Conversion Form

CM
CH

About the Unit

Centimeter (cm): The centimeter (cm) is a metric physical unit, equivalent to 1/100 of a meter. In CSS, the cm unit is primarily used for print design, as it allows specifying exact physical dimensions for layouts that will be printed or exported to physical formats, like PDF. Using cm ensures that the layout elements will have the exact desired size when printed, regardless of screen resolution or device size. 1cm is approximately equal to 37.795px on a 96 DPI screen, making it useful when precise print measurements are needed, but less practical for digital web design, where relative units like px or em are more flexible.

Pro Tip: cm → ch

Use cm for print sizes and ch for text widths based on the font.

Quick Reference: Unit Conversion by Tens

CMCH
10cm7.874016ch
20cm15.748031ch
30cm23.622047ch
40cm31.496063ch
50cm39.370079ch
60cm47.244094ch
70cm55.11811ch
80cm62.992126ch
90cm70.866142ch
100cm78.740157ch
110cm86.614173ch
120cm94.488189ch
130cm102.362205ch
140cm110.23622ch
150cm118.110236ch
160cm125.984252ch
170cm133.858268ch
180cm141.732283ch
190cm149.606299ch
200cm157.480315ch
210cm165.354331ch
220cm173.228346ch
230cm181.102362ch
240cm188.976378ch
250cm196.850394ch

Live Unit Preview

See how different CSS units affect the size of the box below:

10px

10rem

10em

10%

10vw

10vh

Common Mistake

Be cautious when mixing cm and ch without testing on different screen sizes.

Real Code Example

/* Mobile-first card with cm → ch */
.card {
  padding: 0cm;     /* undefinedch */
  font-size: 1.5rem;
  width: min(90vw, 40ch);
}

Frequently Asked Questions About CM

When should I use cm instead of cm?

Use cm for print layouts or physical dimensions.

How many cm is 1cm?

1cm = 37.8px approximately.

Is cm affected by screen size?

No, it's a fixed physical measurement.

Is cm good for web design?

Not typically, better for print styles.

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Ctrl + C: Convert
  • Ctrl + I: Invert units
  • Esc: Reset values

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