Fine Art Photo Frame and Print Sizes
Printing is a Beautiful Struggle
— Andrii Mur (me ^_^)
I hope this Guide might reduce your Confuse about Photos Sizing and Framing.
Standart 'A' Series Paper Sizes
| PAPER | Size (mm) | Size (inch) |
|---|---|---|
| A5 | 148 x 210 mm |
5.8 x 8.3 in |
| A4 | 210 x 297 mm |
8.3 x 11.7 in |
| A3 | 297 x 420 mm |
11.7 x 16.5 in |
| A2 | 420 x 594 mm |
16.5 x 23.4 in |
| A1 | 594 x 841 mm |
23.4 x 33.1 in |
| A0 | 841 x 1189 mm |
33.1 x 46.8 in |
Standard Imperial 'inch' Frame Sizes
| Frame Size (inch) | Mat Opening (inch) | Picture Size (inch) | Picture Size (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 x 10 in | 4.5 x 6.5 in | 5 x 7 in | 127 x 177.8 mm |
| 11 x 14 in | 7.5 x 9.5 in | 8 x 10 in | 203.2 x 254 mm |
| 12 x 16 in | 10.5 x 13.5 in | 11 x 14 in | 279.4 x 355.6 mm |
| 16 x 20 in | 11.5 x 15.5 in | 12 x 16 in | 304.8 x 406.4 mm |
| 20 x 24 in | 15.5 x 19.5 in | 16 x 20 in | 406.4 x 508 mm |
| 24 x 36 in | 19.5 x 29.5 in | 20 x 30 in | 508 x 762 mm |
| 30 x 40 in | 21.5 x 31.5 in | 22 x 32 in | 558.8 x x 812.8 mm |
16x20 Imperial 'inch' Pre-cut Mat Openings
| Picture Size (inch) | Mat Opening (inch) | Border Size (inch) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 x 7 in | 4.5 x 6.5 in | 5.75 x 6.75 in |
| 8 x 10 in | 7.5 x 9.5 in | 4.25 x 5.25 in |
| 8 x 12 in | 7.5 x 11.5 in | 4.25 x 4.25 in |
| 9 x 12 in | 8.5 x 11.5 in | 3.75 x 4.25 in |
| 10 x 13 in | 9.5 x 12.5 in | 3.25 x 3.75 in |
| 11 x 14 in | 10.5 x 13.5 in | 2.75 x 3.25 in |
| 12 x 16 in | 11.5 x 15.5 in | 2.25 x 2.25 in |
Corresponding Imperial 'inch' Standards to Metric ones
| Frame Size (inch) | Frame Size (cm) | Frame Size (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 x 7 in | 13 x 18 cm |
127 x 177.8 mm |
| 8 x 10 in | 20 x 25 cm |
203.2 x 254 mm |
| 11 x 14 in | 28 x 35 cm |
279.4 x 355.6 mm |
| 12 x 16 in | 30 x 40 cm |
304.8 x 406.4 mm |
| 12 x 18 in | 30 x 45 cm |
304.8 x 457.2 mm |
| 16 x 16 in | 40 x 40 cm |
406.4 x 406.4 mm |
| 16 x 20 in | 40 x 50 cm |
406.4 x 508 mm |
| 18 x 24 in | 45 x 60 cm |
457.2 x 609.6 mm |
| 20 x 20 in | 50 x 50 cm |
508 x 508 mm |
| 20 x 28 in | 50 x 70 cm |
508 x 711.2 mm |
| 28 x 39 in | 70 x 100 cm |
711.2 x 990.6 mm |
Standard Metric 'cm' Frame Sizes with Mount
| Frame Size (cm) | Mat Border (cm) | Image Size (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 x 18 cm | - | 10 x 15 cm (2x3) |
| 18 x 24 cm | 2.75 x 2.75 cm | 13 x 18 cm |
| 20 x 20 cm | 3.5 x 3.5 cm | 14 x 14 cm |
| A4 (21 x 29.7 cm) | 15 x 20 cm |
|
| 24 x 30 cm | 3.5 x 3.5 cm | 18 x 24 cm |
| 30 x 40 cm | 5 x 5.5 cm | A4 (21 x 29.7 cm) |
| 30 x 45 cm | - | 30 x 45 cm (2x3) |
| 40 x 50 cm | 5.5 x 5.5 cm | 30 x 40 cm |
| 40 x 60 cm | 5 x 5 cm | 30 x 50 cm |
| 40 x 60 cm | - | 40 x 60 cm (2x3) |
| 45 x 60 cm | - | 45 x 60 cm (3x4) |
| 50 x 50 cm | 10.5 x 10.5 cm | 30 x 30 cm |
| 50 x 60 cm | 5.5 x 5.5 cm | 40 x 50 cm |
| 60 x 60 cm | 5.5 x 5.5 cm | 50 x 50 cm |
| 50 x 70 cm | 5.5 x 5.5 cm | 40 x 50 cm |
| 60 x 80 cm | 5.5 x 5.5 cm | 50 x 70 cm |
| A3 (29.7 x 42 cm) | A4 (21 x 29.7 cm) |
|
| 70 x 100 cm | 10.5 x 10.5 cm | 50 x 70 cm |
*Note: Consider proportions you have 2x3, 3x4, 4x5 etc.
P.S. It helped me to not waste time and money on producing incorrect prints.
Found it helpful as well? I would appreciate your gratitude.
Conclusion
Probably the most customer friendly thing you can do is to make sure your Print fits a standard frame size
To achieve it it's good to decide before resizing, whether you want to frame it with Passepartout or not. Whether you want to sign it on front or on back. Whether you want additional black border or not. In the edge case, anyway it's simpler and cheaper to cut the custom Mat size than to make a custom Frame.
Bonus
- Common Mount (Border) is 5 cm and 5.5 cm or 2.25 in
- A3 Poster Border 2.5 cm or 1 in
- Pre-cut Mount can not be smaller than 2 cm
- Usually the Smaller the picture the Bigger the Mount
- Fine Art prints often have bigger bottom mount to balance the photo weight (weighted)
- The minimum Bleeding is 5 mm or 0.25 in (that will go under the frame)
- The Black border before the White canvas of Silver Gelatin prints printed in Darkroom is 1mm, 2mm or 5mm
- 10 x 15 cm with the 15mm white payout will give you 13 x 18 cm standart
- A5 format allows to fit 2x3 ratio (13 x 19.5 cm) picture with 10mm payout
p.s. If you're using mm during resizing use mm if inches than in. Do not mix them up from step to step!
* All photographs used in post example are made by Andrii Mur