US Letter measures 215.9 × 279.4 mm. Its pixel dimensions change with PPI; the physical trim size does not.
US Letter measures exactly 8.5 × 11 inches, or 215.9 × 279.4 mm (21.59 × 27.94 cm). At 300 PPI, portrait Letter is exactly 2550 × 3300 pixels.
300 PPI: 2550 × 3300 px · 8.5 × 11 in trimPortrait values are rounded to the nearest whole pixel after converting the native physical dimensions.
| PPI | Width | Height | Use context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 612 px | 792 px | Layout or screen reference |
| 96 | 816 px | 1056 px | Layout or screen reference |
| 150 | 1275 px | 1650 px | Print / distance dependent |
| 240 | 2040 px | 2640 px | Print / distance dependent |
| 300 | 2550 px | 3300 px | Detailed print target |
| 600 | 5100 px | 6600 px | Detailed print target |
US Letter is 5.9 mm wider and 17.6 mm shorter than A4 in portrait orientation. Full-page A4 artwork should be checked before printing on Letter.
Compare A4Letter is 1275 × 1650 px at 150 PPI, 2040 × 2640 px at 240 PPI and 2550 × 3300 px at 300 PPI.
Change the PPIAdding 0.125 inch on every edge creates an 8.75 × 11.25 inch canvas, or 2625 × 3375 pixels at 300 PPI.
Calculate printer marginsUS Letter is the normal page for resumes, forms, reports, school material and office printers in the United States and parts of North America. Use it when the recipient, printer tray or submission requirement explicitly expects an 8.5 × 11 inch document.
Letter is wider and shorter than A4. An A4 PDF printed at actual size can lose content on Letter paper; fit-to-page preserves the full page but reduces it and leaves side margins. Editable documents should be reflowed and checked page by page instead of relying on automatic scaling.
For commercial edge-to-edge pieces, 0.125 inch is a common bleed example but not a universal requirement. For office printers, the more important limitation may be the device's non-printable edge. These two cases should not be confused.
For this Letter example, the printer requests 3 mm bleed on every edge and a 5 mm safe margin inside trim. The artwork canvas becomes 221.9 × 285.4 mm, or 2621 × 3371 pixels at 300 PPI. The protected region is 205.9 × 269.4 mm. These are example production requirements, not part of the paper standard.
Set the trim before placing the layout, extend the real background into bleed, and keep faces, lettering and other essential content inside the provider’s safe margin. A raster canvas and a PDF with page boxes describe the same physical job differently; do not scale all artwork simply to include an export border.
Recalculate with your printer’s exact marginsLetter identifies the final physical format. Bleed expands the artwork beyond that edge; a safe margin moves important content inward. Those extra values depend on the print provider.
Calculate bleed and safe areaUse the source pixels, final orientation and intended crop for North American documents, resumes and office printing; then confirm the required PPI with the provider.