Photo Print Sizes in Pixels: Resolution Chart for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 and Posters
To print a photo sharply, multiply the print size in inches by 300. An 8x10 needs 2400 x 3000 pixels, a 4x6 needs 1200 x 1800 and a 5x7 needs 1500 x 2100. That is a target, not a hard floor: Richard Photo Lab says 150 can work depending on the image, the paper and how far away people stand, and Mpix lists 800 x 1000 pixels as its minimum for an 8x10.
The chart below covers 13 print sizes at 300, 200 and 150 pixels per inch (PPI). After it comes the part most charts skip: your photo and the print are usually different shapes, so the lab crops your picture.
The Formula: Inches Times PPI
pixels = inches x PPI
8 x 10 inch print at 300 PPI:
8 x 300 = 2400 pixels
10 x 300 = 3000 pixels
2400 x 3000 = 7.2 megapixels
Short side first, long side second, for portrait or landscape. At 200 PPI the same 8x10 needs 1600 x 2000 pixels (3.2 megapixels), and at 150 PPI it needs 1200 x 1500 (1.8 megapixels).
PPI vs DPI: Which Number to Aim For
PPI (pixels per inch) counts the pixels in your file for each inch of paper. DPI (dots per inch) counts the ink dots a printer lays down. Nations Photo Lab uses PPI for the digital image and DPI for the printed one, though many people, and labs, say DPI for both. Your file only holds pixels, so pixels are the number you control.
There is no single correct target, because each lab publishes its own:
| Lab | What it asks for | Lower limit |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Photo Lab | 300 DPI at final print size | Can be as low as 150 depending on image quality, paper type and viewing distance |
| Mpix | Printers output at 250 ppi; optimal 8 x 10 file is 2000 x 2500 | Minimum 8 x 10 file is 800 x 1000 (100 ppi) |
| Nations Photo Lab | Pixel chart at 125, 180 and 300 PPI | Says 125 PPI or higher prints beautifully |
A workable rule of thumb, built from those ranges and not a standard: 300 PPI for prints you hold or inspect closely (wallet up to 8x10), 200 PPI for 11x14 to 20x30 on a wall, and 150 PPI for posters viewed from a few feet away.
Photo Print Size Chart in Pixels (300, 200 and 150 PPI)
Find your print size and read across. Sizes are in inches, short side first, and the shape in the last column is the long side divided by the short side. Every figure is a whole number of pixels, and the 300 PPI column matches the pixel chart Nations Photo Lab publishes for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 16x20 and 24x36.
| Print size (inches) | 300 PPI | 200 PPI | 150 PPI | Shape |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 x 3 | 600 x 900 | 400 x 600 | 300 x 450 | 3:2 |
| 2.5 x 3.5 (wallet) | 750 x 1050 | 500 x 700 | 375 x 525 | 7:5 |
| 3.5 x 5 | 1050 x 1500 | 700 x 1000 | 525 x 750 | 10:7 |
| 4 x 6 | 1200 x 1800 | 800 x 1200 | 600 x 900 | 3:2 |
| 5 x 7 | 1500 x 2100 | 1000 x 1400 | 750 x 1050 | 7:5 |
| 8 x 10 | 2400 x 3000 | 1600 x 2000 | 1200 x 1500 | 5:4 |
| 8.5 x 11 (Letter) | 2550 x 3300 | 1700 x 2200 | 1275 x 1650 | 22:17 |
| 11 x 14 | 3300 x 4200 | 2200 x 2800 | 1650 x 2100 | 14:11 |
| 12 x 18 | 3600 x 5400 | 2400 x 3600 | 1800 x 2700 | 3:2 |
| 16 x 20 | 4800 x 6000 | 3200 x 4000 | 2400 x 3000 | 5:4 |
| 18 x 24 | 5400 x 7200 | 3600 x 4800 | 2700 x 3600 | 4:3 |
| 20 x 30 | 6000 x 9000 | 4000 x 6000 | 3000 x 4500 | 3:2 |
| 24 x 36 | 7200 x 10800 | 4800 x 7200 | 3600 x 5400 | 3:2 |
The Crop Problem: Your Photo and the Print Are Different Shapes
Most phones save 4:3 photos (a 12 megapixel one is typically 4032 x 3024 pixels), while many DSLR and mirrorless cameras save 3:2 (the 24.2 megapixel Canon EOS R8 tops out at 6000 x 4000). Print sizes come in at least seven shapes, so unless they match, part of your photo is cut off. Mpix says prints are cropped from the center so that "the entire print area is covered with image," and its printers "will only print to the aspect ratio of our standard print sizes."
