A5 size in cm, inches and pixels
A5 measures 5.83 × 8.27 inches (148 × 210 mm). Compare its dimensions, pixel requirements and relationship to A4 before preparing artwork.
Shopping for a frame? Check the exact opening in millimetres. A-series paper is a different shape from US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches) and Tabloid (11 × 17 inches). A paper-size reference does not mean every size is sold in our store.
A5 is 148 × 210 mm, which is 14.8 × 21 cm and 5.83 × 8.27 inches.
A5 size in cm, then inches, millimetres and pixels
| Millimeters | 148 × 210 mm |
|---|---|
| Centimeters | 14.8 × 21 cm |
| Inches | 5.83 × 8.27 in |
| Pixels at 72 dpi | 420 × 595 px |
| Pixels at 150 dpi | 874 × 1240 px |
| Pixels at 300 dpi | 1748 × 2480 px |
A5 is A0 halved five times, and exactly half an A4. How the A series is defined is on the hub.
What A5 is good for
A5 is half of A4: greetings-card territory rather than wall territory. It is too small to carry a room on its own, which is exactly why it works folded and handed to someone. If you want the same image on a wall as well, print it at A3 or larger and keep A5 for the card.
How the A series reaches A5
Five halvings. From A0 at 841 × 1189 mm the series runs A1 594 × 841, A2 420 × 594, A3 297 × 420, A4 210 × 297 and finally A5 at 148 × 210. Each step hands the previous width over as the new height untouched; the side being halved is rounded down to a whole millimetre, which is where the small discrepancies in the series come from.
The arrangement rests on 1:√2, a ratio with the unusual property that halving a sheet of that shape yields the same shape again. A5 is what you fold an A4 sheet once to get — though not, quite, half of it. A5 covers 31,080 mm² where A4 covers 62,370, so the pair come up 210 mm² light. Fold an A4 sheet the other way, across its short side, and you get a long thin strip that belongs to no series at all, which is a quick way to see that the halving has to run along the longer edge for any of this to work. Most charts print the series as though every halving landed on a whole millimetre. Some do and some do not; the hub has the arithmetic.
Will your file carry A5?
The same division applies: pixels over dpi gives inches. A5 at 300 dpi wants 1748 × 2480 pixels, around 4.3 megapixels, which is a low bar by any modern standard. At 150 dpi it is 874 × 1240.
The catch at this size is not resolution but crop. An image that reads well on a wall often has space around the subject that simply disappears when the whole thing is the size of a postcard, and fine detail that was the point of the picture can end up too small to find. Choose an image that works close-cropped, or accept that the card is showing a fragment of the piece rather than all of it. miniature photography guide is the place to start if the photograph itself is still to be taken.
Check the US product size
Compare the available sizes and prices before ordering. Free UK delivery is included in every price.
Size references
ISO 216 defines the A and B paper-size series. Inch conversions use NIST’s exact definition of one inch as 25.4 mm. These are reference sizes; compare the print sizes actually available before ordering.
Pixel and print-size converter
| Size | Millimetres | 72 dpi | 150 dpi | 300 dpi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 594 × 841 mm | 1684 × 2384 px | 3508 × 4967 px | 7016 × 9933 px |
| A2 | 420 × 594 mm | 1191 × 1684 px | 2480 × 3508 px | 4961 × 7016 px |
| A3 | 297 × 420 mm | 842 × 1191 px | 1754 × 2480 px | 3508 × 4961 px |
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 595 × 842 px | 1240 × 1754 px | 2480 × 3508 px |
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | 420 × 595 px | 874 × 1240 px | 1748 × 2480 px |
Pixels ÷ dpi gives inches, and that is the whole calculation. Three hundred dpi is a convention for things held close, not a rule; a print read from across a room is untroubled at 150. Every size above is worked from the ISO 216 definition — A0 is 841 × 1189 mm and each size halves the longer side, rounded down to whole millimetres.
Good to know
What size is A5 in cm?
A5 is 14.8 × 21 cm, or 148 × 210 mm.
What is A5 in inches?
5.83 × 8.27 inches.
How many pixels is A5 at 300 dpi?
1748 × 2480 pixels. At 150 dpi it is 874 × 1240, and at 72 dpi 420 × 595.
Is A5 bigger than A4?
No. A5 is slightly less than half the area of A4 because ISO dimensions round down to whole millimetres.
