Envelope sizes
This is a bit technical, so please bear with me, but I hope some of you US types can shed a bit of light on what's currently puzzling me...
In the UK the standard size of paper for putting into printers etc is called A4, measuring 8.27 * 11.69 inches, and there are also various multiples and fractions of that. So then there are a set of standard envelope sizes that are just a bit bigger, so eg. a C4 envelope neatly holds A4 printed material, a C5 envelope holds A5 (or A4 folded in half), etc. The most common business envelope is called DL and holds A4 folded in 3 heightways.
I'm trying to find out what's the corresponding system in the US. Letter paper is 8.5 * 11 inches, but looking at the Wikipedia entry, none of the standard envelope sizes they mention seem to bear much obvious relation to that. US A2 looks like it would hold Letter folded in half and then half the other way, but that seems small and impractical if you've got more than one sheet. Can you not get common envelopes that neatly take Letter folded in half, or in three heightways?
Edited to add: terrific, thanks guys! Very helpful.
In the UK the standard size of paper for putting into printers etc is called A4, measuring 8.27 * 11.69 inches, and there are also various multiples and fractions of that. So then there are a set of standard envelope sizes that are just a bit bigger, so eg. a C4 envelope neatly holds A4 printed material, a C5 envelope holds A5 (or A4 folded in half), etc. The most common business envelope is called DL and holds A4 folded in 3 heightways.
I'm trying to find out what's the corresponding system in the US. Letter paper is 8.5 * 11 inches, but looking at the Wikipedia entry, none of the standard envelope sizes they mention seem to bear much obvious relation to that. US A2 looks like it would hold Letter folded in half and then half the other way, but that seems small and impractical if you've got more than one sheet. Can you not get common envelopes that neatly take Letter folded in half, or in three heightways?
Edited to add: terrific, thanks guys! Very helpful.