Books Paper Sizes
| Format | Width × Height (in) | Width × Height (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| Folio | 12 × 19 in | 304.8 × 482.6 mm |
| Quarto | 9.5 × 12 in | 241.3 × 304.8 mm |
| Imperial Octavo | 8.3 × 11.5 in | 209.55 × 292.1 mm |
| Super Octavo | 7 × 11 in | 177.8 × 279.4 mm |
| Royal Octavo | 6.5 × 10 in | 165.1 × 254 mm |
| Medium Octavo | 6.5 × 9.3 in | 165.1 × 234.95 mm |
| Octavo | 6 × 9 in | 152.4 × 228.6 mm |
| Crown Octavo | 5.4 × 8 in | 136.525 × 203.2 mm |
| 12mo | 5 × 7.4 in | 127 × 187.325 mm |
| 16mo | 4 × 6.8 in | 101.6 × 171.45 mm |
| 18mo | 4 × 6.5 in | 101.6 × 165.1 mm |
| 32mo | 3.5 × 5.5 in | 88.9 × 139.7 mm |
| 48mo | 2.5 × 4 in | 63.5 × 101.6 mm |
| 64mo | 2 × 3 in | 50.8 × 76.2 mm |
| A Format | 4.3 × 7 in | 110 × 178 mm |
| B Format | 5.1 × 7.8 in | 129 × 198 mm |
| C Format | 5.3 × 8.5 in | 135 × 216 mm |
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from folio (the largest), to quarto (smaller) and octavo (still smaller). Historically, these terms referred to the format of the book, a technical term used by printers and bibliographers to indicate the size of a leaf in terms of the size of the original sheet.
United Kingdom
A common paperback size in the UK is B-format. For example, Penguin Classics are in B-format, which is 129mm x 198mm. This contrasts with A-format (110 mm × 178 mm) and C-format (135mm x 216mm).
Japan
In book construction, Japan uses a mixture of ISO A-series, JIS B-series, and several traditional Japanese paper sizes. A- and B-series signatures are folded from a sheet slightly larger than ISO A1 and JIS B1, respectively, then trimmed to size. The most commonly encountered sizes are listed below.
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Name Translation Approximate cover size (width × height) inches cm B4判 JIS B4 10.1 × 14.3 25.7 × 36.4 A4判 ISO A4 8.27 × 11.7 21 × 29.7 AB判 AB 8.27 × 10.1 21 × 25.7 B5判 JIS B5 7.2 × 10.1 18.2 × 25.7 菊判 Kiku(“Chrysanthemum”) 5.9 × 8.7 15 × 22 A5判 ISO A5 5.8 × 8.27 14.8 × 21 重箱判 Jūbako (“Tiered Box”) 7.2 × 8.1 18.2 × 20.6 四六判 Shi-Roku (“4 × 6”) 5 × 7.4 12.7 × 18.8 B6判 JIS B6 5 × 7.2 12.8 × 18.2 新書判/B40判 “Shinsho” (“New Book”) / “B40” 4.1 × 7.2 10.3 × 18.2 小B6判 “Small JIS B6” 4.4 × 6.9 11.2 × 17.4 A6判 ISO A6 4.1 × 5.8 10.5 × 14.8 三五判 San-Go (“3 × 5”) 3.3 × 5.8 8.4 × 14.8
| A series | B series | C series | US sizes | US Envelope |
| International Envelope | Photography Paper | Canadian | Japanese | Books |
| Newspaper | Chinese | Billboard | Imperial | Colombian |
| French | Raw | Transitional |
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