Common Paper Size Measurements

One of the benefits of large format printers is the ability to print at very specific, non-standard sizes. For example, if you are printing on a traditional home or office printer you’ll typically be limited to standard cut sheet sizes such as A4 for example. When it comes to large format printing we do sometimes print on cut sheets but more often than not we are printing on rolls, which gives us tons of flexibility on laying out different sized prints on a single roll of paper. When you reach good economies of scale [i.e., you have many print jobs per day] using rolls is much for efficient than cut sheets.

We typically hold stock of paper rolls in width 17″ , 24″ , 36″, and 44″ as this gives us flexibility and reduces paper waste. Depending on the manufacturer the length of these rolls can range from around 12 metres to 30 metres. Generally speaking higher end, thicker papers tend to come in 12 or 15 metre lengths.

The limiting factor in any large format printing is always the length of the shortest edge of the print. For example, if we have a 44″ roll of paper the shortest edge of the print cannot really exceed 110cm [around 43.3″] as no matter what orientation we change the print too, the shortest edge will always exceed the maximum width of the roll.

What about the more standard size papers in millimetres and inches?

Many online digital prints that you might purchase may still fall into one of the common paper sizes such as A0 – A4. Below is a quick reference guide of the most common cut sheet sizes:

Image showcasing the various A range paper sizes