Volume Estimation Guide
Introduction
Often, units need to estimate their materials’ physical or digital volume to prepare for disposal or transportation. RIMS measures physical volume in cubic feet and digital volume in gigabytes. This Guide provides standard volume measurements for common storage formats (Bankers boxes, file cabinets, etc.) to assist in estimating a group of material’s total volume.
Common Records Storage Formats
| Type | Size | Dimensions/Extent | Cubic Feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Bankers (2000 sheets) | 15" x 12" x 10" | 1 |
| Box | Legal Bankers | 24" x 15" x 10" | 2 |
| Box | Long Bankers | 36" x 15" x 10" | 3 |
| Box | Copier Paper | 18" x 15" x 10" | 1.5 |
| Standard File Cabinet | Letter | Each 15" drawer | 1.5 |
| Standard File Cabinet | Legal | Each 15" drawer | 2 |
| Lateral File Cabinet | Letter | Each 39" drawer | 2.5 |
| Lateral File Cabinet | Legal | Each 39" drawer | 3 |
| Shelf Files | Letter | 15" x 36" shelf | 3 |
| Shelf Files | Legal | 15" x 36" shelf | 3.4 |
| Open Shelving Files | Letter | 36" long | 2.4 |
| Open Shelving Files | Legal | 36" long | 3 |
| Rolling Recycling Bin | 95 gallons, 300 pounds | 28" x 25" x 42" | 15 |
| Electronic Text Files | 1 gigabyte (GB) | 10,000 files (varies widely) |
Uncommon Records Storage Formats
| Type | Size | Dimensions/Extent | Cubic Feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Index Cards | 3" x 5" | 12" stack | 0.1 |
| Index Cards | 4" x 6" | 12" stack | 0.2 |
| Index Cards | 5" x 8" | 12" stack | 0.3 |
| Microfilm | 16mm x 100' | 90 reels | 1 |
| Microfilm | 35mm x 100' | 44 reels | 1 |
| Microfiche | 4" x 6" | 12" stack | 0.2 |
| Green Bar Print-outs | 21" x 15" | 10" stack | 1 |
Conversion Formula
To convert measurements into Cubic Feet, use the following formula:
- Measure (in inches) and then multiply the item's Length x Width x Height.
- Divide the total by 1728 - this equals the cubic feet per item.
Helpful Notes
- One cubic foot of material weighs about 30 pounds dry and >50 pounds if wet.
- One ton of record equals ~70 cubic feet.
- Digital conversions:
- 1000 kilobytes (KB) = 1 megabyte (MB)
- 1000 megabytes (MB) = 1 gigabyte (GB)
- 1000 gigabytes (GB) = 1 terabyte (TB)
- Cubic feet can be abbreviated as "cf." or "ft3"
References
Contact Records and Information Management Services (RIMS)
Questions? Please get in touch! Use either the our Contact Form or email address.
Using either contact option will generate a support ticket, and someone from our team will get in touch within two business days.
We can then answer any questions you have or arrange a meeting (either virtual or in-person) to learn more about your situation and determine how we can assist.
Please visit the RIMS website to learn more about records and information management at the University of Illinois.