The Paperkind field guide

A4 or US Letter: which should I choose?

Use the paper that is actually in your printer.

The two sizes

A4 measures 210 × 297 mm (about 8.27 × 11.69 inches). US Letter measures 215.9 × 279.4 mm (8.5 × 11 inches). A4 is slightly narrower and taller. US Letter is slightly wider and shorter.

Keep all three settings in sync

The generator, the PDF print dialog and the paper tray should all use the same size. A Letter PDF printed on A4 with Fit to page can change your grid spacing.

Portrait or landscape?

Portrait keeps the long edge upright and works well for journals, letters and music manuscript pages. Landscape gives diagrams and wider patterns more room. Changing orientation in the generator creates a PDF with the correct dimensions, instead of rotating a screen preview.

Sending a sheet to someone else

Ask which paper they use, or send both A4 and Letter versions. The grid spacing can stay identical even though the number of cells on a page changes.