] One ream of 20-pound Letter of the alphabet-sized newspaper weighs five pounds (2.3 kg), and a single Letter-sized sheet of 20-pound paper weighs 0.16 ounces (four.536 g), which is equivalent to 75.nineteen grand/gⁱⁱ. Some metric data is typically included on American ream packaging. For example, xx-pound paper is also labeled as 75 thou/m^two. The nearly mutual density of A4 paper is fourscore chiliad/m².

The precise origins of the dimensions of U.s. letter-size newspaper (8.five × 11 in) are non known. The American Forest & Newspaper Association says that the standard US dimensions take their origin in the days of transmission papermaking, the 11" length of the standard paper being well-nigh a quarter of "the average maximum stretch of an experienced vatman's arms".^[ane] The letter size falls within the range of the historical quarto size, which since pre-modernistic times refers to page sizes of 8 to 9 inches (200 to 230 mm) wide and 10 to 11 inches (250 to 280 mm) loftier, and information technology is indeed near exactly one quarter of the old Imperial (British) paper size known every bit demy quarto – 17+ 1⁄2 past 22+ 1⁄ii inches (440 by 570 mm) – allowing a 1⁄2 inch (thirteen mm) for trimming.^[3]

The related paper size known as one-half letter, statement, or organizer L is exactly one half of the US Alphabetic character size: eight.5 by v.5 inches (215.9 by 139.7 mm) (8.5 × 5.v in).

See as well [edit]

ANSI/ASME Y14.i
ISO 216 (definition of metric paper sizes, eastward.g., A4)
Paper size: loose sizes

Notes [edit]

^ ^a ^b American Forest and Newspaper Association. "Why is the standard paper size in the U.S. eight ½" x xi"?". Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved 2014-02-20 .
^ Blocksma, Mary. Reading the Numbers. New York: Penguin Books, 1989.
^ Fyffe, Charles (1969). Basic Copyfitting. London: Studio Vista. p. 74. ISBN0-289-79705-five.