A6 Leaflets
PAPER SIZES - A6
SMALL WITH SO MANY USES
Many people are confused by paper sizes although in reality they are not that difficult to understand if you remember that the dimensions of papers used in general printing are based on halving that with the next (smaller) A size. It is a common mistake to think in terms of A5 paper being LARGER than A4 - and in terms of A1 as the smallest of the standard paper sizes. Certainly, in terms of logic, you might think it would make the process easier to follow - but it is the opposite.
Thus if you halve A1 - this will give you A2; by halving A2 you get A3; halving A4 gives you A5 and by halving that again gives you A6 - the subject of this discussion. The halving principle continues down to A8 in standard paper terms.
If you want to get really technical this is how 'A' series papers are defined by ISO 216:
• The length divided by the width is 1.4142
• The A0 size (the largest of the A size papers are derived from which the others are derived) has an area of 1 square metre
• Each subsequent size A(n) is defined as A(n-1) cut in half parallel to its shorter side
• The standard length and width of each size is rounded to the nearest millimetre
Everybody will be familiar with A4 because this is the paper size most of us will use for standard business letters, when photocopying and more often than not, in your desktop printer attached to your computer. If you take a sheet of A4 and fold it in half, and in half again will illustrate what A6 looks like.
A6 paper measures: 148 x 105 mm -OR- 5.8 x 4.1 inches in old money.
'A series' paper is the common standard in most parts of the world - where A4 has been adopted as the standard for business letters. The USA, Canada and parts of Mexico are exceptions - well there's a surprise!
What uses does A6 have?
A6 paper has a multitude of uses and it has become a popular choice for mini flyers, economic small leaflets, handbills, take-away restaurant menus, bus and rail timetables, drinks, sweet and special promotion cards to place on tables in bars and restaurants, announcements, memos and, when printed on heavier weight card; small compact greeting cards, invitations, small postcards, location maps and photographs. You can even buy pocket printers compatible with Palm devices that use A6 thermal papers.
Using A6 is economical - you get four flyers for example, from one sheet of A4 - or 16 from a sheet of A1 paper. This will save money on your printing costs - or give you four times more leaflets than A4 - depending which way you look at it. If you intend to run a door-to-door leaflet campaign A6 is less heavy - weighing four times less than the same quantity of A4 printed on the same paper stock. A6 offers an economical choice for marketing purposes although obviously, being small, you are limited by the amount of text and images you can fit into the available space.
A6 paper can also used for a wide range of applications such as mini note pads, address books, telephone message pads, calendars; and when bound - diaries and pocket books. Using A6 notepads and diaries also require less storage space than A4 and A5 items.
As you can see - A6, despite being fairly small can have a lot of uses, especially as a vehicle for marketing and publicity campaigns and for general office use.
