ISO 216 · A-series
A2 paper size — 420 × 594 mm
A2 is 420 × 594 millimetres (16.54 × 23.39 in) — the medium poster and art-print size, equal to exactly four A4 sheets. Big enough for wall impact, small enough for standard frames and easy tiling on a home printer.
Next: Check a photo is sharp enough for A2·Print it at exactly A2·Convert to pixels, points or inches
A2 — instant conversion
| Unit | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Millimetres (mm) | 420 mm | 594 mm |
| Centimetres (cm) | 42 cm | 59.4 cm |
| Inches (in) | 16.535 in | 23.386 in |
| Pixels @ 300 DPI | 4961 px | 7016 px |
| PostScript points (pt) | 1190.6 pt | 1683.8 pt |
| Picas | 99.21 | 140.31 |
Change the DPI selector to see the pixel resolution at 72, 96, 150, 200, 300 or 600 DPI. Physical dimensions (mm, cm, in, pt, picas) do not change with DPI.
A2 resolution guide
| DPI | Pixels | Megapixels | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | 1587 × 2245 | 3.6 MP | Screen mockups |
| 150 | 2480 × 3508 | 8.7 MP | Posters viewed from 1.5 m+ |
| 300 | 4961 × 7016 | 34.8 MP | Fine-art prints inspected up close |
Handy coincidence: A2 at 150 DPI has the exact same pixel dimensions as A4 at 300 DPI (2480 × 3508 px) — an A4/300 file can be printed at A2 for distance viewing without resampling.
A2 · 420 × 594 mm
Dashed outline: a standard credit card (ISO/IEC 7810, 85.6 × 54 mm) at the same scale.
Where A2 is used
- Art prints and framed wall posters
- Retail signage and window displays
- Wall calendars and desk planners
- Small architectural and technical drawings
- Menu boards and café displays
- Portfolio presentation sheets
Printing A2 at home
A2 is the friendliest large size for home tiling: a clean 2 × 2 grid of A4 sheets. Print each quadrant with a 10 mm overlap, trim the overlapping edges on two sheets, align on a flat surface and tape from the back. The poster split calculator computes the exact tile layout and overlap for any printer margin.
What are you trying to do?
Most people looking up A2 are partway through something else. These open with the size already set.
- Check a photo is sharp enough for A2Drop in the image and see its effective resolution at this size.
- Print it at exactly A2Where the 100% setting hides, and why Fit to page shrinks it 3–6%.
- Convert to pixels, points or inchesEvery unit at any DPI, plus photocopier scaling percentages.
- Print A2 across ordinary sheetsTile it onto A4 or Letter with overlap and alignment marks.
A2 vs the sizes it gets confused with
A2 sits in the middle of the poster range, which is where the international and American systems come closest without meeting. Two sizes account for nearly every mismatch.
| Size | Millimetres | Inches | Against A2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | 420 × 594 | 16.54 × 23.39 | — |
| 18 × 24 in | 457 × 610 | 18 × 24 | 37 mm wider, 16 mm taller — the standard US art-print and frame size |
| ARCH C | 457 × 610 | 18 × 24 | Same sheet as the 18 × 24 poster, in the architectural series |
| A1 | 594 × 841 | 23.39 × 33.11 | Twice the area — A2 is A1 folded once |
The gap matters most when buying frames. An A2 print does not fill an 18 × 24 inch frame: it leaves roughly 18 mm spare across the width and 8 mm down the height, which reads as a crooked mount unless the frame has a matboard cut for A2. Buy the frame to the print, not the other way round — and if the print is already made, a custom-cut mount is cheaper than reprinting.
Frequently asked questions
How big is A2 paper?
A2 is 420 × 594 mm — 42 × 59.4 cm, 16.54 × 23.39 in. To picture it: a large framed art print, about the size of two open magazines side by side. If you need it in pixels the answer depends on resolution — the table above gives every common DPI.
What size is A2 paper?
A2 is 420 × 594 millimetres — 42 × 59.4 cm, approximately 16.54 × 23.39 inches. It is the half-step below A1 (nominally half — ISO rounds to whole millimetres) and exactly four A4 sheets: 2 × 210 = 420 mm and 2 × 297 = 594 mm, a perfect 2 × 2 tiling.
What is A2 in pixels?
At 300 DPI, A2 is 4961 × 7016 pixels (~35 MP). At 150 DPI (fine for posters viewed from 1.5 m+) it is 2480 × 3508 px — coincidentally the same pixel count as A4 at 300 DPI.
What is A2 used for?
Medium posters, art prints, calendars, retail signage, small architectural drawings and desk planners. A2 is the largest size commonly framed for home walls.
How many A4 sheets make an A2?
Four, in a 2 × 2 grid. This makes A2 the easiest large size to tile-print at home: four A4 pages with small overlaps assemble into a clean A2 poster.
Is A2 a standard frame size?
Yes — A2 frames (420 × 594 mm) are stocked by most frame retailers in Europe, alongside A3 and A4. In North America the closest stocked frame is 18 × 24 in (457 × 610 mm), which needs a mat to fit A2 prints.
What is A2 in pixels at 300 DPI?
4961 × 7016 pixels — about 35 megapixels. For a poster this is usually more than necessary: A2 is typically viewed from around a metre, where 150 DPI (2480 × 3508 pixels, roughly 9 megapixels) already exceeds what the eye separates at that distance. Reserve 300 DPI for A2 work seen close up, such as art prints or anything carrying fine type.
Will an A2 print fit an 18 × 24 inch frame?
Not neatly. An 18 × 24 inch frame is 457 × 610 mm against A2’s 420 × 594 mm, leaving about 18 mm spare across and 8 mm down — uneven in both directions, which shows as a lopsided border. Frames sold as A2 exist and are the straightforward answer; failing that, a mount cut to A2 fills the gap properly and looks deliberate rather than accidental.
A2 vs 18 × 24 inches — are they the same?
Close but not equal. 18 × 24 in is 457.2 × 609.6 mm — about 37 mm wider and 16 mm taller than A2. Art sold as "18 × 24" will not fit an A2 frame without trimming or matting.