• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
blog.draftsperson.net

blog.draftsperson.net

the art of technical drawing

blog.draftsperson.net

Standard Paper Sizes

July 29, 2019

Metric ISO, Imperial ANSI and USA Architectural are the worlds top standards for paper sizes. Of these metric is number one!

Metric ISO Sheets

An A0 sheet is 1m². This allows paper weights to be expressed in grams per square meter. Example: 110gsm paper. The ratio – length to width – of ISO sheets is 1 to the Square Root 2. A square root is a number that when multiplied by itself will produce the given number (the square). This relationship of 1:Sq root 2 is particularly important for reduction onto microfilm, or reduction and enlargement on photocopiers. All metric equipment including microfilm cameras, microfilm printers, photocopiers, and even drawing pen sizes, are designed around this ratio. This makes the process of archiving drawings, resizing, and modifying drawings easy. Each smaller sheet size is exactly half the area of the previous size. If you cut an A0 sheet in half you get two A1 sheets; If you cut an A1 sheet in half you get two A2 sheets; and so on. The standard widths for rolls is 860 mm and 610 mm. ISO is an acronym for International Organization for Standardization. Oversize* sheets are used when it is desirable to give extra protection to the drawing sheets by providing a binding or trimming margin.

Cut Sizes of Metric ISO Sheets

DesignationWidth (mm)Length (mm)
A08411189
A1594841
A2420594
A3297420
A4210297
A5149210
B17071000
B2500707
B3353500
B4250253

Oversized* Metric Cut Sizes

DesignationWidth (mm)Length (mm)
RA08601220
RA1610860
RA2430610
RA3305430
RA4215305
RA5153215
RB17231019
RB2510723
RB3361510
RB4255361

Imperial ANSI and USA Architectural Sheets

  • An ANSI A sheet is 1 sq ft.
  • ANSI is an acronym for American National Standards Institute
  • Download the PDF and DWG files of ANSI Paper Sizes Illustrations

Cut Sizes of Imperial ANSI Sheets

DesignationWidth (inches)Length (inches)
ANSI F28″40″
ANSI E34″44″
ANSI D22″34″
ANSI C17″22″
ANSI B/Tabloid11″17″
ANSI A/Letter8.5″11″

Cut Sizes of USA Architectural Sheets

DesignationWidth (inches)Length (inches)
ARCH F30″42″
ARHC E36″48″
ARCH D24″36″
ARCH C18″24″
ARCH B12″18″
ARCH A9″12″

Filed Under: Drafting Standards

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel

Post CAD drafting jobs on Freelancer.com. and get some free money to do this.

Categories

  • American Steel Industry (4)
  • AutoCAD Articles & Reference (24)
  • AutoCAD Bugs & Problems (19)
  • AutoCAD Tips (28)
  • AutoCAD Tutorials (42)
  • AutoLISP Routines (146)
  • AutoLISP Tutorials (15)
  • CAD Standards (6)
  • Civil 3D (7)
  • Civil Drafting (4)
  • Dimensions (2)
  • Drafting Funnies (71)
  • Drafting History (9)
  • Drafting Standards (66)
  • Electrical Drafting (2)
  • General IT reference (12)
  • Geometry (15)
  • GIS (2)
  • Office Life Hacks (2)
  • PT (1)
  • Revit Tutorials (53)
  • Steel Detailing (12)
  • Structural Drafting (23)
  • Technical Dictionary (45)
  • Useful Website Links (19)

Provided for free with no warranty · Log in