This table shows the share of the picture that disappears when the print is filled edge to edge:
| Print sizes (inches) | Shape (long / short) | Cut from a 4:3 phone photo | Cut from a 3:2 camera photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 x 3, 4 x 6, 12 x 18, 20 x 30, 24 x 36 | 3:2 (1.50) | 11.1% | 0.0% |
| 18 x 24 | 4:3 (1.33) | 0.0% | 11.1% |
| 8 x 10, 16 x 20 | 5:4 (1.25) | 6.3% | 16.7% |
| 2.5 x 3.5, 5 x 7 | 7:5 (1.40) | 4.8% | 6.7% |
| 3.5 x 5 | 10:7 (1.43) | 6.7% | 4.8% |
| 11 x 14 | 14:11 (1.27) | 4.5% | 15.2% |
| 8.5 x 11 (Letter) | 22:17 (1.29) | 2.9% | 13.7% |
A 3:2 camera photo fits 4x6, 12x18, 20x30 and 24x36 exactly, while a 4:3 phone photo loses 11.1% filling them. An 8x10 or 16x20 trims 6.3% from a phone photo and 16.7% from a camera photo. The one common size that fits a phone photo with no cut is 18x24.
On a 4032 x 3024 phone photo, a 4x6 keeps the full width and trims the height to 2688 pixels (336 removed). An 8x10 keeps the full height and trims the width to 3780 pixels (252 removed).
Crop first so you decide what disappears. In the Image Cropper, lock 4:5 for a portrait 8x10 or choose Custom and enter 7:5 for a 5x7, and the Aspect Ratio Calculator finds the matching side for any shape. The Image Resizer crops and resizes in one step: its Fill a box method trims equally from both sides to an exact size such as 2400 x 3000. Mpix advises you to "allow yourself room on the image file to allow for the ideal cropping from the center of the image."
How Big Can You Print Your Photo?
Divide the photo's pixel width and height by the PPI you want. This table uses the uncropped photo, so allow for the crop above.
| Photo, uncropped (pixels) | At 300 PPI (inches) | At 200 PPI (inches) | At 150 PPI (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 MP phone photo 4032 x 3024 (12.2 MP) |
13.4 x 10.1 | 20.2 x 15.1 | 26.9 x 20.2 |
| 24 MP camera photo 6000 x 4000 (24.0 MP) |
20.0 x 13.3 | 30.0 x 20.0 | 40.0 x 26.7 |
| 48 MP phone photo 8064 x 6048 (48.8 MP) |
26.9 x 20.2 | 40.3 x 30.2 | 53.8 x 40.3 |
Check the real pixel size of the file first. Many 48 megapixel phone cameras save smaller files by default: Apple's iPhone User Guide lists the iPhone 15, 16 and 17 families and the iPhone Air as defaulting to 24 MP, and its camera settings page says 48 MP needs Resolution Control (or ProRAW & Resolution Control, depending on the model) turned on under Settings, Camera, Formats. A 48 MP iPhone photo is 8064 x 6048 pixels (the capture size an Apple engineer uses for 48 MP in a developer forum answer), four times the pixels of a 12 MP photo.
Worked examples, cropped to the print shape:
- 12 MP phone photo to 8x10: 3780 x 3024 pixels over 10 x 8 inches is 378 PPI.
- 12 MP to 16x20: the same crop over 20 x 16 inches is 189 PPI.
- 12 MP to 24x36: 4032 x 2688 pixels over 36 x 24 inches is 112 PPI, below the 125 that Nations calls high resolution.
- 24 MP camera to 24x36: 6000 x 4000 fits 3:2 with no crop, so 6000 / 36 = 167 PPI.
Resizing vs Upscaling
Shrinking a photo to the pixels a print needs is safe, because you only discard pixels you cannot use. Enlarging estimates new pixels from their neighbors, so the picture gets bigger but not sharper. Nations Photo Lab says "increasing the size of an image will not increase its resolution accordingly," and Mpix calls resampling above the original camera size "not an effective use of your time." If a photo is short on pixels, order a smaller print.
