Aspect Ratio and Paper Size

Background

This page lists the various paper sizes that will exactly fit specific aspect ratios. However, it only lists those aspect ratios that pertain to images on this website. And it limits the list of paper sizes to those which are available from the photo lab we are using and that fit the aspect ratio exactly. There are many other paper print sizes available and they may be used by simply choosing to crop the photo to fit or choosing to print the photo without cropping and accepting the white bands on the top / bottom or on the sides.

Please note that every image on this site (except those with the very common 2x3 aspect ratio) includes its aspect ratio as a note at the end of the photo's caption: they all look like "[1x3 ratio]" (where "1x3" may be some other ratio). You can see the title and caption of a photo when you look at individual photos in the "lightbox" view (that is, when you click on an individual image in a photo gallery). If you need a refresher on what an aspect ratio is and how it relates to print paper size, just take a look at this page.

In addition, when you going through the print purchase process you'll see that print paper sizes are grouped into types: Standard Sizes, Other Sizes, Panoramic Sizes, and Square Sizes. Other specialty print groupings like Canvas, ThinWraps, and Metal are generally a subset of the other print sizes. On this site the vast majority of images are in the 2x3 ratio.

Finally, some of these available print sizes are quite large (e.g., 40" x 60" -- which is 3 1/3 feet by 5 feet BEFORE any matting and framing). In some cases, the original image will not look its best when printed at such a size). If you are interested in an print in one of these larger dimensions, please feel free to write to me at Ced@CedBennett.Photography and I'll give you my best advice about the specific photo.

Standard and Other Sizes

2x3 ratio:

This is the most common aspect ratio for prints on this site since it is the normal, uncropped, directly-out-of-the-camera ratio for any digital camera that emulates a film-based 35mm camera. The exact fit Standard paper sizes are (in inches):

  4x6     8x12     10x15     12x18     16x24     20x30     24x36

In addition, exact fit Other Sizes include:

  11x16     30x45     40x60

There are very few 4x5 ratio photos on this site (at the site's release there was exactly one). This ratio accommodates the very familiar 8" x 10" and 16" x 20" frame or mat sizes (and some other, larger, ones). Similarly, there was only one 1x1 ratio photo on the site at the start. That ratio will fit any photo paper which has all sides equal (in other words, a square).

Panoramic Sizes

1x2 ratio will exactly fit the following (in inches):

   4x8     5x10     8x16     10x20     12x24     15x30     20x40     30x60

1x3 ratio will exactly fit the following (in inches):

   5x15     6x18     8x24     10x30     11x33     12x36     16x48     20x60     30x90

1x4 ratio will exactly fit the following (in inches):

   5x20     6x24     8x32     10x40     12x48     16x64     30x120