What is A5 Size and its Pixel Equivalent? (Download Instantly with Automatic Template Creator)

"Brother, I sent the file, we printed it, and when I got it, I saw that the edges were white."

I've lost count of how many times I've heard this sentence. In all these years at the printing house, this was the biggest source of stress: a customer prepares a file in Photoshop, calling it "A5 size," we open it, and the dimensions don't match. Some confuse 148x210 mm with cm, some enter the wrong pixel count, and some have never heard of something called bleed.

In this article, I will explain the true dimensions of A5, its pixel equivalent for both print and screen, and what output you get at different DPIs. And at the end, there's something to save you from manual calculations, we're getting to that too.

First things first: What are the A5 dimensions in cm, and mm?

Keep this clear in your mind, and the rest will follow easily.

So, A5 is an A4 sheet folded exactly in half. Fold A4 in half, you get A5. Fold A5 in half, you get A6. Once you grasp this logic, no series (A series) will ever confuse you again.

What about the pixel equivalent, and what changes with different DPIs?

This is where it gets confusing. Because there isn't one single answer to the question "how many pixels is A5." It varies depending on what you're using it for. This is why we receive so many half-finished, blurry files.

For screen / web (72-96 DPI)

If you're putting it on a website, sharing it on social media, or attaching it to an email:

For print (300 DPI — the standard required by print shops)

This is critical. Every job going to print must be 300 DPI; otherwise, the output will look blurry, pixelated, and "amateurish."

Memorize this: A5 print = 1748x2480 px, 300 DPI. When you give this number to a designer, they'll understand that you know your stuff.

"I wrote 300 DPI but it was still rejected" — the bleed issue

Here's a secret, most people don't know. A print shop doesn't just want the pure 148x210 mm dimension. Even if the cutting blade works with millimeter precision, since paper is cut in stacks, you have to leave a 1-2 mm margin for error. We call this bleed.

We've experienced this mistake countless times in the industry: the customer sends a file exactly 148x210 mm, with a colored background, and if the cut shifts by even 1 mm, a thin white strip appears on the edge. The customer says "you printed it wrong," but in fact, the file was incomplete from the start.

The correct approach is this:

• Actual size: 148 x 210 mm
• Working size with bleed: 154 x 216 mm (+3mm on each side)
• 300 DPI pixel equivalent (with bleed): 1819 x 2551 px

So, when designing, you will extend the background, image, and color to cover the entire 154x216 area. Important elements like text and logos, however, should stay at least 3-5 mm inside the actual trim line. We call this the safe zone. If you don't leave this margin, if the cutting tool shifts slightly, your logo might be cut in half, and you'll call us asking "why did it come cut."

CMYK or RGB? That's a whole other problem

If that brilliant orange that looks magnificent on your screen turns into a dull mustard color in print, the culprit isn't the template, it's the color mode. Your screen works in RGB, the printing press prints in CMYK. If you send an RGB file, the print shop will convert it automatically, but the colors won't come out as they appeared on screen, leading to disappointment. Convert every file going to print to CMYK before saving it, if you don't want any surprises.

3 common mistakes in the industry (we've seen them all)

1. Confusing cm with mm — When typing "14.8 x 21" in Photoshop, the unit was left as inches, and the file came out huge; no one noticed until printing.
2. Leaving the resolution at 72 DPI — Placing an image downloaded from the internet directly into an A5 template and enlarging it. It looks good on screen, but pixelated and blurry in print.
3. Sending files without bleed — White edges or cut logos are guaranteed for files prepared without considering the trim allowance.

Don't bother, we've set up the calculations

Frankly, manually converting mm to pixels, adding bleed, and adjusting DPI every time is a waste of time. So we said, to save the customer from doing these calculations every time, we set up an automatic template tool. You choose the size — including A5, whatever you want — and the system automatically calculates the bleed, the correct DPI, and the safe zone, giving you a print-ready PDF template in seconds. It's as easy as a phone call for designers and business owners doing their own work.

We already solve most of these measurement problems related to labels through otiket.com.tr — check it out if you're curious.

In summary, what should you do?

• For print, A5 = 1748 x 2480 px, 300 DPI
• Working size with bleed = 1819 x 2551 px
• Color mode CMYK
• Keep all important elements inside the trim line, within the safe zone

If you follow these four points, you won't get feedback from the print shop saying "the file is corrupt." If you prefer to start with a ready-made template instead of applying these manually, the tool above already does the calculations for you.