A3 measures 29.7 × 42 cm. This one we do carry, listed as 30×42 — the width is rounded up by three millimetres on the product page, and that is the whole of the difference. An A3 print goes into our 30×42 frame the way it is supposed to, with no visible board and nothing to correct.
The three millimetres
| A3 exactly | Our 30×42 | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 29.7 cm | 30 cm | 3 mm |
| Height | 42 cm | 42 cm | none |
| Ratio | 1:1.414 | 1:1.4 | negligible |
| Area | 1,247 cm² | 1,260 cm² | about 1% |
Three millimetres split across two sides is 1.5 mm per edge, and it disappears under the frame's rebate. Compare that with A2 against 50×70, where the mismatch runs to 8 cm across and nearly 11 cm down, and you can see why A3 is the easy one. All five of our sizes are listed against their A-series equivalents in the size guide.
What A3 is actually good for
30×42 is the size that works where a wall is short, interrupted, or seen from close range. It is 42 cm tall — about the height of a laptop screen turned upright — so it needs very little clear plaster.
| Situation | Wall needed | How many | Total span |
|---|---|---|---|
| Between two kitchen cupboards | 50 cm | one portrait | 30 cm |
| Narrow strip beside a door | 45 cm | one portrait | 30 cm |
| Above a 90 cm console | 110 cm | two, 5 cm apart | 65 cm |
| Row along a hallway | 160 cm | three, 6 cm apart | 102 cm |
| Filling out a gallery wall | — | as many as needed | — |
Fruitlover - Raissa Oltmanns
Lionel Messi Football Poster
Fashion in large poster
Klassisk Coco Chanel poster
Cool as ice tiger poster
Bubblegum Audrey Hepburn poster
Kitchen
A kitchen rarely has a big free wall. What it has is the strip between the worktop and the wall units, the end of a run of cupboards, and the panel beside the fridge. Those are 30×42 walls. The format also survives being close to cooking better than a large one does, simply because there is less glass to wipe. Motifs made for the room are in the kitchen selection.
Hallway
A hall is viewed from an arm's length away, at walking pace. Large formats are wasted there — you never get far enough back to take them in — while a row of three 30×42 gives you something to look at the whole length of the wall. Three with 6 cm between them span 102 cm, which suits a hall wall of about 160 cm. Entrance motifs are gathered in the hallway collection.
As part of a group
Where 30×42 earns its place most reliably is inside a mixed arrangement. A wall built only from 50×70 frames looks like a grid; add two or three 30×42 and it starts to look composed. Keep the gaps identical throughout — 4 to 8 cm, the same figure everywhere — and align the centres of the frames rather than their top edges, since frames of different heights hung by the top always look wrong. Twelve worked-out arrangements with measurements are in the gallery wall layouts.
When A3 is too small
Above a sofa, on its own, it is lost. Two thirds of a 200 cm sofa is 133 cm; a single 30×42 gives you 30. Even three in a row reach only 102 cm. Above furniture of any width, this is a supporting format, not the main event.
Both oak and black are made in 30×42, and so are all seven coloured finishes, since the colours run up to and including 50×70 — see the frames.