DPI calculator: inches, centimetres and paper sizes to pixels
Type a size and a resolution to get pixels, or choose pixels as the unit to get the size it prints. Pixels are inches multiplied by DPI: 8.5 × 11 inches at 300 DPI is 2550 × 3300 pixels.
What DPI means for an image
DPI, dots per inch, says how many pixels of an image are printed in each inch of paper. Strictly, an image has pixels per inch (PPI) and a printer has dots per inch, but for sizing a file the two words are used for the same number. An image file is only a grid of pixels; the DPI stored in it is a note that tells a printer how large to make them. Screens ignore it.
So an image has no fixed size in inches. A 3000 × 2400 pixel photo is 10 × 8 inches at 300 DPI and 20 × 16 inches at 150 DPI: the same pixels, spread wider.
Which DPI to use
| Resolution | A4 in pixels | Pixels blend from | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 DPI | 595 × 842 | 47.7 in (121 cm) | 72 DPI is the old screen convention: early Macintosh displays showed 72 pixels to the inch, matching the 72 points in an inch of type. |
| 96 DPI | 794 × 1123 | 35.8 in (91 cm) | 96 DPI is the reference resolution of Windows and of the web: CSS defines one inch as 96 pixels, so a web page sized in inches or millimetres is laid out at 96 pixels to the inch. |
| 100 DPI | 827 × 1169 | 34.4 in (87 cm) | 100 DPI is a round working figure for banners and large-format prints that are read from across a room. |
| 150 DPI | 1240 × 1754 | 22.9 in (58 cm) | 150 DPI is a common minimum for posters and large prints seen from a step or two away, and a usual setting for scanning documents that only need to be read. |
| 200 DPI | 1654 × 2339 | 17.2 in (44 cm) | 200 DPI sits between draft and photo quality. |
| 240 DPI | 1984 × 2806 | 14.3 in (36 cm) | 240 DPI is the default print resolution in Adobe Lightroom, and close enough to 300 that few people can tell the two apart in a photo print. |
| 300 DPI | 2480 × 3508 | 11.5 in (29 cm) | 300 DPI is the standard for print that is held in the hand: books, magazines, photo prints, business cards and flyers. |
| 400 DPI | 3307 × 4677 | 8.6 in (22 cm) | 400 DPI is used for scanning small originals and fine print, and is close to the pixel density of many phone screens. |
| 600 DPI | 4961 × 7016 | 5.7 in (15 cm) | 600 DPI is used for line art, small text and scans that will be enlarged. |
| 1200 DPI | 9921 × 14031 | 2.9 in (7 cm) | 1200 DPI is used for pure black-and-white line art and for scanning very small originals such as stamps and film. |
“Pixels blend from” is the distance at which someone with 20/20 vision can no longer separate the pixels of a print: the further away a print is seen, the fewer pixels per inch it needs.
Paper and photo sizes in pixels
Compare two resolutions
Length converters
- In to px at 72 DPI
- In to px at 96 DPI
- In to px at 150 DPI
- In to px at 300 DPI
- In to px at 600 DPI
- Cm to px at 72 DPI
- Cm to px at 96 DPI
- Cm to px at 150 DPI
- Cm to px at 300 DPI
- Cm to px at 600 DPI
- Mm to px at 72 DPI
- Mm to px at 96 DPI
- Mm to px at 150 DPI
- Mm to px at 300 DPI
- Mm to px at 600 DPI
- Pixels to in at 72 DPI
- Pixels to in at 96 DPI
- Pixels to in at 300 DPI
- Pixels to cm at 72 DPI
- Pixels to cm at 96 DPI
- Pixels to cm at 300 DPI
How big can you print a photo?
- 2 megapixels
- 5 megapixels
- 8 megapixels
- 10 megapixels
- 12 megapixels
- 16 megapixels
- 20 megapixels
- 24 megapixels
- 26 megapixels
- 33 megapixels
- 36 megapixels
- 40 megapixels
- 45 megapixels
- 48 megapixels
- 50 megapixels
- 61 megapixels
- 100 megapixels
- 108 megapixels
- 200 megapixels
Pixel sizes in inches
- 800 × 600
- 1024 × 768
- 1280 × 720
- 1920 × 1080
- 2560 × 1440
- 3840 × 2160
- 7680 × 4320
- 1080 × 1080
- 1080 × 1350
- 1080 × 1920
- 2048 × 1536
- 3000 × 2000
- 4000 × 3000
- 4032 × 3024
- 6000 × 4000
- 8000 × 6000
- 2400 × 3000
- 2550 × 3300
- 2480 × 3508
For lasers and plotters
A laser engraver also works in dots per inch, but there the right number depends on the width of the beam, not on the eye. What DPI for laser engraving photos? works through it, and the image to 1-bit converter writes a PNG with the DPI stored in the file.