B0 Paper Size

B0 size is worldwidely used by professional printers, even if it is less used than A0. It is used for posters or enlarged text or photos. It is indeed a format that lends itself more to display than writing.

The B0 format is 2 B1 sheets or 4 B2 sheets. Unlike the A0 size (2A0, 4A0), B0 has no larger non-standardized size. It is actually the largest in its range. Like all B formats, B0 was standardized by ISO 216. It dates from 1975 and is a former German Standards(DIN 476 from 1922), that took its own origin in a letter written in 1786 by Lichtenberg. He then invented the √2 ratio, which now allows to use A, B and C sizes.

The same ratio is maintained between all B sizes: length = width x √2 (a/b = 2 b/a = √2, length is 1.4142 times the width). This proportion keeps the content’s proportions when we reduce or enlarge it by copying.

The width of a B0 corresponds to the length of a B1. Dimensions of size B0 are: 100 x 141.4 cm or 39.37 x 55.67 inches. This gives a surface of 1,414 m² or 1.67 square yards, 15.07 square foot or 2170 square inches.

A  B0 sheet is obtained by putting together two B1 sheets along their length.

To calculate the weight of a B0 sheet, we must know the weight of the paper and refer to the surface of 1.414 m². For a paper of 100 g/m², it will be a sheet of 1.414 x 100 B0 = 141.4 grams.