Photo print size chart in pixels

Every number is computed, not estimated: print size in inches times pixels per inch (PPI). For metric paper, millimetres are divided by 25.4 first and the result is rounded to the nearest pixel. Match the long side of your photo to the long side of the paper.

Use the 300 PPI column for prints held in the hand or seen up close: 4 x 6 prints, 8 x 10 frames, cards and photo books. Use 240 PPI as a practical minimum for those same prints; most people cannot tell it from 300 at arm's length. Use 150 PPI for posters and canvases that are seen from a metre or more away.

Print shops usually say DPI (dots per inch) when they mean PPI: how many image pixels land on each inch of paper. Strictly, DPI describes the printer's ink dots, but in upload instructions the two mean the same thing.

The pixel count is what decides print quality. The DPI value stored in the file is only a label. Changing it from 72 to 300 without adding pixels does not make the print any sharper. Our page on converting an image to 300 DPI explains this step by step.

On Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties and open the Details tab. On a Mac, open it in Preview and choose Tools, then Show Inspector. On a phone, most gallery apps show the dimensions in the photo's info panel.

Check the copy you will actually send to the print shop. A photo saved from a chat app or social network is usually far smaller than the original on the phone that took it. If you still have the original, use that.

If your photo reaches the 240 PPI column, print it as it is. If it is between the 150 and 240 columns, a small print will still look fine, and a large one will look fine from a normal viewing distance. Print shops often warn about low resolution well before the difference becomes visible.

If the photo is below the 150 PPI column for the size you want, you have two honest choices: print smaller, or add pixels with an AI upscale. Changing the DPI field is not a third option.

Upscale 4× makes a photo four times wider and taller and accepts photos up to 5 MP. Upscale 8× makes it eight times wider and taller, accepts photos up to 1.25 MP and uses 2 credits. Both give results up to 80 MP, which covers even 24 x 36 inches at 300 PPI.

Upscaling adds pixels and rebuilds sharp edges and fine texture, so the print lab gets enough resolution without the soft look of a basic resize. It does not add the detail of a photo taken at that resolution. A face that is a few dozen pixels wide in the original will not gain new features, and small text stays as soft as it was.

If you want to type in your photo's size and a print size and see the answer, use the calculator on our page about upscaling an image for print.

Upscaling enlarges everything in the photo, including noise and compression blocks. If the photo was taken in low light or came through a chat app, run Enhance at the same size first, then upscale the result. Free results carry a watermark, which you would not want on a print, so do the final two-step run on a paid plan.