Plain answers to the questions that come up every time you try to print something larger than expected.
DPI counts the ink dots a printer lays down per inch of paper. More dots, finer detail. The industry settled on 300 DPI as the standard for photo prints, and that number has held for a long time.
Read →DPI describes what the printer does; PPI describes what the image file has. The numbers match in most print workflows, but the terms refer to different things, which matters when something goes wrong.
Read →300 DPI is the standard for photo printing. A 4x6 at that setting requires 1,200 x 1,800 pixels; an 8x10 needs 2,400 x 3,000. The full size chart is inside.
Read →On Windows: right-click, Properties, Details tab. On Mac: open in Preview, then Tools, Show Inspector. On iPhone, a free EXIF app is the quickest route. Full steps for each are inside.
Read →300 DPI for printing, 600 DPI for scanning an original you want to reprint later, 72-96 PPI for anything that lives on a screen. The right number depends on where the image is going.
Read →A 16x20 at 300 DPI requires 4,800 x 6,000 pixels, or about 28.8 megapixels. A 24x36 takes 7,200 x 10,800 px. Posters viewed from across a room can get by at 150 DPI, which cuts the pixel requirement by 75%.
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