Topic: Paper size to print ratios

[Karl]

Given that 35mm has been the predominant standard image size with a 3:2 ratio for the best part of a century, and even most DSLRs and PAS's have the same ratio, why do paper sizes depart from this ratio after 6x4? Hence most 'standard' frames and mounts follow suit. For photos it clearly is not a 'standard' size. Weird, quite annoying and if anyone know why I would love to know 

[Francois]

I noticed the same thing too.

a single regular 35mm frame blows up to 8x12... frames are starting to come out in these sizes but it's still rare.

I think it's one of those legacy things... just like the qwerty keyboards (one of the oddities of the modern world which I actually know the reason why it still exists today)...

In the days of the contact print, 8x10 negatives were printed on 8x10 paper. I don't think I've seen many older pictures bigger than that (except for the banquet pictures).

So, you need an 8x10 frame for an 8x10 print...

I remember in the 80's, they had 3½x5 prints... which is not exactly 35mm format.
And in the Victorian era, it was even worse!

[Karl]

It just seems mad though. 5x7.5, 9x6, 12x8, 12x18...are there any manufacturers out there fancy making paper sizes to fit most photos?

[Francois]

The only solution I know of is to use the easel to put nice white borders on the print

[Late Developer]

35mm is a relatively "new" medium in film terms. Half plate, quarter plate, 5x4, etc. probably dictated the aspect ratio used when making paper. There's no reason not compose for 5x4 - even when using 35mm. Quite often, I crop 35mm to square.

Scissors are the answer - or maybe a craft knife.....

[Benjamin J]

well, 135 is about as old as "consumer" photography at least

sometimes i really like the ability to re-frame a shot to compensate for last minute camera shake or people walking through a frame.  sometimes having to decide which part of my carefully composed image i want people to see is almost heartbreaking.  when you consider most viewfinders are not full frame, it doesn't seems SO crazy, but mostly, it's just another creative part of the printing process.  film, after all, is filled with discrete choices effecting the final product in specific ways---part of the charm of the medium.

[Photo_Utopia]

I think paper sizes were set long before 35mm became "standard' which was nearly 100 years after the birth of the negative. The early 35mm cameras often had 24x32 and the size we now think as most common didn't really become the major format until the 1950's.
The amateur sizes for many years were the early roll film sizes 120, 127 and 620 that fitted into the 'volkscamera' the Kodak Brownie which was introduced in 1900 long before 35mm gained any real market traction.
In fact the most common sizes of paper for general use in the early part of the last century were 2.5"x3.5" made for contact printing those roll films.
Paper like this:

[Francois]

I went looking through my book and this is what I found

SIZES OF VARIOUS CARD MOUNTS.
Minett   1 1/2 x 2 3/8 inches
Petite   1 5/8 x 1 3/8 inches
Card   2 1/2 x 4 1/8 inches
Victoria   3 1/4 x 5 inches
Cabinet   4 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches
Promenade   4 1/8 x 7 1/8 inches
Panel   4 x 8 1/4 inches
Boudoir   5 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches
Imperial   7 7/8 x 9 7/8 inches
Stereoscopic   3 1/2 x 7 — 4 x 7 — 4 1/4 x 7 — 5 x 8 inches

COMMERCIAL SIZES OF DRY PLATES.
One Ninth Plate   2 x 2½ inches
One Sixth Plate   2¾ x 3¼ inches
One Quarter Plate   3¼ x 4¼ inches
Half Plate   4¼ x 6½ inches
Half Plate (English)   4¾ x 6½ inches
Whole Plate (4-4)   6½ x 8½ inches
Extra (4-4)   8 x 10 inches