Flyers · Glossary
What is legal paper size? 8.5 x 14 inches in mm and pixels
Legal paper is 8.5 by 14 inches, about 216 by 356 millimetres. It is the same width as US letter and three inches longer, and is used in North America for contracts, forms and some menus. At 300 DPI a legal page is 2550 by 4200 pixels, with an aspect ratio of about 1 to 1.647.
Legal is the long sheet that turns up in American contracts, court forms and diner menus. It shares a width with letter, so it feeds through the same printer trays, but its extra length catches out anyone who designs at A4 or letter and hits print.
Indunil Asanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Measure | Legal | Government legal | Letter | Foolscap | A4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inches | 8.5 x 14 | 8.5 x 13 | 8.5 x 11 | 8 x 13 | 8.27 x 11.69 |
| Millimetres | 216 x 356 | 216 x 330 | 216 x 279 | 203 x 330 | 210 x 297 |
| Pixels at 150 DPI | 1275 x 2100 | 1275 x 1950 | 1275 x 1650 | 1200 x 1950 | 1240 x 1754 |
| Pixels at 300 DPI | 2550 x 4200 | 2550 x 3900 | 2550 x 3300 | 2400 x 3900 | 2480 x 3508 |
| Aspect ratio | 1 : 1.647 | 1 : 1.529 | 1 : 1.294 | 1 : 1.625 | 1 : 1.414 |
Where legal sits among North American sizes
Papersizes.org lists legal at 216 by 356 millimetres, the same width as letter and as government legal, which is 13 inches long. Because the width matches, a legal sheet uses the same printer guides and the same envelopes folded in thirds as letter; only the length changes. Outside North America the nearest old size is foolscap, 8 by 13 inches, once common in Britain and the Commonwealth and still sold in parts of Asia and Latin America. None of these share the A series proportion, so moving a design between them means reflowing it, not only scaling it.
Why contracts and menus use it
The extra three inches give room for a signature block, a long clause list or one more column of dishes without a second page. Many American government forms were designed on legal paper, although many courts now ask for letter size filings, so check the rules of the body you are filing with. Restaurants like legal for menus because a folded legal sheet makes a tall, narrow card, and VistaPrint offers its folded menus at 8.5 by 11 and 8.5 by 14 inches.
Printing on legal
Most office printers have a legal setting and a manual feed or a tray that slides out to take the longer sheet. Choose the paper size in the print dialog as well as in the document; a legal page sent to a letter tray is shrunk or cut off at the 11 inch mark. For a print shop with full bleed, add 0.125 inches on each side, making the canvas 8.75 by 14.25 inches or 2625 by 4275 pixels at 300 DPI, and keep text a quarter inch inside the trim.
Common mistakes
The first is designing on letter and printing on legal, which leaves three inches of white at the bottom. The second is the reverse, a legal design printed on letter, which cuts off the last section or shrinks everything to 79 percent. The third is assuming legal exists in Australia or Europe; print shops there stock A4 and A3, and the closest A size by length, A4, is 59 millimetres shorter. The fourth is scanning a legal document on a letter scanner bed, which crops the foot of the page.
Legal and the flyer editor
The flyer editor has no legal canvas. Its print sizes are A4 portrait and landscape, and A4 is narrower and much shorter than legal, so an A4 design on a legal sheet either leaves white space or has to be enlarged and cropped. For a legal menu or form, start from a canvas at the right size: the blank PNG linked above is 2550 by 4200 pixels, legal at 300 DPI. The paper size converter gives the exact dimensions in millimetres, inches and pixels for legal and its neighbours, and the flyer size resizer turns an A4 export into legal pixels if a crop is acceptable.
Questions people ask
Is legal paper longer than A4?
Yes. Legal is 356 millimetres long and A4 is 297, so legal is 59 millimetres, or about 2.3 inches, longer. It is also 6 millimetres wider. A document made on one size will not print correctly on the other without scaling or reflowing the content.
What is legal paper used for today?
Mostly contracts, real estate documents, some court and government forms, and menus in the United States, Canada and parts of Latin America. Many offices have moved standard filings to letter size, so legal is now chosen when the extra length saves a second page.
Do legal documents have to be on legal paper?
No. The name describes a paper size, not a rule. A contract printed on letter or A4 is just as valid as one on legal, and many courts and agencies ask for letter size filings. Check the specific court or agency rules before printing anything you need to file.
How do I scan or copy a legal page?
Use a scanner with a legal size bed or a document feeder that accepts 14 inch sheets, and set the scan area to legal. On a letter flatbed the last three inches are cut off. Most office copiers handle legal through the feeder even when the glass is letter sized.
Can I set up legal size in Google Docs or Word?
Yes. Both offer legal in their page setup lists at 8.5 by 14 inches. Choose it before you start writing, because changing the page size later reflows the text and can push tables and signature blocks onto the next page.
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