Paper Sizes in Canada: Letter, Legal, Tabloid, A4 & A3
Letter is 8.5 × 11 in, legal 8.5 × 14 and tabloid 11 × 17; A4 is 210 × 297 mm. Every common paper size to scale, A4 vs letter, and which size fits which print job.
- Standard paper in Canada
- Letter: 8.5 × 11 in (216 × 279 mm)
- Legal size
- 8.5 × 14 in (216 × 356 mm), letter width but 3 in taller
- Tabloid (11 × 17)
- 11 × 17 in (279 × 432 mm); called ledger when used landscape
- A4
- 210 × 297 mm (8.27 × 11.69 in): about 6 mm narrower and 18 mm taller than letter
- A3
- 297 × 420 mm (11.7 × 16.5 in): two A4 sheets side by side
- Print-ready files
- 300 DPI plus 0.125 in (3 mm) of bleed on every side
Paper size chart: from A6 to tabloid
Every common paper size on one scale, North American and international (A-series) together. Tap a size to jump to its card with the exact inches, millimetres and the pixel size a file needs at 300 DPI.
A2, A1 and A0 are poster sizes: see the poster size chart.
Every paper size, one by one
Each drawing is to scale against an 11 × 17 tabloid sheet (the dashed outline), so you can see how the sizes relate. Pixel sizes are for printing at 300 DPI, the resolution print shops ask for.
5.5 × 8.5 in · to scale
Half letter (5.5 × 8.5 in)
140 × 216 mm · 1650 × 2550 px at 300 DPI
Exactly half a letter sheet, so two fit on one 8.5 × 11 page. It is the North American size for booklets, event programs and handout flyers. Close to A5, but not the same: A5 is a little narrower and taller.
8.5 × 11 in · to scale
Letter size (8.5 × 11 in)
216 × 279 mm · 2550 × 3300 px at 300 DPI
The standard paper size in Canada. Office printers, copy paper, invoices, school handouts and most flyers are letter size. In millimetres it is 215.9 × 279.4, usually rounded to 216 × 279.
8.5 × 14 in · to scale
Legal size (8.5 × 14 in)
216 × 356 mm · 2550 × 4200 px at 300 DPI
Same width as letter, 3 inches taller. It is used for contracts and long forms, and print shops use it for menus and price lists that need more lines. Legal paper fits most office printers through a manual or second tray.
11 × 17 in · to scale
Tabloid / ledger (11 × 17 in)
279 × 432 mm · 3300 × 5100 px at 300 DPI
Exactly two letter pages side by side. Upright it is tabloid; turned landscape (17 × 11) the same sheet is called ledger. It is the largest size most office printers take and the smallest standard poster size.
105 × 148 mm · to scale
A6 (105 × 148 mm)
4.1 × 5.8 in · 1240 × 1748 px at 300 DPI
A quarter of an A4 sheet: the international postcard and pocket-notebook size. North American postcards are usually 4 × 6 inches instead; see the postcard size guide.
148 × 210 mm · to scale
A5 (148 × 210 mm)
5.8 × 8.3 in · 1748 × 2480 px at 300 DPI
Half an A4 sheet, the size of most notebooks and European flyers. It is about 5 mm narrower and 6 mm shorter than half letter, so a design made for one needs a small resize for the other.
210 × 297 mm · to scale
A4 (210 × 297 mm)
8.27 × 11.69 in · 2480 × 3508 px at 300 DPI
The standard office paper almost everywhere outside North America. In inches it is 8.27 × 11.69. Next to letter it is about 6 mm narrower and 18 mm taller, which is why an A4 PDF printed on letter paper either shrinks or loses its bottom margin.
297 × 420 mm · to scale
A3 (297 × 420 mm)
11.7 × 16.5 in · 3508 × 4961 px at 300 DPI
Two A4 pages side by side, used for drawings, charts and small posters. It is the metric twin of tabloid: 0.7 in wider and half an inch shorter. A3 files print on tabloid stock with a small scale or crop.
