All (well, mostly) About Paper
"A Series" paper sizes
| A0 | 841 × 1189 mm | 33.1 × 46.8 in | |
| A1 | 594 × 841 mm | 23.4 × 33.1 in | |
| A2 | 420 × 594 mm | 16.5 × 23.4 in | |
| A3 | 297 × 420 mm | 11.7 × 16.5 in | |
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 8.3 × 11.7 in | |
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | 5.8 × 8.3 in | |
| A6 | 105 × 148 mm | 4.1 × 5.8 in | |
| A7 | 74 × 105 mm | 2.9 × 4.1 in |
"B Series" paper sizes
| B3 | 353 × 500 mm | 13.9 × 19.7 in |
| B4 | 250 × 353 mm | 9.8 × 13.9 in |
| B5 | 176 × 250 mm | 6.9 × 9.8 in |
| B6 | 125 × 176 mm |
"C Series" paper sizes
| C3 | 324 × 458 mm | 12.8 × 18 in |
| C4 | 229 × 324 mm | 9 × 12.8 in |
| C5 | 162 × 229 mm | 6.4 × 9 in |
| C6 | 114 × 162 mm | 4.5 × 6.4 in |
Q&A
Standard Sizes:
- In South Africa and a host of other countries across the globe* business cards are usually trimmed to 90x50mm.
- The standard business card size in the UK and Western Europe is 85mmx 55mm and, in the US, 89x51mm (3.5×2″).
- Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Taiwan, Sweden, Vietnam, India and Colombia standardise on 90x55mm.
- Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia: 90x54mm
If you buy a pack of A4 copy paper for eg, it’s trimmed to 210x297mm (the trim or cut area). So the trim area is effectively the size of the final product.
Bleed is a small area (usually 3mm for small to medium sized printed goods and at least 5mm for large format) surrounding the trim area and is essential when your images and graphics and backgrounds are touching the very edge of the page.
Slug is the area outside the bleed, where you’ll see crop/trim marks, bleed marks, colour bars and registration marks.
Portrait refers to when the width of an image or printed item is less than its height, so its orientation is vertical.
Landscape refers to when the width of an image or printed item is greater than its height, so its orientation is horizontal.
Coated paper is smooth to the touch and offers increased durability and decreased ink absorbency – meaning colours are deeper and more vibrant and ink is prevented from bleeding.
It’s also more resistant to dirt, moisture and wear through handling, so it lasts longer that uncoated paper.
On the downside, it’s not so easy to write on coated paper as pen ink can’t penetrate the coating.
Uncoated paper is more suitable for items you need to write on – business cards, notebooks, forms, envelopes, invitations and books.
As it’s more porous, it can even make your project look more prestigious, refined, soft, warm and tactile.
Paper weight is measured in grams per square metre (gsm). It’s usually determined by its thickness but other factors also come into play, such as high wood fibre content, pulp additives and method or type of processing.
75gsm: Mainly used for architectural drawings and CAD plans.
80 and 90gsm: Widely used as office paper. Uncoated, so not subjected to chemical treatments and ideal for books, general documents and letterheads.
105/110/115gsm: Ideal for letterheads, compliment slips and similar.
120/130gsm: Mostly used for posters, magazines, brochures, catalogues and flyers, a matte or gloss wash, laminate or coating prolongs its shelf life.
150/170/200gsm: Available in recycled, coated, matte or gloss finishes and even satin. Mostly used for catalogues, presentations, certificates and posters.
200/230/250gsm: Ideal for document covers, greetings cards, invitations and booklet/brochure covers.
300/350gsm: Perfect for business cards, covers and invitations as semi-rigid.
380gsm: The optimal choice for packaging, folders, book covers and retail tags.
Several other paper weights are available and can be used in place of the above-mentioned, most closely-related weights.
Which type of paper should you print on? Generally, the higher the gloss level, the more reflective the paper is and the wider the colour gamut (the range of colours and tones an imaging system can achieve).
Gloss: Shiny and reflective, with high contrast and vivid colours. Accentuates sharp images and text.
Semi-gloss: Moderately shiny and not as reflective as gloss. Contrast and vibrance are still high.
Satin: Satin papers include various levels of glossiness, from ‘pearl’ to ‘lustre’. Their fine texture helps reduce the problems associated with glare, while still providing excellent contrast and image clarity.
Matte: When minimal glare is essential, matte is the optimal choice due to its non-reflective surface.
All (well, mostly) About Photos
Photo sizes
You’ve heard the adage “size matters”. Well, this is even more evident when it comes to photos.
Using the correct photo size and aspect ratio (and colour space – we’ll get to that later) can make all the difference to your project. A bit of forward planning is necessary, whether your project is for print or web, to help avoid headaches later.
Standard image sizes
| Size (inches) | Size (mm) | Aspect Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 4 x 6 in | 841 × 1189 mm | 2:3 |
| 5 x 7 in | 594 × 841 mm | 5:7 |
| 8 x 10 in | 420 × 594 mm | 4:5 |
| 8.5 x 11 in | 297 × 420 mm | 4:3 |
| 12 x 18 in | 210 × 297 mm | 3:2 |
| 18 x 24 in | 148 × 210 mm | 3:4 |
| 24 x 36 in | 105 × 148 mm | 3:2 |
Other aspect ratios:
1:1 is square; often used for social media profile pics.
16:9 is mostly found on computer monitors, wide-screen TVs and in Powerpoint or Keynote presentations.
Tips
When scaling an image up or down, maintain the aspect ratio (proportions) by holding the shift key and then dragging the corners.
You’ve probably seen tons of instances where pics have been stretched horizontally or vertically without keeping the proportions intact. The distortion is always noticeable.
The same is true when it comes to text. NEVER stretch it, no matter how tempted you are. Rather play around with font size, kerning (letter spacing) and leading (space between lines of type/line height) till you achieve the desired result.