Enter your photo's size in pixels, or pick the photo and let the page read it. You get the largest print that stays sharp by the photo labs' own charts, the pixels an inch at every common size, and what each size trims off the picture.
Your print
Your 4032 × 3024 photo prints sharp up to 11 × 14 inMpix's printers output 250 pixels an inch · acceptable up to 24 × 36 in at its minimum, 100 an inch · an 11 × 14 trims 5% off the long side
Quick answer: a print looks sharp when the photo gives it about 250 pixels for every inch: Mpix says its printers output at 250, and Bay Photo’s chart uses the same figure. Divide each side of your photo by 250. A 4032 × 3024 photo covers 16.1 × 12.1 inches, so its largest sharp print is an 11 × 14. Mpix’s minimum is 100 pixels an inch, which takes the same photo to a 24 × 36. A wallet-size photo is 2.5 × 3.5 inches: Mpix’s chart asks 625 × 875 pixels for it, 250 × 350 at the least.
How to use the photo print size calculator
- Enter the photo’s size in pixels, width and height. It is in the photo’s details or info on a phone or computer. Or pick the photo and the page reads the two numbers itself; the photo stays on your device.
- Leave the print size on “the largest sharp size”, or choose the size you want to order to check it.
- Read the answer: the largest sharp print, the pixels an inch at every common size, and how much each size trims off the photo’s shape. Add your own pixels an inch for a plain pixels-to-inches conversion at any DPI.
Framing it? The picture frame size visualizer shows the frame and mat a print needs, to scale on your wall. Hanging several? The gallery wall calculator spaces them.
The rules, and where they come from
Pixels to inches. Inches = pixels ÷ pixels an inch. Bay Photo puts it this way: a camera’s pixels “are NOT measured per inch, but are a total count”. Print a 1600 × 1200 photo as an 8 × 10 or a 16 × 20 and “the original file will still have 1,920,000 pixels.” A bigger print spreads the same pixels thinner.
Sharp: 250 an inch. Mpix: “The Mpix printers output at 250 ppi.” Its chart lists an optimal resolution for every size, and each one is 250 pixels an inch. Its upload guide recommends files “at 250-300 DPI”.
The floor: 100 an inch. The same Mpix chart gives a minimum for every size, and each is 100 pixels an inch: “Our software will notify you if your image does not meet our minimum requirement.”
Labs disagree below 250. Bay Photo’s “Minimum Pixel Size to Yield Good Prints” is lower still, and it adds: “it is amazing how large you can print a small file that is sharp and properly exposed.” Shutterfly gives no pixels-an-inch figure at all: its “resolution guidelines are based on final output resolution, not PPI, LPI, or DPI.” The calculator shows all three, named.
The crop. Mpix: “Our printing systems print by what we call ‘center crop.'” If the photo’s shape differs from the print’s, “the entire print area is covered with image, with any excess being cropped off”. A 4:3 photo loses 11% of its short side on a 4 × 6 and 6% of its long side on an 8 × 10.
