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A0 Paper Size Guide.

Size A0 paper is a large printing format, defined by the international standard ISO 216 in 1975.

A0 sized paper has an area of nearly 1m² - 0.999949 m² to be precise. These days, it is a popular paper size for professionals in a variety of different industries, from publishing to construction.

Discover the dimensions, the primary characteristics and the different uses of this paper format below.

Different dimensions of paper formats in the A series in mm

Size of the different paper formats of the A series in mm

A0 paper dimensions.

The A0 paper size is 841 mm x 1189 mm, 84.1 cm x 118.9 cm or 33.1 inches x 46.8 inches. Due to its large size, A0 is often popular for outdoor promotions, banners and displays.

One sheet of size A0 paper is the same as:

two sheets of A1
four sheets of A2
eight sheets of A3
16 sheets of A4 and so on.

The A1 paper size is created by splitting A0 paper in half and using the width of the A0 as the height of the new A1 sheet.

Format

Width x Height (in mm)

Width x Height (in cm)

Width x Height (in inches)

841 x 1189

84.1 x 118.9

33.1 x 46.8

594 x 841

59.5 x 84.1

23.4 x 33.1

420 x 594

42 x 59.4

16.5 x 23.4

297 x 420

29.7 x 42

11.7 x 16.5

210 x 297

21 x 29.7

8.3 x 11.7

148 x 210

14.8 x 21

5.8 x 8.3

105 x 148

10.5 x 14.8

4.1 x 5.8

74 x 105

7.4 x 10.5

2.9 x 4.1

52 x 74

5.2 x 7.4

2.0 x 2.9

37 x 52

3.7 x 5.3

1.5 x 2.0

A10

26 x 37

2.6 x 3.7

1.0 x 1.5

style

Grid width 8

Size chart of the A series in mm, cm and inches

Probably the most well-known paper format, the A series is made up of 10 sub-groups that range from paper size A0, the largest on the scale, to A10, the smallest.

The German scientist Lichtenberg first described the proportions between the width and height of A series sizes in 1786. However, it was not until 1922 that this √2 aspect ratio was taken up by Porstmann and the German standard DIN 476.

Height = width x √2 for all sizes in the A series.

Common uses of A0 paper.

While most of us probably know and use A4 paper on a more regular basis, sheets of A0 size paper are also important for a variety of different purposes, including:

Technical drawings
Posters
Flip-charts
Blueprints

A0 is most commonly used in reprography or print shops and is also generally helpful for technical design. That’s because it allows the proportions of a large-scale project to be more easily taken in by the naked eye.

Printing on A0 paper is also quite common in advertising and marketing, as its large dimensions allow for an eye-catching poster or display to promote an upcoming event or product release.

A0 posters being used for publicity

A0 posters being used for publicity

Printing with A0.

Large format printers known as ‘plotters’ are typically used to print technical documents in A0 format. With high-performance equipment, the results can produce excellent quality in both black & white and full colour.

However, in order to print an image on A0 paper, it must generally be 841 mm x 1189 mm in 150 dpi (dots per inch) or 300 ppi (pixels per inch). Bear in mind you also tend to require a 3 mm bleed margin all around the document so it can be cut after printing, without cutting into the image.

To make these adjustments and create documents in paper size A0, you can use DTP (desktop publishing) software such as Adobe InDesign. That will easily allow you to add bleed margins to your designs, so when you print them out they will look exactly as you envisaged.

Frequently asked questions.

Is A0 the biggest sized paper?

No, A0 isn’t actually the biggest paper size available. 4A0 and 2A0 are both bigger than A0, as are B0 and C0. Although 4A0 and 2A0 aren’t defined by ISO 216, they are often used when very large paper sizes are needed. Both these formats derive from the German DIN 476 standard.

Is A0 paper bigger than A1?

Yes, A0 is bigger than A1. To be precise, A0 is 841 mm x 1189 mm and A1 is 594 x 841 mm. Within the A paper series, it’s important to remember that the lower the number, the bigger the paper size. So, A0 is the biggest paper size in the series, followed by A1, then A2 etc.

How do I print A0 using A4 paper?

You could print A0 posters with A4 if you use 16 sheets of A4 and join them together.
To do so in Adobe Reader, you first need to convert the image into a PDF file:

Open Adobe Reader
Click File > Create > PDF from file
Find the image and select Open.

Then, you must split your image into multiple pages:

Select File > Print and select Poster.
Adjust the Tile Scale until the image fits the panel size.
Select Print.