#Documents/Reports #DIY *** # DIMENSIONS A North-American paper format, the dimensions of Half-Letter are exactly half of a standard Letter-sized sheet. Half-Letter paper is available from manufacturers, and may also be devised by either cutting or folding a Full-Letter sheet in half (hence the name). - 5.5 x 8.5 Inches or - 140 mm x 215 mm Half-Letter is roughly equivalent to [A5 Series Paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_216#Dimensions_of_A,_B_and_C_series), which is half the width of A4. # COMMON NAMES and USE CASES Commonly referred to as Half-Letter or Junior Letter, this format is compatible with many configurable 3-hole punches and is often used to economically produce script-sides, camera reports, memos, and packing lists. The format remains considerably flexible and inexpensive when punched and ring-bound as a portable notebook or scrapbook. With a more compact surface area roughly comparable to a tablet, Half-Letter may be ring-bound and utilized in either a two-page spread, or folded open as a single stack. In this configuration, Half-Letter is of a convenient size for one-handed field use and portable note taking, and packs very easily within small bags and backpacks. Binder rings support ongoing additions to the book in any order, and the long edge remains compatible with the short edge of common Full-Letter and Legal documents (when those are punched and bound along their respective short {8.5"} edge). The remarkably low-tech Half-Letter format (and presumably its A5 equivalent) has long served as a reliable and intuitive notebook format within the organizations of NASA, the CSA, and ESA. Astronauts and technicians have utilized the half-letter format during earth-bound training procedures and throughout hundreds of on-orbit missions during the U.S. Space Shuttle Program and continued International Space Station Expeditions. ^[[MasterClass: Chris Hadfield Teaches Space Exploration - Chapter 17. Training and Learning: One-Pagers ](https://www.masterclass.com/classes/chris-hadfield-teaches-space-exploration/chapters/training-and-learning-one-pagers?utm_campaign=Share&utm_medium=Copy&utm_source=lesson_page_logged_out)] <img src="https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/0/e/f/50efee9144b0aba2/Screenshot_2019-04-26_at_14.18.02.png"> ^[https://tenwords.libsyn.com/ep-28-chris-hadfield] ## ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS > By extension of the American standards, the halved Letter size, 5+1⁄2 in × 8+1⁄2 in (140 mm × 215 mm), meets the needs of many applications. It is variably known as *Statement, Stationery, Memo, Half Letter, Half A* (from ANSI sizes) or simply *Half Size*, and as *Invoice* by printer manufacturers.^[http://ftp.pwg.org/pub/pwg/candidates/cs-pwgmsn20-20130328-5101.1.pdf] > > Like the similar-sized ISO A5, it is used for everything from personal letter writing to official aeronautical maps. Organizers, notepads, and diaries also often use this size of paper; thus 3-ring [binders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binders "Binders") are also available in this size. Booklets of this size are created using word processing tools with landscape printing in two columns on letter paper which are then cut or folded into the final size.^[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size#Variant_American_loose_sizes] <br> # ECONOMIC and ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS A single sheet of Half-Letter paper will yield a standard printed document while consuming one-half to one-quarter (25-50%) of the resources required of the same document printed in Full-Letter format. The Half-Letter format scales well with documents formatted for Full-Letter printing. Modern laser and inkjet printers permit a user to easily print a scaled Full-Letter document either directly on Half-Letter paper, or as '2 Pages per sheet' on Full-Letter paper. # BINDING A stack of Half-letter sheets can be reliably bound into a volume when punched with two or three holes along its long (8.5") edge. While Half-Letter binders are available, a notebook bound with three loose-leaf binder rings has the additional advantage wherein it may be folded open as a single stack without the risk of damaging a traditional binding. This makes Half-Letter particularly useful when held in a single hand, or when workspace is limited. Loose-leaf binder rings are available in various diameters, and are easily swapped in notebooks which accumulate significant quantities of additional pages over time. Non-standard 'scrapbook' items may be added, such as maps, brochures, ticket stubs, and even Full-Letter pages (when hole-punched on their short {8.5"} edge and folded roughly in-half to fit within the Half-Letter binding). ## HOLE-PUNCH SPACING When punched along the long (8.5") edge with three holes, the middle hole remains centered both on the Half-Letter sheet and in the punch. The center-to-center distance between each hole is 2.75" or ≈ 70mm. The Filebinder system omits the middle hole: > Its two (or three) holes are positioned symmetrically, with the centers 2+3⁄4 inches (70 mm) apart.^[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hole_punch#2-hole_filebinder] %%[[Common-hole-patterns-in-punches-and-binders.svg]]%% <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Common-hole-patterns-in-punches-and-binders.svg"> ^[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hole_punch#Hole_spacing_chart Lukke, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons] # ALSO - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_in_space