Newspapers are printed in a variety of sizes, with the most common sizes being Broadsheet, Berliner, Tabloid & Compact. Click the following link for Newsprint paper stock uncut sizes.

Broadsheet Size

Dimensions:

• UK: 375 x 597 mm (14.8" x 23.5")
• US: 381 x 578 mm (15" x 22.75")
• South African: 410 x 578 mm (16.1" x 22.75")
• New York Times: 305 x 559 mm (12.0" x 22.0")
• Wall Street Journal: 305 x 578 mm (12.0" x 22.75")

Background

The term broadsheet derives from single sheets of political satire and ballads sold on the streets, which became popular after the British placed a tax on newspapers by the number of pages in 1712.

The broadsheet size for newspapers is becoming less popular and many titles are switching from broadsheet to tabloid. The sizes given above are modern broadsheet sizes, some older broadsheet papers were even larger than their modern counterparts.

In Australia and New Zealand the term broadsheet is used to refer to papers that are printed on A1 size paper, so the papers are A2 size (420 x 594 mm - 16.5" x 23.4").

Berliner

Dimensions: 315 x 470 mm (12.4" x 18.5")

Background

The Berliner format (also known as Midi) is commonly used by newspapers across Europe. Confusingly the title 'Berliner Zeitung', often referred to as just 'Berliner' is not printed in Berliner size.

Similar in size to Berliner format is the Swiss (Neue Z¨rcher Zeitung) format at 320 x 475 mm (12.6" x 18.7").

Tabloid Size

Dimensions: 280 x 430 mm (11.0" x 16.9")

The tabloid size is often referred to as being 'half the size of a broadsheet' however this is not strictly true as broadsheet is 375 x 597 mm (14.8" x 23.5") so the tabloid is closer to ⅔ of the broadsheet.

Tabloid size is actually not very different from A3 and thus a transition to printing tabloids on an A2 sheet (remember that newspaper sizes are the size of the folded pages) would be sensible in the longer term.

There are also two Canadian 'tabloid' formats Canadian tabloid at 260 x 368 mm (10.2" x 14.5") and Canadian tall tabloid at 260 x 413 mm (10.2" x 16.3") both of which are smaller than the British standard tabloid size.

Background

The word tabloid when referring to newspaper sizes comes from the style of journalism known as 'tabloid journalism' that compacted stories into short, easy to read and often exaggerated forms. Tabloid journalism itself got its name from the 'tabloid pills' marketed in the 1880's, that were the first highly compacted and easy to swallow pills commonly available.

The tabloid size is widely used across the globe these days, with titles in the US, Russia, China, the UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil and many other countries using this format. Recently many established papers have changed from broadsheet size to tabloid size as it has proved more popular with readers.

Compact Size

This size is the same as tabloid. The term being coined when the 'quality' or 'high brow' press titles moved from the traditional broadsheet size to the smaller tabloid size, as they didn't want to be associated with the sensationalism of tabloid journalism.

Ciner Format

Dimensions: 350 x 500 mm (13.8" x 19.7")

This size is listed for completeness, as of yet we have been unable to find any newpapers printed in Ciner format.

Newsprint Paper Stock

Click the following link for Newsprint paper stock uncut sizes.