Standard Poster Sizes

Whether you are designing artwork or choosing a display stand, knowing the standard poster/paper size dimensions is very important.

The international standard paper size is the A series, which ranges from A0 to A10, with the most commonly used size being A4.

A0 is the equivalent of one square metre. A0 becomes A1 by folding an A0 sheet in half. When folded in half again this will become A2. This continues through to the smallest available A sizes.

Whether you need to know the size of A4 paper in cm or A5 in inches, below you will find information on standard UK poster/paper sizes in millimetres (MM) and inches (IN).

Non-Standard Poster Sizes

Other than the standard A series sizes, there are some non-standard poster sizes that are often used in advertising and for display stands. Below is another table to show these other sizes:

These are the most common poster/paper sizes we have display stands or frames for and when setting up your artwork these are the sizes you need to follow.

There are also B and C series paper sizes, although these are rarely used in display stands due to their small sizing. B-sized paper is commonly used for book printing and C-sized paper for envelopes so that gives you an idea of the sizes available.

Which Poster Size is Best For You?

Whilst the standard paper sizes can be seen in the table, if you are opting for a custom-printed poster, often the best choice will be one of the sizes below that can be discussed with your large format print supplier.

In general, the standard international poster size is 61 x 91 cm, which is roughly three times the size of a standard A4 sheet of printer paper at 21 x 29.7 cm or 8.27 x 11.69 inches. However, this would still be classed as ‘large’ poster, see below for the different variants of poster sizes:

Small Posters: A3 = 29.7 x 42 cm or 11.69 x 16.54 inches

The smallest size poster would be A3, twice the size of A4. This size of poster is a low-key option for notice boards, informational poster frames or just attaching to the wall.

Generally these would be used for information rather than advertising but also make good flyers for events such as trade shows.

Medium Posters: A2 = 42 x 59 cm or 16.54 x 23.39 inches

A standard medium-sized poster would be slightly larger than A2 (42 x 59 cm x 16.54 x 23.39 inches).

This is a good-sized poster for promoting your business in the window or as a clear notice such as for safety warnings and important messages.

Large Posters: A1 = 59.4 x 84.1 cm or 23.39 x 33.11 inches

This is a very clear size of poster, ideal for use in outdoor or window displays where maximum visibility is needed.

Many outdoor displays such as pavement signs are able to accomodate A1 posters.

Extra Large Posters: 61 x 91 cm or 24.02 x 35.83 inches

Although it doesn’t correspond to a paper size, this size is the standard international size for extra large posters.

With such a large size, your designer will be able to be bit more expressive, although large fonts are still recommended of course.

Great for promoting events, advertising a sale or generally making a big splash!

Display Stands for Posters

Most of our display stands and frames are available to fit A5 to A0 paper sizes as these are common sizes used in our industry. Hopefully this guide has helped you to know exactly which signage board, cable display systems, literature stands or poster frames are best for you.

However, you will need to be aware of the actual display area of the product you are looking at buying. For example if you are buying an A4 poster snap frame, the frame is designed to hold an A4 poster but the frame will cover some of the image. All the actual display areas of our products are on each product page under the 'More info' tab.

Need more information? Contact us at Display Wizard today and we can talk you through the process of choosing a product with the correct poster size.