As per Relevance of the word national, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group J.
Request for Comments: 2346 Stockholm University/
Category: Informational May 1998
Making Postscript and PDF
Status of this
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
memo is unlimited
Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved
Certain text formats, for example Postscript (MIME-Type
application/postscript; file extension .ps) and Portable
Format (MIME-Type: application/pdf; file extension .pdf)
exactly the page layout of the printed document. The commonly
paper format is different in North America and the rest of the world
North America uses the 'Letter' format, while the rest of the
mostly uses the ISO-standard 'A4' format. This means that
formatted on one continent may not be easily printable on
continent. This memo gives advice on how to produce documents
are equally well printable with the Letter and the A4 formats.
using the advice in this document, you can put up a document on
Internet, which recipients can print without problem both in
outside North America
A very short summary of the advice in this document: If you are
U.S. Letter paper format, ensure that both the left and right
are at least 21 mm (0.8 in). If you are using A4 paper format,
that both the top and bottom margins are at least 33 mm (1.3 in).
Table of
1. Introduction 2
2. Two methods for printing on different paper formats 2
2.1 Method 1: Use wider margins 2
2.2 Method 2: Print with reduced size 3
2.3 Method 3: Buy paper in the A4 size 4
3. Acknowledgements 4
4. Security Considerations 4
5. References 4
Palme Informational [Page 1]
RFC 2346 Making Postscript and PDF International May 1998
6. Author's Address 5
7. Full Copyright Statement 6
1.
Certain text formats, for example Postscript (MIME-Type
application/postscript; file extension .ps) and Portable
Format (MIME-Type: application/pdf; file extension .pdf)
exactly the page layout of the printed document. The commonly
paper format is different in North America and the rest of the world
North America uses the 'Letter' format, while the rest of the
uses the 'A4' format
The North American Letter format is 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 in)
the ISO standardised A4 format is 210 x 297 mm (8.3 x 11.7 in).
Letter format is thus 6 mm (0.2 inches) wider, while the A4 format
18 mm (0.7 inches) taller
This means that documents formatted on one continent may not
printable on another continent. It is oboviously desirable
documents on the Internet are printable on all continents. This
gives advice on how to achieve this
This memo is not intended for HTML documents, but the advice may
of value also for HTML developers in case they are using fixed-
graphics and fixed WIDTH sizes of objects in HTML documents
2. Three methods for printing on different paper
2.1 Method 1: Use wider
Paper
you use
the document Suggested minimal
to Postscript
or PDF orien- Suggested change Left Right Top
tation of
------------ ----------- ----------------- ----- ----- ----- -----
A4 Portrait Add 18 mm (0.7 20 mm 20 mm 33 mm 33
(upright, inches) to the top 0.8" 0.8" 1.3" 1.3"
vertical) of page and
of page
A4 Landscape Add 18 mm (0.7 33 mm 33 mm 15 mm 15
(lying, inches) to the 1.3" 1.3" 0.6" 0.6"
horizontal) left and
Palme Informational [Page 2]
RFC 2346 Making Postscript and PDF International May 1998
Letter Portrait Add 6 mm (0.2 20 mm 26 mm 15 mm 15
(upright, inches) to the 0.8" 1.0" 0.6" 0.6"
vertical) right
Letter Landscape Add 6 mm (0.2 15 mm 15 mm 21 mm 21
(lying, inches) to the top 0.6" 0.6" 0.8" 0.8"
horizontal) of page and
of page
The reason why you have to add 18 respectively 6 mm to both the
and the bottom margin is that you do not know what kind of
the recipient uses, and different printers feed paper in
ways, requiring the margin to be added either at the top or
bottom of the paper. Left and right margins on any paper
should be at least 20 mm wide to accomodate filing with ISO 838
punches
Note: Ensure that also headers, footers, and page numbers are
the suggested minimal margins. Many word processors put headers
footers and page numbers outside the specified text margins
2.2 Method 2: Print with reduced
This is a method useful for the recipient of a document with
wrong paper size: The recipient sets the printer to print
reduced size. When the sender produces the PDF or Postscript files
the sender should 'print' with 100 % size, but when the
prints the PDF or Postscript files, and if the program for
PDF or Postscript files allows this, the recipient should print
document with 94% or less of full size. Many programs for
Postscript files do not allow this. In that case, the recipient
convert a Postscript document to PDF format and then print it
the PDF printing program. This requires, however, that the
has the Adobe Acrobat Distiller program, which is not freeware
Recent versions of the freeware ghostscript can also convert to
format. The user may also have to specify the paper size as
actual paper size loaded in the printer, not the paper size
when the document was converted to PDF or Postscript format
It is also possible to edit the Postscript file, and add a
command to it, before sending it to the printer
Method 2 can be more difficult for the recipient, who has to
these settings himself. However, manufacturers of printing
may in the future make method 2 easier by making this
automatic, perhaps controlled by a 'shrink to fit paper size
checkbox in the printing window and a 'default shrink to fit
size' preference setting
Palme Informational [Page 3]
RFC 2346 Making Postscript and PDF International May 1998
In general, the authors of this RFC recommend PDF as the
formatted document distribution format over Postscript, not
because PDF printing programs typically feature a 'shrink to fit
option to handle different paper sizes elegantly, but also
PDF has built-in per page data compression, PDF files can
displayed without being fully downloaded, PDF is more portable,
has a better method of rendering fonts not available in the
and PDF allows to embed URLs
2.3 Method 3: Buy paper in the A4
People in North America who often need to print
documents might choose to buy paper in the A4 size. It is
in the U.S. from many large paper distribution companies, and
all laser printers support it
3.
Markus Kuhn has provided many helpful suggestions on this document
Adobe, Acrobat, Distiller, Exchange and Postscript are trademarks
Adobe Systems Incorporated or its subsidiaries
4. Security
Adherence to the recommendations in this memo will increase
likelihood that a document will be readable, and look the same,
all recipients, and thus reduce the risk of misunderstanding.
recommendation does not in itself introduce any known new
risks. Of course, there might be a risk that reliance on
recommendations in this memo will make certain writers too sure
their documents will look the same
Postscript (TM) has well known security risks. These are discussed
[MIME].
5.
A4 Writing paper and certain classes of printed
- Trimmed sizes - A and B series,
Standard ISO 216, International Organization
Standardization, Geneva, 1975.
ANSI Bond Papers and Index Bristols - Common Sheet Sizes
North American National Standard ANSI X3.151,
American National Standards Institute, 1987.
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RFC 2346 Making Postscript and PDF International May 1998
ISO Paper - Holes for general filing purposes -
838 Specifications, International Standard ISO 838,
International Organization for Standardization
Geneva, 1974.
Kuhn Markus Kuhn: International Standard Paper Sizes
paper.html>.
PDF Tim Bienz, Richard Cohn, James R. Mechan:
Document Format Reference Manual, Version 1.2,
Systems Incorporated
s/PDFS/TN/PDFSPEC.PDF>.
MIME Freed, N., and N. Borenstein, "Multipurpose Internet
Extensions (MIME) Part Two: Media Types", RFC 2046,
November 1996.
6. Author's
Jacob
Stockholm University and
Electrum 230
S-164 40 Kista,
Phone: +46-8-16 16 67
Fax: +46-8-783 08 29
EMail: jpalme@dsv.su.
Palme Informational [Page 5]
RFC 2346 Making Postscript and PDF International May 1998
7. Full Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied,
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph
included on all such copies and derivative works. However,
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other
English
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns
This document and the information contained herein is provided on
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
Palme Informational [Page 6]
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