Book Sizes
Books are not only the main tool for human beings to record all achievements, but also an important tool for human beings to spread and record knowledge. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from folio (the largest), to quarto (smaller) and octavo (still smaller). Historically, these terms referred to the format of the book, a technical term used by printers and bibliographers to indicate the size of a leaf in terms of the size of the original sheet.
At present, many countries around the world have their definitions of book size. Publishing and printing industries often have trouble with the definition of book size, and they are less consistent in use. And with the development of time, for the purpose of sales, there are more and more creative ideas about books and more and more changes in size. We have collected the size standards of books in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. The sizes of books in other countries are similar to these sizes.
United States(US) Book Sizes
| Format/Name | Leaves | Pages | Approximate cover size (width × height) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| inch × inch | cm × cm | mm × mm | |||
| folio(2º/ fo) | 2 | 4 | 12 × 19 | 30 × 48 | 300 × 480 |
| quarto(4º/ 4to) | 4 | 8 | 9 1⁄ 2× 12 | 24 × 30 | 240 × 300 |
| Imperial octavo(8º/ 8vo) | 8 | 16 | 8 1⁄ 4× 11 1⁄ 2 | 21 × 29 | 210 × 290 |
| Super octavo(8º/ 8vo) | 7 × 11 | 18 × 28 | 180 × 280 | ||
| Royal octavo(8º/ 8vo) | 6 1⁄ 2× 10 | 17 × 25 | 170 × 250 | ||
| Medium octavo(8º/ 8vo) | 6 1⁄ 2× 9 1⁄ 4 | 17 × 23 | 170 × 230 | ||
| octavo(8º/ 8vo) | 6 × 9 | 15 × 23 | 150 × 230 | ||
| Crown octavo(8º/ 8vo) | 5 3⁄ 8× 8 | 14 × 20 | 140 × 200 | ||
| duodecimo(12º/ 12mo / twelvemo) | 12 | 24 | 5 × 7 3⁄ 8 | 13 × 19 | 130 × 190 |
| sextodecimo(16º/ 16mo / sixteenmo) | 16 | 32 | 4 × 6 3⁄ 4 | 10 × 17 | 100 × 170 |
| octodecimo(18º/ 18mo / eighteenmo) | 18 | 36 | 4 × 6 1⁄ 2 | 10 × 17 | 100 × 170 |
| trigesimo-secundo(32º/ 32mo / thirty-twomo) | 32 | 64 | 3 1⁄ 2× 5 1⁄ 2 | 8.9 × 14 | 89 × 140 |
| quadragesimo-octavo(48º/ 48mo / forty-eightmo) | 48 | 96 | 2 1⁄ 2× 4 | 6.3 × 10 | 63 × 100 |
| sexagesimo-quarto(64º/ 64mo / sixty-fourmo) | 64 | 128 | 2 × 3 | 5.1 × 7.6 | 51 × 76 |
United Kingdom(UK) Book Sizes
| Format/Name | cm × cm | mm × mm | inch × inch | Aspect ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 11 × 17.8 | 110 × 178 | 4 3⁄ 8× 7 | ϕ∶1 |
| B | 12.9 × 19.8 | 129 × 198 | 5 1⁄ 8× 7 3⁄ 4 | 1.535 |
| C | 13.5 × 21.6 | 135 × 216 | 5 3⁄ 8× 8 1⁄ 2 | 8∶5 |
Japan Book Sizes
Japanese books have a variety of sizes and specifications, which are a fusion of ISO 216 A series standards, JIS B-series standards, and several traditional Japanese paper sizes.
| Name/Format | Leaves | Pages | Approximate cover size (width × height) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mm × mm | inch × inch | ||||
| JIS B4(B4判) | 8 | 16 | 257 × 364 | 10 1⁄ 8× 14 1⁄ 3 | |
| ISO A4(A4判) | 8 | 16 | 210 × 297 | 8 1⁄ 4× 11 17⁄ 24 | |
| AB(AB判) | 16 | 32 | 210 × 257 | 8 1⁄ 4× 10 1⁄ 8 | |
| JIS B5(B5判) | 16 | 32 | 182 × 257 | 7 1⁄ 6× 10 1⁄ 8 | |
| Kiku("Chrysanthemum")(菊判) | 16 | 32 | 150 × 220 | 5 11⁄ 12× 8 2⁄ 3 | |
| ISO A5(A5判) | 16 | 32 | 148 × 210 | 5 5⁄ 6× 8 1⁄ 4 | |
| Jūbako("Tiered Box")(重箱判) | 20 | 40 | 182 × 206 | 7 1⁄ 6× 8 1⁄ 8 | |
| Shi-Roku("4 × 6")(四六判) | 32 | 64 | 127 × 188 | 5 × 7 5⁄ 12 | |
| JIS B6(B6判) | 32 | 64 | 128 × 182 | 5 1⁄ 24× 7 1⁄ 6 | |
| " Shinsho" ("Old Book") / "B40" / 新書判 | 40 | 80 | 103 × 182 | 4 1⁄ 24× 7 1⁄ 6 | |
| "Small JIS B6"(小B6判) | 32 | 64 | 112 × 174 | 4 5⁄ 12× 6 5⁄ 6 | |
| ISO A6(A6判) | 32 | 64 | 105 × 148 | 4 1⁄ 8× 5 5⁄ 6 | |
| San-Go("3 × 5")(三五判) | 40 | 80 | 84 × 148 | 3 7⁄ 24× 5 5⁄ 6 | |
