I've used A4 paper exclusively for at least the last 10 years, my daughter went thru High School doing all her school papers on it, with a few comments from teachers but no repercussions. I even mail in my printed Tax return on A4 paper. No audits because of that either.
I believe it's an international (ISO) standard and I need to promote it. Marcus Kuhn (who used to be on this list many years ago) has a very good web page on ISO paper at http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html I have no problem storing A4 in any of my file cabinets or hanging folders, I do have problems with plastic sleeves that are for US Letter size, but when I'm overseas I pick up A4 size sleeves. I've no idea what anyone thinks when they get a paper letter from me in the US, but no one has complained or asked except for some folks at my work. But then again my work takes me all over the planet and everyone collects A4 size paperwork like Hotel bills, etc. I set up my word processor for 25 mm top and bottom margins and 20 mm side margins. I normally end up with less pages in a document than the same printed on Letter size. I buy my paper by the box online, I believe it's 10 Reams, it's normally cheaper than buying it the same way in a local store. It's amazing when you visit Office Depot or another office store, most people have never heard of A4 despite the A4 symbol being on I believe every printer sold. What I do find a big pain is US Legal size paper, way to big to store anywhere. Mike Payne ----- Original Message ----- From: John M. Steele To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Thursday, 25 February 2010 22:28 Subject: [USMA:46768] RE: A4 letter paper I am also a candidate for the Large Print Edition. :) The only place I have ever done this is with the oversize fonts in Powerpoint slides. And PP handouts can be printed 2, 3, 4, or 6 up on any size paper. No one is saying A4 is a bad thing; it just doesn't work too well in the US. Paper is a system, not just a piece of paper. You have to consider binders, holepunches, presentation folders, envelopes, manila file folders, pendaflex file folders, file cabinets, maybe even bookshelves (although they often adjust). Both A4 paper and the accessories for it have availability and price issues in the US that make it less useful than letter size. I am not denying there are some advantages to A4. They are small and not enough to overcome the obstacles here. This is overly harsh, but the only place A4 fits as well as letter in the US is in the trashcan. Companies that deal internationally get A4 and use it. I usually have a ream around for when I really need it but I am not about to convert entirely. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: James R. Frysinger <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, February 25, 2010 2:49:15 PM Subject: [USMA:46766] RE: A4 letter paper With the exception of one instance, I've never felt the need nor the desire to print two pages of text on one sheet of paper. Print is mall enough as it is and it continues to get smaller each year. Jim Martin Vlietstra wrote: > The REAL advantage of A4 paper is that if you decide to print two pages of > output on one sheet of paper, it fits exactly. I do it all the time. Try > doing that with letter-sized paper and you get a strip of unused paper. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of Ron Stone > Sent: 25 February 2010 08:30 > To: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:46762] A4 letter paper > > > > in reply to USMA:46710, my impression is that most people who use a 'legacy > letter' format are unaware of an 'ISO letter' size that is described in ISO > 216. > i have found that not only can A4 letter provide more area for more text (in > both portrait or landscape orientations), A4 letter can also accommodate a > larger area of aspect 2x3 (an aspect that is common to many digital > cameras), with less unused space. (and these are just a few of the > advantages) > > i just thought that these might be some important considerations for anyone > who was thinking about using an ISO paper size such as A4. > > it might also be easier to understand these comparisons in terms of the > millimeter (metric) rather than the inch (pre-metric). > > Ron > > > On 2010 Feb 20 Sat DoY 051, at 08:09, James R. Frysinger wrote: > >> You will get to explain to a lot of people why your paper differs in size > from that used by others around you. To you, this might be a pain or an > opportunity. >> When stated in millimeters, both A4 and letter size have dimensions that > are hardly what one would call "round numbers". Frankly, the bit about A0 > paper having an area of exactly 1 m2 doesn't matter to anyone (well, maybe 3 > or 4 people in the world). How often do you depend on the area of a sheet of > paper in terms of square meters? > >> Jim >> >> Carleton MacDonald wrote: >>> I'm just about out of the U.S. letter-size paper I bought a while ago, > and need to buy more. >>> Staples has a deal on Hammermill A4 paper, $57.99 for a case of 10 reams. > It's good multiuse paper suitable for use in inkjet and officejet printers > as well as for other uses. I'd rather get that. >>> What kind of difficulty, if any, might result from me using A4 paper in a > "letter" world? (For one thing, my son is in his last semester of community > college and may have to write a paper or two.) >>> Carleton >> -- James R. Frysinger >> 632 Stony Point Mountain Road >> Doyle, TN 38559-3030 >> >> (C) 931.212.0267 >> (H) 931.657.3107 >> (F) 931.657.3108 >> > > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > - - - - - - - - > > Ron Stone > > e: > [email protected] > > web: > http://www.enhanceability.com > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > - - - - - - - - > > > > > -- James R. Frysinger 632 Stony Point Mountain Road Doyle, TN 38559-3030 (C) 931.212.0267 (H) 931.657.3107 (F) 931.657.3108
