Soleil

With dimensions of 600mm x 800mm, the Soleil format has a surface area of 480,000 sq mm or 0.48 sq meters. Soleil translates from French as "sun", referring to radiant watermarked impressions once made on sheets of this size when crafting paper by hand. The solar branding symbolizes Soleil's abundant use for photography, visual arts, diagrams, menus, announcements and striking graphic prints wanting high visibility. Although standardized global formats now prevail, Soleil enjoys niche specialty status today - particularly for visual media like exhibition signage, display backdrops, oversized invitations, event posters, album covers, logos and graphics wanting an imposing impact. Its mid-scale dimensions remain suitable for a spectrum of publicity uses from independent artists to professional marketers. So despite its declined production, Soleil paper persists as a visual medium inheritance of French industrial development across centuries - from the first print advertisements and public notifications to today's attention-grabbing imagery. Devotees thus uphold the sun-branded size as a relic of all that has been seen, sold, showcased and surveilled under the public eye since medieval times.