Find the maximum print size your photo can handle at any DPI — with quality ratings for every standard print size.
Inputs
Maximum print size at selected DPI
20.0 × 13.3 in
50.8 × 33.9 cm
Megapixels
24.0 MP
Resolution
6000×4000
Quality
Exhibition
print width (in) = pixel width ÷ DPI
print height (in) = pixel height ÷ DPI
Wallet
2.5 × 3.5 in
4 × 6 in
4 × 6 in
5 × 7 in
5 × 7 in
8 × 10 in
8 × 10 in
11 × 14 in
11 × 14 in
16 × 20 in
16 × 20 in
20 × 30 in
20 × 30 in
24 × 36 in
24 × 36 in
30 × 40 in
30 × 40 in
40 × 60 in
40 × 60 in
Print size is fundamentally a resolution problem: you have a fixed number of pixels to spread across a physical area, and the more area you cover, the fewer pixels per inch you have. DPI (dots per inch) is the measure of how tightly packed those pixels are in the final print — higher DPI means smaller dots and finer detail.
The formula is straightforward: divide your pixel dimensions by the desired DPI to get the print size in inches. A 6000-pixel-wide image at 300 DPI gives you 20 inches wide. The same image at 150 DPI gives you 40 inches — twice the size, half the pixel density.
300 DPI is the professional standard for photo lab prints — it is the native resolution of most professional labs and produces the sharpest possible result from your sensor. 240 DPI is the sweet spot for home inkjet printers; most people cannot distinguish 240 from 300 in a normally-viewed print. 150 DPI is acceptable for large prints viewed from a distance. Billboards can go as low as 10–15 DPI because the viewing distance compensates entirely.
Sensor resolution matters directly: a 45-megapixel camera gives you roughly twice the print area of a 12-megapixel phone camera at the same DPI, because pixel count scales with the square of linear resolution — doubling the linear resolution quadruples the megapixels.
300 DPI is the professional standard for photo lab prints and produces the sharpest possible result. 240 DPI is widely used for home inkjet printing and looks indistinguishable from 300 DPI to most viewers. At 150 DPI, prints are acceptable when viewed at arm's length or further. Large-format prints on canvas or vinyl — viewed from meters away — can go as low as 72–100 DPI without visible quality loss.
A 24 megapixel image (6000×4000 pixels) can be printed at 20×13.3 inches (51×34 cm) at 300 DPI, 25×16.7 inches (64×42 cm) at 240 DPI, or 40×26.7 inches (102×68 cm) at 150 DPI. For a 16×20 inch print, your 24MP image delivers exactly 300 DPI on the long side — comfortably in exhibition quality territory.
Yes. Every pixel you crop away is a pixel you cannot use for printing. Cropping 50% of the image halves the linear resolution, reducing maximum print size by 50% at the same DPI. Always enter your cropped pixel dimensions — not the original sensor resolution — for accurate results. You can find the exact pixel count in your photo editor or in the file's properties.
Modern AI upscaling tools — Lightroom's Enhance, Topaz Gigapixel, ON1 Resize — can increase pixel count with minimal artefacts, letting you print 1.5–2× larger than native resolution would otherwise allow. This is a legitimate approach for large format. For basic bicubic upscaling in Photoshop, limit yourself to about 150% of the original dimensions. Beyond that, AI upscaling produces significantly better results.
PPI (pixels per inch) refers to the resolution of a digital image — how many pixels fit in one inch. DPI (dots per inch) technically refers to how many ink dots a printer lays down per inch, which is a hardware property. In practice, photographers and labs use DPI and PPI interchangeably when discussing print output quality. When you set a file to "300 DPI" in Photoshop, you are setting its PPI metadata — the lab then prints it so 300 pixels fill each inch of paper.
You have two options: crop the image to match the paper's aspect ratio, or print with white borders on the short edges (sometimes called a "bordered" or "white border" print). Most photo labs offer both. Cropping loses some image area but fills the paper edge to edge; white borders preserve the full image but leave some paper unused. Neither option affects print quality at the DPI you have available.
Depth of Field Calculator
Near/far focus limits, total DoF, and hyperfocal distance. Includes a live focus zone diagram.
↳ 50mm · f/2.8 · 3m → DoF 0.43m
Crop Factor Calculator
Convert focal lengths and apertures across sensor sizes. See how any lens behaves on Full Frame, APS-C, and Micro 4/3 side by side.
↳ 35mm on APS-C → 52.5mm equiv.
Golden Hour Calculator
Find golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset times for any location and date. Includes a live sun arc diagram.
↳ London · Jun 21 → golden at 21:08