RFC 2346 (rfc2346) - Page 2 of 6

Making Postscript and PDF International

RFC 2346        Making Postscript and PDF International         May 1998


   6. Author's Address                                              5
   7. Full Copyright Statement                                      6

1.    Introduction

   Certain text formats, for example Postscript (MIME-Type:
   application/postscript; file extension .ps) and Portable Document
   Format (MIME-Type: application/pdf;  file extension .pdf) specify
   exactly the page layout of the printed document. The commonly used
   paper format is different in North America and the rest of the world.
   North America uses the 'Letter' format, while the rest of the world
   uses the 'A4' format.

   The North American Letter format is 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 in) while
   the ISO standardised A4 format is 210 x 297 mm (8.3 x 11.7 in). The
   Letter format is thus 6 mm (0.2 inches) wider, while the A4 format is
   18 mm (0.7 inches) taller.

   This means that documents formatted on one continent may not be
   printable on another continent. It is oboviously desirable that
   documents on the Internet are printable on all continents. This paper
   gives advice on how to achieve this.

   This memo is not intended for HTML documents, but the advice may be
   of value also for HTML developers in case they are using fixed-size
   graphics and fixed WIDTH sizes of objects in HTML documents.

2.    Three methods for printing on different paper formats

2.1   Method 1: Use wider margins

Paper format
you use when
converting
the document                                 Suggested minimal margins
to Postscript Paper
or PDF        orien-      Suggested change   Left   Right  Top    Bottom
              tation      of margins
------------  -----------  -----------------  -----  -----  -----  -----
A4           Portrait     Add 18 mm (0.7     20 mm  20 mm  33 mm  33 mm
             (upright,    inches) to the top 0.8"   0.8"   1.3"   1.3"
             vertical)    of page and bottom
                          of page margins

A4           Landscape    Add 18 mm (0.7     33 mm  33 mm  15 mm  15 mm
             (lying,      inches) to the     1.3"   1.3"   0.6"   0.6"
             horizontal)  left and right
                          margins



Palme                        Informational