Textbook Sizes

Mar 22, 2023

Textbook sizes are important to take note of because it’s a basic aspect of proper formatting. Textbooks, like most books, follow an industry-standard format that makes them commercially ready and accessible to readers.

Textbook Sizes Standard

US Letter (8.5 x 11 inches)

Internationally recognized and used, the US Letter size is a standard document size. It has dimensions of 8.5 inches x 11 inches or its equivalent in centimeters is equal to 21.6 x 2.79 cm. Unlike most fiction books, such as novels, scholastic textbooks are slightly larger because they usually contain visuals such as graphs, charts, images, and illustrations. Textbooks are normally hardcover to make them more durable against damage, but there are some publishers who use softcover or paperback for the book cover.

A4 Size (8.3 x 11.7 inches)

Similar in dimension to a standard US Letter, the A4 paper size is slightly narrower than a Letter size. It measures 8.3 inches in width and 11.7 inches in length. In millimeters, it measures 210.82 x 297.18 mm or around 21.082 x 29.718 in centimeters. Most documents, including textbooks, can be typed and printed on A4 size. It is a universal size and an excellent alternative to the US Letter size.

Textbook Sizes for Print

A traditional textbook is printed and commercially distributed and sold for academic purposes. Textbooks are comprehensive books that cover a wide range of subjects and disciplines like Science, History, Mathematics, and English. Printed textbooks are essential learning tools in the classroom that both teachers and students need. The common sizes for textbooks include US Letter Size which measures 8.5 x 11 inches, 6 x 9 inches, and 7 x 10 inches. Most, if not all, textbooks have a portrait orientation since they are usually rectangle or square-shaped.

Textbook Sizes for Digital

Electronic books or eBooks are just popular as traditional print books. These digitized version of books can be read on computers, tablets, and mobile devices. eBooks can be published the traditional way or it can be self-published. However, it is important to emphasize that eBook size requirements and specifications would largely depend on the publishing platform. But in general, when you are creating digital non-fiction textbooks, the recommended size is either 1800 x 2700 pixels or 2100 x 3000 pixels. Finally, make sure to set the dpi (dots per inch) to at least 300 to ensure a good quality output.

Textbook Sizes for MS Word

Microsoft Word is the world’s most well-known word processor. For decades, it has been the go-to application for creating documents including book drafts and manuscripts. If you are using Microsoft Word to create a textbook draft, stick to the standard universal sizes of US Letter, which has dimensions of 21.6 x 2.79 cm, or A4 size which measures 21.082 x 29.718 cm. These are the default sizes in the application’s page settings. But as emphasized earlier, publishers can adjust the size once it is ready for publishing. Note that the size requirements may vary from publisher to publisher.

Textbook Sizes for Apple Pages

Just like Microsoft Word, Apple Pages also features the tools needed to craft written work like textbooks. Apple Pages is available for Mac users and the app is preinstalled on all Apple devices. And as with Word, it is recommended to use either A4 (8.3 x 11.7 inches) or Letter document size (8.5 x 11 inches) when crafting textbooks. Another option is A5 paper size, it is smaller than an A4 document and measures 5.8 x 8.3 inches or 148.5 x 210 mm. Lastly, what is unique about Apple Pages is that you can produce a digital book or textbook using the EPUB function. This self-publishing option makes it possible to open and read the book file using the Apple Books app.

Textbook Sizes for Google Docs

For greater ease and convenience, Google Docs allows users to create and store their document files online. Any written document- including textbook drafts and manuscripts- can be created using Google Docs, which is a word processor application similar to MS Word and Apple Pages. To take advantage of its benefits, all you need is an active Google account. The default sizes for a school textbook are A4 size (8.3 x 11.7 inches) and US Letter size (8.5 x 11 inches). It is also possible to use an A5 paper size which has dimensions of 5.8 x 8.3 inches. You will find all these standard sizes under the Page Setup menu under the File tab.

Textbook Sizes FAQs