Re: @page { size: A4 }

On Friday, April 11, 2003, 10:01:07 AM, Rowland wrote:

RS> Maybe I'm just being a shade ignorant here, but my understanding is that at
RS> least A4 is internationally recognised? (It would follow that the A series
RS> is supported internationally) - at the very least, I doubt there is any
RS> other definition of A4?

Yes, A4 is an international standard as is the whole A series. Its not
'european' paper size as often described.... ISO 216.

See for example
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html
for an explanation (which also shows that the B series has not caught
on and is different in japan) including the tolerances on these sizes.

RS> Thinking about it logically, "a4" would really just be a synonym for 210 x
RS> 297mm; But it does aid usability (I fear the consequences of typos and
RS> getting a page 21mm wide, or even 297m long), and A4 does have significant
RS> meaning, if only to the Europeans amongst us. I would be inclined to have
RS> us-letter (and legal etc). If only to cater to for those still using good
RS> old line printers and use US-Letter continuous stationary (even in Europe ;)

RS> I've not been able to find reference to any such proposal in the past, or
RS> any objections to it; I'd be interested in the "other" definition of A4 that
RS> caused the major printer manufacturer to highlight it as an issue -- I could
RS> understand concerns for "letter", however. Maybe we need the two letter ISO
RS> country code to prefix non-international sizes? So, A4, us-letter, eu-dl,
RS> etc?



-- 
 Chris                            mailto:chris@w3.org