tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post4548731666752975032..comments2024-03-28T10:34:56.034-04:00Comments on Philofaxy: Guest Post - Metric Paper Sizes - AlanLauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03550291806241735598noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-20903399156135701602015-01-21T08:49:44.462-05:002015-01-21T08:49:44.462-05:00Bree, I replied to Cloudberry, just today, which a...Bree, I replied to Cloudberry, just today, which addresses you question, albeit not authoritatively!Alan Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163255067102493914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-79718688962481643632015-01-21T08:46:53.451-05:002015-01-21T08:46:53.451-05:00The Imperial sizing of Personal (6.75"x3.75&q...The Imperial sizing of Personal (6.75"x3.75") has been around for decades and was supported by North American Companies like Oxford and Hilroy, in addition to being used by Lefax and Filofax. You can get 3 Personal sheet out of a letter sized page with a moderate amount of waste. The Franklin Covey "Compact" size reduces that waste to the minimum possible by adding 1/2"Alan Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163255067102493914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-67057958281861792392015-01-12T15:37:29.106-05:002015-01-12T15:37:29.106-05:00Thank you, this is a wonderful post. Thank you, this is a wonderful post. Strickmusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03342271582395245528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-3529066862950984232015-01-09T19:43:20.359-05:002015-01-09T19:43:20.359-05:00If you want to be really pendantic you should say ...If you want to be really pendantic you should say that the was originally called DIN 476 (Deutsche Industrienorm = German Industrial norm), which it's still called in Germany. We usually say Din A4, Din A5, etc. <br /><br />Then there's EN (European Nom). And now ISO. The official titel now it's ISO 261. Though in some European paperwork it's referred to as EN ISO 216. And some inAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10457659285366018065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-91368587774537522232015-01-09T17:42:17.737-05:002015-01-09T17:42:17.737-05:00The biggest impediment to the US adopting ISO 216 ...The biggest impediment to the US adopting ISO 216 is the federal government, which adopted Letter size formally, displacing the more common size of 8x10, which is still frequently used in educational materials and of course, photography.<br /><br />Like Cloudberry, I strongly suspect the Personal size Filofax adopted from LeFax was based on something common here first - it measures too perfectly Breehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00439533442915361300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-15297490443207488812015-01-09T10:55:57.297-05:002015-01-09T10:55:57.297-05:00I wonder if Personal sized paper originates from t...I wonder if Personal sized paper originates from the US from the LeFax days? Perhaps the dimensions are cut from a US paper size? Possibly from book publishing which seems to have its own unique paper sizing? ISO 216 (and foolscap/folio) was designed in ratio to be halved, quartered etc to save on paper wastage (costs) when printing and to estimate the cost of postage by calculating the weight Cloudberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16497127379520219542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-41438446432406152532015-01-09T08:10:31.800-05:002015-01-09T08:10:31.800-05:00Point taken, but I suspect that 95% of people refe...Point taken, but I suspect that 95% of people refer to A4, A5, etc, generically as either metric or A-sized paper.<br /><br />As for standardization across all companies, there are costs to the firms as well as that allows customers to buy their inserts from any firm. It would be like Schick and Gillette agreeing to a standard for razor blades - not happening.<br />Alan Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163255067102493914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-66521308062011181922015-01-08T10:37:53.790-05:002015-01-08T10:37:53.790-05:00Although you refer at it as "metric sizing&qu...Although you refer at it as "metric sizing", the proper name is "International Standard (ISO) 216". The American sizing is known as a "local standard". The UK had its own standard until 1959 and in my childhood, paper was always "foolscap" or "quarto". Only the USA and Canada has yet to adopt ISO 216, although it is still not in widespread use Tim Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04320789185450598620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-79187010272859655232015-01-08T08:56:23.126-05:002015-01-08T08:56:23.126-05:00Paul: It IS virtually unknown or invisible to the...Paul: It IS virtually unknown or invisible to the American public, who are extremely resistant to change. My guess is that 98% would question why they need to change something that works perfectly well. In addition, millions of letter sized filing cabinets and unadjustable three hole punches would become obsolete.