Talk:ISO 7810

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[edit] Exact definition of ID-1?

Common aspect ratios.
Common aspect ratios.

Could someone with access to a copy of the actual standard please confirm the exact definition of ID-1, which is allegedly 85.60 mm × 53.98 mm (3.370 in × 2.125 in). These seem odd choices of values in either system of measurement and also overly precise, because ISO 216, where ID-2 and ID-3 come from, for comparison uses definitions to full millimetres and allows some variance. If ISO indeed uses these very four figures, why?

For me it looks like the actual size is 85.5 mm × 54.0 mm, was converted to the closest eighth of an inch (3+3⁄8 in × 2+1⁄8 in), then the smaller size was converted back to millimetres with four significant figures (53.98 mm), but I do not see how 85.73 mm could become 3.370 in and subsequently 85.60 mm. The ratio of about 1.5857725 does not look like anything meaningful either, even when squared. Christoph Päper 21:45, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

The abstract on ISO's website confirms that 85.60 by 53.98 is the correct size. The ratio is very close to the eighth root of 40 (1.585833175), to within five significant figures. At a guess, I'd say the ISO standardised something into SI that was originally in inches. Raven42 13:40, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
I have a copy of ISO/IEC 7810:2003, and it says "nominally 85,60 mm (3.370 in) wide by 53,98 mm (2.125 in) high by 0,76 mm (0.030 in) thick". Mitch Ames (talk) 22:05, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

I have a copy of "ANSI/ISO 7813-1987" here, which specifies a "financial transaction card" of ISO 7810 ID-1 format and requires the following tolerances:

  • width = 85.47–85.72 mm (3.365–3.375 in)
  • height = 53.92–54.03 mm (2.123–2.127 in)

I believe what ISO now calls ID-1 was originally a U.S. banking industry standard, so it may have been an approximation of a golden ratio to a nearby inch fraction. If this had been originally designed by ISO, I would have expected them to simply chose one of the ISO 216 formats as well. That would have made life much simpler for anyone wanting to print ID-1 business cards with A4 laser printers! Markus Kuhn 14:36, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] history?

When was this standard created? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.210.15.218 (talk) 23:29, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Relationship to foolscap

It has been pointed out to me by a very clever man called Paul Scott that the ID-1 size is almost exactly one-sixteenth of a sheet of foolscap folio, and thus that it probably originated from the printing of business cards 4x4-up on foolscap. That would explain the weird irregular size.

-- Tom Anderson 2007-12-02 0131 +0000 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.56.108.98 (talk) 01:31, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] ISO vs ISO/IEC

This page should be moved/renamed to "ISO/IEC 7810", because that's the standard's designation (source: ISO's catalog) Mitch Ames (talk) 11:37, 26 February 2008 (UTC)