US business card at 600 DPI is 1200 × 2100 pixels

The working

Pixels are inches multiplied by the resolution.

• Width: 2 in × 600 = 1,200, which rounds to 1200 pixels.
• Height: 3.5 in × 600 = 2,100, which rounds to 2100 pixels.

Bleed is extra image past the trim line, so that a cut that lands slightly off still leaves ink to the edge. Print shops usually ask for 0.125 in on every side of a US size, which makes the file 1350 × 2250 pixels.

Is your photo big enough?

To fill US business card at 600 DPI an image needs at least 1200 × 2100 pixels. Cropped to fill the sheet:

• A 12 megapixel phone photo (4000 × 3000) gives 1,143 DPI: enough.
• A 24 megapixel camera photo (6000 × 4000) gives 1,714 DPI: enough.
• A 48 megapixel photo (8000 × 6000) gives 2,286 DPI: enough.

At 600 DPI the pixels of a print blend together from about 5.7 inches (15 cm) away. 600 DPI is used for line art, small text and scans that will be enlarged. It is also the native resolution of many office laser printers.