These traditional British writing-paper names describe full sheets rather than a current production standard. The British Association of Paper Historians presents them as a guide, and dimensions could vary by mill, trade and period. The source values below are in inches; millimetres are rounded conversions for comparison. For a live job, confirm the stock size with the paper merchant or printer.
| Sheet name | Dimensions (in) | Approx. dimensions (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| Pott | 12½ × 15 | 318 × 381 |
| Double pott | 15 × 25 | 381 × 635 |
| Foolscap | 13¼ × 16½ | 337 × 419 |
| Double foolscap | 16½ × 26½ | 419 × 673 |
| Foolscap and third | 13¼ × 22 | 337 × 559 |
| Foolscap and half | 13¼ × 24¾ | 337 × 629 |
| Pinched post | 14½ × 18½ | 368 × 470 |
| Post | 15¼ × 19 | 387 × 483 |
| Double post | 19 × 30½ | 483 × 775 |
| Large post | 16½ × 20¾ | 419 × 527 |
| Double large post | 20¾ × 33 | 527 × 838 |
| Copy | 16¼ × 20 | 413 × 508 |
| Medium | 18 × 22½ | 457 × 572 |
Names such as folio, quarto and octavo usually describe how a printed sheet was folded for binding, not a fixed original sheet size. See the companion historical British printing-paper sizes guide for press-sheet names. Source: British Association of Paper Historians, “Old English Paper Sizes”.