Pixels needed for each print size
| Print, inches | Optimal pixels (250 an inch) | Megapixels | Minimum pixels (100 an inch) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.75 × 2.5 (mini wallet) | 438 × 625 | 0.3 | 150 × 250 |
| 2.5 × 3.5 (wallet) | 625 × 875 | 0.5 | 250 × 350 |
| 3.5 × 5 | 875 × 1250 | 1.1 | 350 × 500 |
| 4 × 4 | 1000 × 1000 | 1.0 | 400 × 400 |
| 4 × 5 | 1000 × 1250 | 1.2 | 400 × 500 |
| 4 × 6 | 1000 × 1500 | 1.5 | 400 × 600 |
| 5 × 5 | 1250 × 1250 | 1.6 | 500 × 500 |
| 5 × 7 | 1250 × 1750 | 2.2 | 500 × 700 |
| 6 × 9 | 1500 × 2250 | 3.4 | 600 × 900 |
| 8 × 8 | 2000 × 2000 | 4.0 | 800 × 800 |
| 5 × 15 | 1250 × 3750 | 4.7 | 500 × 1500 |
| 8 × 10 | 2000 × 2500 | 5.0 | 800 × 1000 |
| 8.5 × 11 | 2125 × 2750 | 5.8 | 850 × 1100 |
| 8 × 12 | 2000 × 3000 | 6.0 | 800 × 1200 |
| 10 × 10 | 2500 × 2500 | 6.2 | 1000 × 1000 |
| 9 × 12 | 2250 × 3000 | 6.8 | 900 × 1200 |
| 10 × 13 | 2500 × 3250 | 8.1 | 1000 × 1300 |
| 12 × 12 | 3000 × 3000 | 9.0 | 1200 × 1200 |
| 10 × 15 | 2500 × 3750 | 9.4 | 1000 × 1500 |
| 5 × 30 | 1250 × 7500 | 9.4 | 500 × 3000 |
| 11 × 14 | 2750 × 3500 | 9.6 | 1100 × 1400 |
| 10 × 20 | 2500 × 5000 | 12.5 | 1000 × 2000 |
| 12 × 18 | 3000 × 4500 | 13.5 | 1200 × 1800 |
| 12 × 24 | 3000 × 6000 | 18.0 | 1200 × 2400 |
| 16 × 20 | 4000 × 5000 | 20.0 | 1600 × 2000 |
| 16 × 24 | 4000 × 6000 | 24.0 | 1600 × 2400 |
| 20 × 20 | 5000 × 5000 | 25.0 | 2000 × 2000 |
| 20 × 24 | 5000 × 6000 | 30.0 | 2000 × 2400 |
| 20 × 30 | 5000 × 7500 | 37.5 | 2000 × 3000 |
| 24 × 36 | 6000 × 9000 | 54.0 | 2400 × 3600 |
Mpix’s own chart of “the minimum and optimal resolution for every size we offer”. The megapixels column is the optimal width times height. Every minimum is 100 pixels an inch except the mini wallet’s, which the chart prints as 150 × 250.
Wallet-size photos
A wallet is 2.5 × 3.5 inches. Mpix: “Wallets (2.5×3.5) include rounded corners and arrive in a set of 4.” Its mini wallets are 1.75 × 2.5 inches and “arrive in a set of 8 photos printed on a single sheet”. Shutterfly: “Wallet prints are sold in sets of 4 and shipped in uncut 5″ x 7″ sheets”; once cut, each is “approximately 2.5″ x 3.5″” with a thin white border of about 1/8 inch.
Pixels. Mpix’s chart asks 625 × 875 pixels for a sharp wallet and 250 × 350 at the least; a mini takes 438 × 625, and 150 × 250 at the least. Any phone photo has plenty: a 4032 × 3024 photo prints a wallet at over 1,100 pixels an inch.
The crop. A wallet has the same 5:7 shape as a 5 × 7 print. A 4:3 phone photo loses 5% of its short side; a 3:2 camera photo loses 7% of its long side. Choose “Wallet” above to see your own photo’s.
Bay Photo’s chart
| Print, inches | Pixels at 250 dpi | Minimum pixel size to yield good prints |
|---|---|---|
| 4 × 6 | 1000 × 1500 | 200 × 300 |
| 5 × 7 | 1250 × 1750 | 250 × 350 |
| 8 × 10 | 2000 × 2500 | 400 × 500 |
| 8 × 12 | 2000 × 3000 | 550 × 700 |
| 11 × 14 | 2750 × 3500 | 700 × 1050 |
| 16 × 20 | 4000 × 5000 | 1200 × 1500 |
| 20 × 24 | 5000 × 6000 | 1300 × 1560 |
| 24 × 30 | 6000 × 7500 | 1550 × 1937 |
| 30 × 40 | 7500 × 10000 | 1625 × 2166 |
From Bay Photo Lab’s image file specifications. Its minimums run from about 50 to 75 pixels an inch.
Shutterfly’s chart
| Photo, pixels | Recommended print size | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 640 × 480 | 4 × 6 | the minimum it recommends for a 4 × 6 |
| 1024 × 768 | 4 × 6 | its “best resolution for 4×6 prints” |
| 1152 × 864 | 5 × 7 | |
| 1600 × 1200 | 8 × 8, 8 × 10 | |
| 2000 × 1600 | 11 × 14, 12 × 12, 16 × 20, 20 × 30 | |
| 2400 × 3600 | 24 × 36 | also its canvas prints |
From Shutterfly’s upload guide (“use at least the indicated resolution”). Under 640 × 480 it says “Not recommended”. It also says “A minimum of 3 megapixels is recommended for standard prints” and “More than 10 megapixels are generally unnecessary.”
