A2 size in pixels
A2 is 420 × 594 mm. In pixels that is 4961 × 7016 at 300 DPI for print and 1191 × 1684 at 72 DPI.
A2 is a mid-size poster and art-print sheet, four times the area of A4. It measures 420 × 594 mm, or 16.54 × 23.39 in, with sides in the ratio 1 to √2 so that it halves into the next size down.
| Resolution | Pixels (portrait) | With 3 mm bleed | Megapixels | Uncompressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 DPI | 1191 × 1684 | 1208 × 1701 | 2 | 5.7 MB |
| 96 DPI | 1587 × 2245 | 1610 × 2268 | 3.6 | 10 MB |
| 100 DPI | 1654 × 2339 | 1677 × 2362 | 3.9 | 11 MB |
| 150 DPI | 2480 × 3508 | 2516 × 3543 | 8.7 | 25 MB |
| 200 DPI | 3307 × 4677 | 3354 × 4724 | 15 | 44 MB |
| 240 DPI | 3969 × 5613 | 4025 × 5669 | 22 | 64 MB |
| 300 DPI | 4961 × 7016 | 5031 × 7087 | 35 | 100 MB |
| 400 DPI | 6614 × 9354 | 6709 × 9449 | 62 | 177 MB |
| 600 DPI | 9921 × 14031 | 10063 × 14173 | 139 | 398 MB |
| 1200 DPI | 19843 × 28063 | 20126 × 28346 | 557 | 1.56 GB |
Landscape is the same numbers the other way round. Pixels are rounded to the nearest whole pixel. The last column is 8-bit RGB before compression.
Which resolution to use for A2
For print that will be held and read, use 300 DPI: 4961 × 7016 pixels, 35 megapixels. A sheet this large is usually seen from further back, so 150 DPI (2480 × 3508 pixels) is often enough and a quarter of the file. For a screen, the DPI number does nothing; only the pixel size matters.
Will a photo fill it?
- A 12 megapixel phone photo (4000 × 3000 pixels), cropped to fill A2, prints at 171 DPI: fine from a step back, a little soft up close.
- A 24 megapixel camera photo (6000 × 4000 pixels), cropped to fill A2, prints at 242 DPI: fine from a step back, a little soft up close.
- A 48 megapixel photo (8000 × 6000 pixels), cropped to fill A2, prints at 342 DPI: sharp at any distance.