<br /><br />Also, from a planner perspective, Franklin Covey sizes are not Alan Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163255067102493914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-56516529873993365132015-01-08T08:45:54.688-05:002015-01-08T08:45:54.688-05:00I notice that the PDF is truncated. I have sent S...I notice that the PDF is truncated. I have sent Steve a new version that works.Alan Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163255067102493914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-29883391524377013352015-01-08T08:45:08.844-05:002015-01-08T08:45:08.844-05:00Thank you all. For the record, I an North America...Thank you all. For the record, I an North American (Toronto, Canada) and I agree with Cathleen, I'd be quite surprised if North Americans adopted metric paper sizing in my lifetime. Alan Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163255067102493914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-14894841206717595152015-01-08T08:39:39.608-05:002015-01-08T08:39:39.608-05:00Thanks, Alan, for such a clear explanation. I lov...Thanks, Alan, for such a clear explanation. I love the logic and practicality of it all, and I wish the US would adopt the metric sizing system for paper. It's well-nigh impossible to purchase A4--and to some extent, A5--paper here. I think it's an invisible matter to most Americans; most wouldn't even know what A4 or A5 paper is, so I doubt that there would be a change anytime Cathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18157409286271269709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-29272389519441415762015-01-08T08:18:19.987-05:002015-01-08T08:18:19.987-05:00Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble ...Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to do this. As an American, I can tell you that converting back and forth is really irksome and I wish the US would be sensible and adopt metric. I will print your guide out and put it in my Filo right now. Again---thanks!maccie2https://www.blogger.com/profile/18442942764017245154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-4015177129612028022015-01-08T06:18:58.039-05:002015-01-08T06:18:58.039-05:00What a fascinating article/history lesson! Thank y...What a fascinating article/history lesson! Thank you.S. Yateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10090768259204661770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-47894693135460876432015-01-08T06:17:09.738-05:002015-01-08T06:17:09.738-05:00Thank you for taking the time to explain that, Ala...Thank you for taking the time to explain that, Alan. My coffee-time learning for today. :)Nancy Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04649794444993795527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-7515830158433586722015-01-08T04:29:12.477-05:002015-01-08T04:29:12.477-05:00Grreat explanation, Alan :-). If you want to confu...Grreat explanation, Alan :-). If you want to confuse Americans even further you can also mention C which is the standard for envelops, although some envelops are also sized using B. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10457659285366018065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-69687588288863706722015-01-08T04:23:30.104-05:002015-01-08T04:23:30.104-05:00Based on my experience (German but I worked in the...Based on my experience (German but I worked in the US for a few months) it's unknown to most Americans. The company I worked for had bought an US subsidiary and they were really vexed with and confused by the DIN/EN standards, even the engineers. They all didn't know about them. <br /><br />It was not only the actual paper which didn't fint into US binders but also all the documents Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10457659285366018065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-1295667344740384672015-01-08T03:13:33.309-05:002015-01-08T03:13:33.309-05:00Alan, thanks for a very well-written piece, it mad...Alan, thanks for a very well-written piece, it made it easy to understand. The diagram of the diagonal line was especially enlightening. It always vexed me when I went to the US and had to make notes on Letter paper, which then didn't fit in my file when I got back. The ability to take an A4 document, and easily reduce to A5, then punch and file in a Filofax was one of the biggest benefits Paul Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13834134905640040795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497333.post-87946456683820519612015-01-08T01:35:02.060-05:002015-01-08T01:35:02.060-05:00Good morning :-) excellent post, Alan! I did enjoy...Good morning :-) excellent post, Alan! I did enjoy reading it. Thank you.Feld Effekthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08144581927283404575noreply@blogger.com