Worked examples
Your 4032 × 3024 photo prints sharp up to 11 × 14 in: 12.2 megapixels in a 4:3 shape. An 11 × 14 prints at 274 pixels an inch and trims 5% off the long side.
Your 6000 × 4000 photo prints sharp up to 16 × 24 in: 24 megapixels in a 3:2 shape, the same shape as a 16 × 24, so nothing is trimmed.
A 16 × 20 in print from your 4032 × 3024 photo is acceptable, not the sharpest: 189 pixels an inch. Mpix’s chart asks 4000 × 5000 pixels for its optimal 16 × 20 and 1600 × 2000 as the minimum.
A wallet-size (2.5 × 3.5 in) print from your 640 × 480 photo is acceptable, not the sharpest: 182 pixels an inch: an old phone or a webcam picture. Mpix’s chart asks 625 × 875 for a sharp wallet; this one passes its 250 × 350 minimum.
Your 1080 × 1920 photo prints sharp up to 4 × 6 in: a screen-size image. A 4 × 6 trims 16% off its long side, because the photo is 16:9 and the print is 3:2.
Common mistakes
- Enlarging the file to hit a number. Shutterfly: “Increasing resolution with software may degrade image quality.” Bay Photo: “We recommend that you DO NOT resize your files for ordering.”
- Cropping hard, then ordering big. Shutterfly: “Cropping reduces image resolution.” Enter the pixels left after your crop.
- Printing a copy from social media or a text. Mpix: those “typically do not print well, as files are compressed”. Use the original file.
- Forgetting the shape. A print fills its paper, so a photo of another shape loses its ends. Check the trim before you order.
- Losing the edge. Shutterfly: “Printed items may crop up to 1/8 inch at the edges.” Keep faces and text away from the border.
More on photos and walls at Dreamy Home Style
- Ways to showcase your family photos
- The designer spacing trick for a gallery wall
- Maximalist gallery wall ideas
- Vintage botanical print wall decor
- Picture lights that flatter art
Planning the whole room? Draw it to scale in the free 2D floor planner.
Photo print size questions
How do I convert pixels to inches?
Divide the pixels by the pixels an inch. At the 250 an inch Mpix’s printers output, 4032 pixels are 16.1 inches and 3024 pixels are 12.1 inches. At 300 they are 13.4 and 10.1 inches.
What does a DPI calculator work out?
Pixels divided by inches. A photo 3024 pixels on its short side printed 11 inches across is 274 pixels an inch; printed 16 inches across it is 189.
What photo resolution do I need for print?
Mpix’s chart: 250 pixels an inch is optimal and 100 is the minimum. Bay Photo’s minimums are lower, about 50 to 75. Shutterfly recommends at least 3 megapixels for standard prints.
What image size do I need for printing an 8 × 10?
Mpix: 2000 × 2500 pixels is optimal and 800 × 1000 the minimum. Shutterfly recommends 1600 × 1200. Bay Photo’s minimum for good prints is 400 × 500.
How big can I print a 12 megapixel photo?
A 4032 × 3024 photo prints sharp up to 11 × 14 inches at 250 pixels an inch, and reaches 24 × 36 at Mpix’s minimum of 100.
Do I need 300 DPI to print a photo?
Not at these labs. Mpix recommends 250 to 300 and prints at 250. Shutterfly says its guidelines are “not PPI, LPI, or DPI” and lists pixel sizes instead.
What size is a wallet size photo?
2.5 × 3.5 inches. Mpix sends them in sets of 4 with rounded corners; Shutterfly prints four on an uncut 5 × 7 sheet. Mpix’s chart asks 625 × 875 pixels for a sharp one, 250 × 350 at the least. Its mini wallet is 1.75 × 2.5 inches, eight to a sheet.
Why does my print cut off part of the photo?
The print’s shape differs from the photo’s. Labs fill the paper and cut off what is left over, evenly from both ends. Mpix calls this center crop.