Photo print sizes: inches to pixels
Every common photo print size, from 4 × 6 to 24 × 36, with the pixels it needs at 300, 200 and 150 DPI. Pick the size you want to print, read the pixel number in the same row, and export your file at that width — nothing here is guesswork, it is inches multiplied by DPI.
Swipe to see the full table →
| Print size | Centimetres | 300 DPI | 200 DPI | 150 DPI | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 6 in | 10 × 15 cm | 1200 × 1800 | 800 × 1200 | 600 × 900 | 2:3 |
| 5 × 7 in | 13 × 18 cm | 1500 × 2100 | 1000 × 1400 | 750 × 1050 | 5:7 |
| 6 × 8 in | 15 × 20 cm | 1800 × 2400 | 1200 × 1600 | 900 × 1200 | 3:4 |
| 8 × 10 in | 20 × 25 cm | 2400 × 3000 | 1600 × 2000 | 1200 × 1500 | 4:5 |
| 8.5 × 11 in (US Letter) | 22 × 28 cm | 2550 × 3300 | 1700 × 2200 | 1275 × 1650 | 17:22 |
| 11 × 14 in | 28 × 36 cm | 3300 × 4200 | 2200 × 2800 | 1650 × 2100 | 11:14 |
| 12 × 18 in | 30 × 46 cm | 3600 × 5400 | 2400 × 3600 | 1800 × 2700 | 2:3 |
| 16 × 20 in | 41 × 51 cm | 4800 × 6000 | 3200 × 4000 | 2400 × 3000 | 4:5 |
| 20 × 30 in | 51 × 76 cm | 6000 × 9000 | 4000 × 6000 | 3000 × 4500 | 2:3 |
| 24 × 36 in | 61 × 91 cm | 7200 × 10800 | 4800 × 7200 | 3600 × 5400 | 2:3 |
| 8 × 8 in | 20 × 20 cm | 2400 × 2400 | 1600 × 1600 | 1200 × 1200 | 1:1 |
| 12 × 12 in | 30 × 30 cm | 3600 × 3600 | 2400 × 2400 | 1800 × 1800 | 1:1 |
Sizes are the ones consumer labs print on standard photo paper. Centimetre values are rounded to the nearest whole number, which is how the paper is sold in most of the world.
How the pixel numbers are worked out
One line of arithmetic covers the whole table: pixels = inches × DPI. A 4 × 6 print at 300 DPI is 4 × 300 = 1200 pixels wide and 6 × 300 = 1800 tall. Nothing else is involved — no platform policy, no file-size cap, no hidden minimum. If a calculator gives you a different number, it is using a different DPI.
DPI is a property of how the file is printed, not of the file itself. The same 1200 × 1800 image is a sharp 4 × 6 at 300 DPI, an acceptable 6 × 9 at 200 DPI, and a soft 12 × 18 at 100 DPI. That is why the table lists three tiers instead of one: only the 300 column is “good at arm’s length”, and the other two exist because posters are not read from 30 cm away.
Why the lab still crops your photo
A print size is two independent numbers, so it can only take photos with the same ratio. Phone cameras shoot 4:3; the common print sizes are 2:3 (4 × 6, 12 × 18), 4:5 (8 × 10, 16 × 20) and 5:7 (5 × 7). No amount of resolution fixes that mismatch — the lab scales the file until it fills the paper and cuts the excess, exactly like a cover crop on a social platform.
- 4:3 → 2:3 loses about 11% of the width: a photo shot in landscape keeps its height and loses the sides.
- 4:3 → 4:5 is the harshest of the common pairs — the frame gets noticeably squarer, so a group shot loses the outer people first.
- 1:1 → anything rectangular adds bars rather than removing pixels, unless you crop.
The fix is to decide the framing before you export, not at the lab. Keep the subject inside a centred margin — the same habit that survives a circular avatar crop.
Print ratios that match a social size
Two of the print ratios already exist as social specs, so one file can serve both. A 2:3 print is the same ratio as the Pinterest Pin (1000 × 1500), and a square print matches the Instagram post (1080 × 1080). Everything else needs its own export — the size library lists the platform side of the same numbers.
If the file is too large to upload
Print labs cap uploads — often at 10–25 MB per file, sometimes per order. A 24 × 36 at 300 DPI is 7200 × 10800 pixels, which is a big JPEG if the camera produced it at maximum quality. The bulk compressor shrinks a batch to a quality, a longest edge or a target file size without touching the composition, and it tells you when it had to keep the original because the source was already optimal. For platform sizes instead of paper sizes, use the image resizer.
Common questions
What size is 4 × 6 in pixels?
1200 × 1800 at 300 DPI. The arithmetic is the same for every size on this page: inches × DPI. At 200 DPI the same print needs 800 × 1200, which still looks sharp from arm’s length.
Is 300 DPI always required?
No. 300 DPI is the safe default for anything held in the hand. Posters and canvas viewed from a metre away are fine at 150–200 DPI, which is a quarter of the pixels and a far smaller file. Ask the lab what it expects before upscaling a phone photo to a number it cannot support.
Can I print a 1080px photo at 8 × 10?
Only softly. 8 inches at 300 DPI needs 2400px of width; 1080px spread over 8 inches is about 135 pixels per inch. Either order a smaller print — 4 × 6 needs just 1200px — or accept a slightly soft 8 × 10 rather than a sharp one that was upscaled with invented detail.
Why does the lab crop my photo?
Because the ratios do not match. Phone photos are usually 4:3, while print sizes run 2:3, 4:5, 5:7 and 11:14. A 4:3 image forced into a 2:3 print loses a strip from both sides — which is exactly the same crop a social platform applies when you resize without choosing a framing.
Numbers are arithmetic, not platform policy: pixels = inches × DPI, rounded to the nearest pixel. Last checked 2026-10-30.