1200 DPI in pixels
At 1200 DPI an inch is 1200 pixels and a centimetre is 472.4 pixels. An A4 page is 9921 × 14031 pixels and a US Letter page is 10200 × 13200.
1200 DPI is used for pure black-and-white line art and for scanning very small originals such as stamps and film. Photos gain nothing visible from it in print.
At 1200 DPI the pixels of a print blend together, for someone with 20/20 vision, from about 2.9 inches (7 cm) away. Closer than that, an eye can pick out the pixel grid; further back, more resolution adds nothing you can see.
Paper and photo sizes at 1200 DPI
| Size | Dimensions | Pixels at 1200 DPI | Megapixels | Uncompressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A0 | 841 × 1189 mm | 39732 × 56173 | 2,232 | 6.24 GB |
| A1 | 594 × 841 mm | 28063 × 39732 | 1,115 | 3.12 GB |
| A2 | 420 × 594 mm | 19843 × 28063 | 557 | 1.56 GB |
| A3 | 297 × 420 mm | 14031 × 19843 | 278 | 797 MB |
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 9921 × 14031 | 139 | 398 MB |
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | 6992 × 9921 | 69 | 198 MB |
| A6 | 105 × 148 mm | 4961 × 6992 | 35 | 99 MB |
| A7 | 74 × 105 mm | 3496 × 4961 | 17 | 50 MB |
| Letter | 8.5 × 11 in | 10200 × 13200 | 135 | 385 MB |
| Legal | 8.5 × 14 in | 10200 × 16800 | 171 | 490 MB |
| Tabloid | 11 × 17 in | 13200 × 20400 | 269 | 770 MB |
| Half Letter | 5.5 × 8.5 in | 6600 × 10200 | 67 | 193 MB |
| 4 × 6 in | 4 × 6 in | 4800 × 7200 | 35 | 99 MB |
| 5 × 7 in | 5 × 7 in | 6000 × 8400 | 50 | 144 MB |
| 8 × 10 in | 8 × 10 in | 9600 × 12000 | 115 | 330 MB |
| 11 × 14 in | 11 × 14 in | 13200 × 16800 | 222 | 634 MB |
| 16 × 20 in | 16 × 20 in | 19200 × 24000 | 461 | 1.29 GB |
| 12 × 12 in | 12 × 12 in | 14400 × 14400 | 207 | 593 MB |
| 12 × 18 in | 12 × 18 in | 14400 × 21600 | 311 | 890 MB |
| 18 × 24 in | 18 × 24 in | 21600 × 28800 | 622 | 1.74 GB |
| 24 × 36 in | 24 × 36 in | 28800 × 43200 | 1,244 | 3.48 GB |
| Business card | 2 × 3.5 in | 2400 × 4200 | 10 | 29 MB |
Lengths at 1200 DPI
| Inches | Pixels |
|---|---|
| 0.25 in | 300 |
| 0.5 in | 600 |
| 0.75 in | 900 |
| 1 in | 1,200 |
| 1.5 in | 1,800 |
| 2 in | 2,400 |
| 2.5 in | 3,000 |
| 3 in | 3,600 |
| 3.5 in | 4,200 |
| 4 in | 4,800 |
| 5 in | 6,000 |
| 6 in | 7,200 |
| Centimetres | Pixels |
|---|---|
| 0.5 cm | 236 |
| 1 cm | 472 |
| 1.5 cm | 709 |
| 2 cm | 945 |
| 2.5 cm | 1,181 |
| 3 cm | 1,417 |
| 3.5 cm | 1,654 |
| 4 cm | 1,890 |
| 4.5 cm | 2,126 |
| 5 cm | 2,362 |
| 6 cm | 2,835 |
| 7 cm | 3,307 |
| Millimetres | Pixels |
|---|---|
| 1 mm | 47 |
| 2 mm | 94 |
| 3 mm | 142 |
| 5 mm | 236 |
| 10 mm | 472 |
| 15 mm | 709 |
| 20 mm | 945 |
| 25 mm | 1,181 |
| 30 mm | 1,417 |
| 35 mm | 1,654 |
| 40 mm | 1,890 |
| 45 mm | 2,126 |
Changing an image to 1200 DPI
The DPI stored in an image file is a label that says how large to print it. Changing the label to 1200 without resampling keeps every pixel and only changes the print size: a 3000 × 2000 pixel photo becomes 2.5 × 1.67 inches. Resampling changes the number of pixels instead, and making an image larger that way does not add detail.