Print Resolution Calculator — DPI, Quality & Max Print Size

300 DPI is the industry standard for professional quality prints intended for close viewing, such as A4 or A3 portrait prints. For larger format prints viewed at a distance (posters, exhibition prints, banners), 150 DPI is generally acceptable. Below 150 DPI this calculator flags the result as poor, and below roughly 100 DPI visible pixelation becomes likely on prints viewed at arm’s length. Screen and web use typically only requires 72–96 DPI.

Divide the pixel dimension of your image by the physical print dimension in inches. For example, a 3000 px wide image printed at 10 inches wide gives 300 DPI. If your print has different aspect ratios to your image, the limiting dimension (the one that gives the lower DPI) determines your actual print quality.

A 24-megapixel image (typically 6000 × 4000 px) can print at up to 20 × 13.3 inches (50.8 × 33.8 cm) at 300 DPI. At 150 DPI (acceptable for large prints viewed at arm's length or more) that increases to 40 × 26.7 inches (101.6 × 67.8 cm). Use this calculator to check any combination of resolution and print size.

Yes. If your image aspect ratio does not match the print size you have chosen, either cropping or white borders will be needed. This calculator uses the more restrictive of the width and height DPI values to give the true achievable resolution at the specified print size, which highlights any aspect ratio mismatch.

The further away a print is viewed, the less detail the eye can resolve, so a lower DPI looks just as sharp. A person with 20/20 vision resolves about one arcminute of detail, which gives a rule of thumb: the minimum PPI required ≈ 3438 ÷ viewing distance in inches. At a 30 cm (12 inch) reading distance that is roughly 290 PPI, but a poster viewed from 1 metre (about 39 inches) only needs around 87 PPI. Set the viewing distance in the advanced options and the calculator reports the minimum PPI for that distance and whether your achieved DPI meets it.