Letter (paper size)
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Letter is the most common paper size for office use in the United States and Canada. It is 8½ by 11 inches (exactly 215.9 mm × 279.4 mm).
Ronald Reagan made this the paper size for U.S. federal forms; previously, the smaller "official" size (8 in × 10½ in or 203.2 mm × 266.7 mm) was used.[1]
Paper is often described as having a basis weight of 20 or 24 pounds (9 or 11 kg, typical office paper weights) — the weight of 500 sheets of 17-by-22-inch (431.8 mm × 558.8 mm) paper at 70° F and at 50% humidity,[2] which the paper manufacturer will then cut into four letter-sized reams. Therefore, one ream of 20-pound letter-sized paper weighs 5 pounds and a single letter-sized sheet of 20-pound paper weighs 0.16 ounces (4.54 g), which is equivalent to 72 g/m².
Unlike the A4 standard paper the origin of the dimensions of letter size paper are lost in tradition. 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".[1] However, this does not explain the width or aspect ratio.
[edit] See also
- ANSI/ASME_Y14.1
- Paper size
- ISO 216 (definition of metric paper sizes, e.g., A4)
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b American Forest and Paper Association. "Why is the standard paper size in the U.S. 8 ½" x 11"?". http://www.afandpa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Pulp_and_Paper/Fun_Facts/The_U_S__Standard_Paper_Size.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
- ^ Blocksma, Mary. Reading the Numbers. New York: Penguin Books, 1989.
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