We don't think we are alone in liking nice small prints.
Listen to this podcast by Brooks Jensen (Lenswork) "The Size That Feels Right For a Photograph".
We never print borderless because of two reasons:
- Border provides the print a visual reference
- Border needed for mapping
But for small prints we are mostly stuck with the Letter sized 8.5x11" papers because there are hardly Fine Art papers available at 11x14" and 11x17"/13x19" are not really that small anymore (look how heavy and big your portfolio binders get).
Here are some common sheet sizes for most Fine Art Papers
| Size |
Surface Area |
Aspect Ratio |
Frames / Binders |
Papers available |
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| 8.5x11" |
93.5 sq inch |
1 : 1.29 (~3:4) |
yes/yes |
most papers |
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| 11x14" |
154 sq inch |
1 : 1.27 (~3:4) |
yes/yes |
very few papers |
| |
|
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| 11x17" |
187 sq inch |
1 : 1.54 (~2:3) |
no/yes |
some papers |
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| 13x19" |
247 sq inch |
1 : 1.46 (~2:3) |
no/yes |
most papers |
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|
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|
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| 17x22" |
374 sq inch |
1 : 1.29 (~3:4) |
no/rare |
many papers |
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The sizes 8.5x11, 11x17 and 17x22 come from classic US paper sizes (not photo). 11x14 is a classic photo size and 13x19 likely derived from 13" wide printers.
Note: Some feel that the paper should fit the prints aspect ratio (35mm 2:3 would then be most common). We believe that you can easily place a 2:3 image onto a 3:4 paper.
We personally think that 11x14 is an excellent size for small prints (for sale) and portfolio collections. Unfortunately this size is quite hard to get.
If your favorite paper is available in 11x17" and you have a good paper cutter then it is not hard to cut the paper down to 11x14". Hard is to justify the paper waste (remember these are not cheap papers).
Cutting down from 13x19 is not only harder (getting perfectly square paper) and also way more expensive. We sometimes think to cut 13x19 into two sheets of 9.5x13 which looks nice but you won't find any binders.
We talked to paper manufacturers and of course understand their concern: More sizes complicate packaging and confuses retail. On the otherv side not having 11x14" available makes our life a photographers harder. For many fine art photographers working on portfolios is a main task. We think getting more papers in 11x14 would help us with our portfolios (this is at least our personal view).
So here is our wish list for all paper manufacturers:
a) Best have 11x14" sheets available
b) Second best carry 11x17" sheets
What are your thoughts? Please post in our news groups or write us emails.
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