A4 vs US Letter Printables: Serve Both Buyers
A4 and US Letter are different shapes, not just sizes. What international buyers expect, the 6% ratio gap, and how to package files for both.
Roughly 40% of Etsy's buyers are outside the US, and almost all of them will print your file on A4 — a sheet that's 6 mm narrower and 18 mm taller than US Letter. If your printable only exists in Letter shape, international buyers get either clipped edges or shrunken margins, and your reviews say "didn't fit my paper."
The two shapes, precisely
| US Letter | A4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 8.5 x 11 in | 8.27 x 11.69 in (210x297 mm) |
| Ratio (short÷long) | 0.773 | 0.707 (1:√2) |
| Pixels @300 DPI | 2550 x 3300 | 2480 x 3508 |
| Used by | US, Canada, Mexico | Nearly everywhere else |
The killer detail is the ratio, not the area. Letter is 0.773; A4 is 0.707. Scale a Letter file onto A4 and you're left with a 9% mismatch that has to go somewhere — cropped off, or absorbed as uneven white bars.
The superpower of the A-series
Every ISO A size shares the same 1:√2 ratio: fold an A4 in half and you get A5, double it and you get A3. So one A-ratio file covers A5, A4, A3, A2, and A1 — five sizes, one upload. That's why the standard 5-file printable pack includes an "ISO A" master alongside the US ratios (full table in the printable size guide).
US Letter has no such family. It's an orphan shape — which is why wall-art sellers usually don't ship a dedicated Letter file: a 4:5 or 3:4 file printed "fit to page" on Letter leaves modest, even margins that look intentional.
Worked example: a botanical print, 4200x5940 px
That's a 0.707 ratio — an ISO A master.
- A4: 4200 ÷ 8.27 = 508 DPI. Overkill-sharp.
- A3: 4200 ÷ 11.69 = 359 DPI. Crisp.
- A2: 4200 ÷ 16.54 = 254 DPI. Very good.
- On US Letter, "fit to page": the image prints at 7.78 x 11 in with ~0.36 in side margins — clean and even.
One file, honest promises for four scenarios. The Ratio-Pack Generator crops any source image to the ISO shape (it costs only ~6% of a 2:3 source's height — the gentlest of the five standard crops) and reports each size's DPI for you.
When you DO need both files
Edge-to-edge designs — planners, calendars with full-bleed grids, lined journal pages — must exist in both shapes, because "fit to page" would shrink the grid and break hole-punch alignment. Budget one extra file slot for a true 8.5x11 version, and remember Etsy's 5-file cap when planning the pack. Then price the listing knowing what Etsy takes per sale.
Ratio-Pack Generator
Turn one image into every print ratio buyers ask for — 300 DPI, cropped in your browser. Free, instant, nothing uploads.