Imperial Octavo

With dimensions of approximately 6.75" x 10" (170mm x 255mm), the Imperial Octavo format has a surface area around 67.5 square inches or 435 square cm. Also referred to as Imperial 8vo, this book size gets its name from eight leaves of paper folded into one signature in the old style of bookbinding. Larger than regular Octavos but smaller than Royal Octavos, Imperial Octavos became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries for compact editions of literature and nonfiction. The 6.75" x 10" size allowed reasonable portability while having enough text per page for comfortable reading. Especially common in the United Kingdom for pocket-sized books, Imperial Octavos hit a useful middle ground between true mass market books and larger formats. Originating from early modern book printing practices, the versatile Imperial Octavo size could comfortably fit around 200-300 pages printed on both sides. While less ubiquitous today, Imperial Octavo remains handy for portable books that are just a bit larger than paperback dimensions. Its continued success stems from striking a good balance of compactness and smoothly readable text.