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11/8.5 = 22/17 = 44/34 = 1.29

17/11 = 34/22 = 1.55

These have the property that they alternate aspect ratios every size, so you have to go up two sizes (4x area) to get back to the original aspect ratio.

Who cares?

I’ve only ever seen letter size paper available in offices in the US whereas almost every office photocopier/printer in UK/EU is stocked with both both A4 and A3. The larger sheets are really nice for sketching diagrams.

11x17 printer trays were common for engineering use before we got decent high resolution monitors and most work process became paperless.

9 x 12 inches and 11 x 14 inches are standard in art paper in the US. As are 5 x 7 and 8 x 10.

The first one, 9 x 12, happens to also be “ARCH A” but I haven’t seen a fancy name for the others.