A letter is 8.5 x 11 inches in size, a legal is 8.5 x 14 inches in size, and a ledger is 11 x 17 inches in size. Legal papers are the largest size used for writing documents like contracts or letters because there are no restrictions on how much information can be included in such documents. They are also called broadsheet papers because they are printed on sheets of paper that are approximately 16 pages long (the back of each page has space to include additional information). Letter-size papers are usually printed on sheets that are 8.5 inches by 11 inches.
There are times when it is necessary to use papers other than letter or legal, but most people should have enough confidence in their handwriting to know that only a small part of any letter is written in large print. The rest is made up of details and explanations that can be printed in smaller typeface. Details like phone numbers, addresses, and foreign language words usually don't affect the overall look of your letter, so they can be printed in whatever size you want.
In terms of actual size, legal papers are almost always larger than letter papers. A legal sheet of paper is 8.5 inches by 14 inches, while a letter sheet is typically 7 inches by 10.5 inches.
Size | millimeters | inches |
---|---|---|
Legal (US) | 215.9 x 355.6 | 8.5 x 14 |
Ledger (US) | 279.4 x 431.8 | 11 X 17 |
A0 | 841 x 1189 | 33.125 x 46.75 |
A1 | 594 x 841 | 23.375 x 33.125 |
Size: 8.5 x 14 in. Legal size, at 8.5 x 14 inches, is the other primary size used in the United States, in addition to letter size. An envelope for legal-size paper should have an internal length of 7 inches and a width of 10 inches.
Legal papers come in many different sizes. The most common sheet sizes are 8.5 by 11 inches (A4), which is the standard size used for desk top printers; 11 by 17 inches (C); and A3, which is 3 inches shorter than A4 and 5 inches shorter than C.
The actual size that appears when printed depends on what kind of printer is being used. If you look under the printer tray after printing a page, you should be able to see lines on the paper indicating where one page ends and the next begins. These marks are called "page breaks." Each page break represents one unit of measurement; for example, one inch of print space or one line of text. When printed on desktop printers, the page breaks usually fall at regular intervals - once per inch - so that each page of output will have the same number of page breaks. However, some printers allow you to specify your own page breaks, especially if you are going to use the printer with pages that aren't uniform in size.
Sizes of US Paper
Size | Width x Height (mm) | Width x Height (in) |
---|---|---|
Letter | 216 x 279 mm | 8.5 x 11.0 in |
Junior Legal | 127 x 203 mm | 5.0 x 8.0 in |
Government Legal | 216 x 330 mm | 8.5 x 13.0 in |
Legal | 216 x 356 mm | 8.5 x 14.0 in |