The Image Resizer sets pixels only, with no DPI value: a 2400 x 3000 JPEG we made with it stores a 1:1 pixel shape and no unit. That does not hurt the print, because a DPI tag is only a suggested size (the PNG specification calls its physical pixel dimensions chunk the "intended pixel size and aspect ratio to be used in presenting the PNG image"). In our test, one picture saved with a 72 DPI tag and again with a 300 DPI tag decoded to identical pixels.
Metric Paper Sizes in Pixels (A5, A4, A3, A2)
ISO 216 defines the A series: A4 is 210 x 297 mm, and each size is half the area of the one before. One inch is exactly 25.4 mm, so pixels = millimeters / 25.4 x PPI. For A4 at 300 PPI, 210 / 25.4 x 300 = 2480.3 (2480) and 297 / 25.4 x 300 = 3507.9 (3508). The Length Converter handles other sizes.
| Paper | Millimeters | 150 PPI | 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| A5 | 148 x 210 | 874 x 1240 | 1748 x 2480 |
| A4 | 210 x 297 | 1240 x 1754 | 2480 x 3508 |
| A3 | 297 x 420 | 1754 x 2480 | 3508 x 4961 |
| A2 | 420 x 594 | 2480 x 3508 | 4961 x 7016 |
Checklist Before You Order Prints
- Crop first, then count. Divide the cropped pixel width by the print width in inches to get the real PPI.
- Save a high-quality JPEG. Mpix calls lossless or highest-quality JPEG "more than adequate," and Richard Photo Lab asks for .jpg files. The HEIC to JPG Converter handles iPhone photos and the Image Format Converter handles PNG or WebP. Skip web-style shrinking, which our image compression guide covers for sites, not prints.
- Use sRGB. Richard Photo Lab asks for an sRGB profile, while Mpix asks for sRGB in 8-bit color with no embedded profile. Follow your lab's page.
- Leave room for the crop, and read the lab's own minimums, since they differ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 72 DPI OK for printing?
It depends on the pixels, not the label. At 72 pixels per inch an 8x10 is a 576 x 720 pixel file, which prints soft and blocky. A 2400 x 3000 file labeled 72 DPI has the same pixels as one labeled 300 DPI, so it still has the 300 pixels per inch an 8x10 needs.
What resolution does a 24x36 poster need?
At 300 PPI it needs 7200 x 10800 pixels (77.8 megapixels). At 150 PPI it needs 3600 x 5400 (19.4 megapixels), and Nations Photo Lab says 125 PPI or higher prints beautifully, which is 3000 x 4500 here. Posters are viewed from farther away, so 150 PPI is a reasonable target.
Does changing the DPI number in a file make it print better?
No. The DPI tag is only a suggested print size stored with the picture, and the pixels do not change. We saved one photo with a 72 DPI tag and again with a 300 DPI tag, and both decoded to identical pixels. Print quality needs more real pixels or a smaller print.
Can I print an 8x10 from my phone?
Yes, if the photo is large enough. A 12 megapixel phone photo (4032 x 3024) cropped to the 8x10 shape is 3780 x 3024 pixels, which is 378 PPI. The catch is the crop: an 8x10 trims 6.3% from a 4:3 phone photo. Check the pixel size of the exact file you upload, since cropped or downsized copies can be much smaller.
What is 4x6 in pixels?
1200 x 1800 pixels at 300 PPI, 800 x 1200 at 200 PPI and 600 x 900 at 150 PPI. Mpix lists 1000 x 1500 as optimal and 400 x 600 as its minimum. A 3:2 camera photo fits exactly, while a 4:3 phone photo loses 11.1% to the crop.
Sources
Pixel figures are arithmetic, recomputed with a script. Lab and standards references:
- Richard Photo Lab, How do I prepare my images to print?: 300 DPI, as low as 150, sRGB
- Mpix, How to prepare your photos: 250 ppi output, pixel minimums, sRGB, center crop
- Nations Photo Lab, Best Resolutions for Printing Pictures: PPI vs DPI, 125 to 300 PPI chart
- ISO 216:2007: A and B series paper sizes
- Markus Kuhn, University of Cambridge, International standard paper sizes: A series in millimeters
- NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: the inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters
- Apple, models with a 24 MP default and Change advanced camera settings: Resolution Control for 48 MP
- Apple Developer Forums, How to capture 48 MP Apple ProRAW?: 8064 x 6048
- DPReview, Canon EOS R8 specifications: 24.2 megapixels, 6000 x 4000
- W3C, PNG Specification, Third Edition: resolution is the intended pixel size