8.5 × 11 in
Canada's standard
210 × 297 mm
A4
300 DPI
Print resolution
0.125 in
Bleed per side
A4 vs letter: what's the difference?
They look almost identical, which is why the difference catches people out. Letter is wider and shorter; A4 is narrower and taller.
| Letter | A4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Inches | 8.5 × 11 | 8.27 × 11.69 |
| Millimetres | 215.9 × 279.4 | 210 × 297 |
| Shape | 1 : 1.29 | 1 : 1.414 (√2) |
| Where it's standard | Canada, US, Mexico, Philippines | Most of the rest of the world |
| 300 DPI file | 2550 × 3300 px | 2480 × 3508 px |
Printing an A4 file on letter paper: choose “fit to page” and the page shrinks about 6% to fit the shorter sheet; choose actual size and the bottom 18 mm is cut off. For anything going to print, build the file at the size it will be printed on.
Why Canada uses letter, not A4
Canada went metric in the 1970s, and paper nearly followed: a Canadian standard defined a metric “P-series”, where P4 is 215 × 280 mm, simply letter rounded to whole millimetres. It never caught on. Offices kept buying US letter and legal because the printers, filing cabinets and envelopes all came from the same North American supply chain.
So Canada is metric for almost everything except paper. Federal and provincial offices, schools and businesses use letter; A4 shows up in documents from overseas, in design and engineering work, and in ISO 216 A-series drawings.
Which paper size for which print job
The sizes we print most, and what they are used for. Every size here is a standard one, so frames, envelopes and display racks are easy to find.
| Job | Common sizes |
|---|---|
| Flyers | 4.25 × 5.5, 5.5 × 8.5, 8.5 × 11, 8.5 × 14, 11 × 17 in |
| Brochures | Letter, legal and tabloid, folded |
| Postcards | 4 × 6, 5 × 7, 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6 × 11 in |
| Door hangers | 3.5 × 8.5, 4.25 × 11, 5.5 × 8.5 in |
| Posters | 11 × 17 up to 32 × 48 in |
| Business cards | 3.5 × 2 in |
For any of them, build the file at the finished size plus 0.125 in of bleed on every side, keep text 0.125 in inside the trim, and work at 300 DPI. Our bleed guide shows how.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard paper size in Canada?
Letter: 8.5 × 11 inches (216 × 279 mm). Canada uses the North American sizes, not A4, for office paper, printers, forms and most flyers. Legal (8.5 × 14 in) and tabloid (11 × 17 in) are the other common sizes.
What size is legal paper?
Legal paper is 8.5 × 14 inches (216 × 356 mm): the same width as letter and 3 inches taller. It is used for contracts, long forms and menus.
How big is A4 in inches?
A4 is 8.27 × 11.69 inches (210 × 297 mm). That is about 0.23 in narrower and 0.69 in taller than letter size (8.5 × 11 in).
What size is A3?
A3 is 297 × 420 mm, or 11.7 × 16.5 inches: two A4 sheets side by side. Its North American counterpart is tabloid, 11 × 17 inches.
Is A4 the same as letter size?
No. A4 is 210 × 297 mm (8.27 × 11.69 in) and letter is 215.9 × 279.4 mm (8.5 × 11 in). A4 is about 6 mm narrower and 18 mm taller, so a file made for one shrinks or loses its edge when printed on the other.
What is 11 × 17 paper called?
11 × 17 inches (279 × 432 mm) is called tabloid when it is upright and ledger when it is turned landscape (17 × 11). It is two letter sheets side by side and the smallest standard poster size.
Design it yourself. A human designer still checks every order.
Our free studio gives you the price and the mockup in the browser. What it doesn't do is print your file blindly — every order is reviewed by a real designer before it reaches the press.
- Step 1You design it — free
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Print it at the right size
Flyers, brochures, postcards and posters in standard sizes. Upload your file, and a person checks the size, bleed and resolution before anything prints.
Every order is reviewed by a human designer before it goes to press. A person checks artwork resolution, colour, sizing and placement, and either fixes the file or tells the customer what is wrong — it is not an automated preflight.