Journal Sizes

Apr 24, 2023

Journals can be a great way to store in writing all your thoughts and opinions on a certain activity/event. But when looking for journal sizes, do you ever wonder what should be the best for your use?

Journal Sizes Standard

There are plenty of sizes that can be used when it comes to choosing/preparing a journal of your own. As for the standard ones, here are the journal sizes that are most used:

A5

An A5 journal size has a dimension of 5.8 × 8.3 inches and is the most common one used for journaling.

B5

A B5 journal size has a dimension of 7.2 × 10.1 inches and is one of the most popular oversized journal notebooks in use.

A6

An A6 journal size will measure 4.13 inches in width and 5.83 inches in length and is frequently used for pocket-sized journals.

Letter

The letter-sized journal measures 8.5 × 11 inches and is the most popular oversized journal in the US.

Legal

A legal paper journal has a dimension of 8.5 × 11.75 inches and is usually a top-bound notepad paper for desktop padfolios.

Composition

Composition journals measure around 7.5 × 9.75 inches and are economical daily journals with ample room for notes.

Journal Sizes for Digital

Sizes for digital journals (such as bullet journals) will vary depending on the digital journal app that is being used, with most word apps, following their default oversized dimensions of 8.5 × 11 inches. For digital journal apps being used on smartphones, however, the size of the journal largely depends on the screen size of the smartphone being used, which usually hovers around the average of 5.5–6 inches in size, which can be small compared to the other digital size.

Journal Sizes for Print

For printing, the most common journal sizes that can be used are A4, (8.27 × 11.69 inches), A5 (5.8 × 8.3 inches), and A6 (4.13 × 5.83 inches). To preserve their high quality, they can be printed on a thick sheet of stock paper or card, then after printing, they can be enclosed in leather covers and should not have loose bindings.

Journal Sizes for Email

For email, there is a practice called email journaling, which is the practice of recording all communications for use in the organization’s email retention strategy. For the sizing, it shouldn’t exceed the maximum allowable limit for regular email sizes, which is around 25 MB.

Journal Sizes for Business

For businesses that use journals for their accounting, there are two types of journal books, which are the general journal (for small businesses) and the special journal, such as a sale journal (for big businesses). Both these journals come at around 8.5 × 11 inches in size.

Journal Sizes for Adobe Photoshop

The most common journal size to follow when you’re making one in Adobe Photoshop is the A4 paper size (8.27 × 11.69 inches). This rings true regardless of the type of journal being created, (whether it is a travel journal, a planner page, a chart, and so on), and in order to maximize the space given and to ensure that there are no unwanted white edges, the bleed must also be added.

Journal Sizes for Adobe Illustrator

When creating a journal in Adobe Illustrator, you can also opt for the A4 paper size. Just like in Photoshop, bleed edges should be added, so that when the blank template is being printed, the artwork takes up the entire page and no untidy white edges are visible.

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