Bromide and Postcard Paper Sizes

2024-05-22

Bromides are photo prints, usually portraits of idols and other celebrities, and are often found in certain parts of Japanese fandom and collection culture. They are still very common and popular in the idol industry; where they are sold directly to fans, included as pre-order or purchase bonuses, or used to commemorate a special or notable event.

Collectible postcards are also distributed similarly to bromides, the difference being that postcards are printed on cardstock while bromides are printed on photo paper.

When trying to frame some of my bromides for display I had a bit of trouble searching for a frame that would fit appropriately. I've been using photo albums that I purchased in Japan to store my collection, which naturally are sold in common bromide/Japanese photo paper sizes (L, 2L, etc). Trying to find dimensions for frames was a bit more difficult until I stumbled across the handy table below.

The data below comes from Wikipedia's excellent photo paper size chart. Here's an abridged version for common bromide sizes.

Japan	US	Alias	in x in	mm x mm
L	3R	Enprint	3.5 x 5	89 x 127
2L	5R		5 x 7	127 x 178
Postcard		Hagaki	3.9 x 5.8	100 x 148
Postcard		A6	4.1 x 5.8	105 x 148

Example Photos and Measurements#

An example of an L size bromide of Date Sayuri. — A L-size Bromide of Date Sayuri.

An example of an 2L size bromide of Shibuya Kanon. — A 2L-size Bromide of Shibuya Kanon.

A futsu hagaki postcard. A JP Post normal pre-stamped postcard — A futsu hagaki, or 'normal postcard' in Japanese. A standard hagaki-size prepaid blank postcard sold by Japan Post.

An example of an A6 size postcard. — A6-size Postcard

An example of a non-standard size postcard of Inami Anju. — A non-standard sized postcard of Inami Anju.

Note About Framing#

Even though a photo frame is advertised as a particular size, most photo frames will come with a minor crop. This usually isn't an issue for framing bromides, but if your bromide has text or some other element at the edge it may become a problem. Look for "Digital Compatible" photo frames or a larger frame with a no-crop mat as an alternative.