US Legal size in pixels
US Legal is 8.5 × 14 in. In pixels that is 2550 × 4200 at 300 DPI for print and 612 × 1008 at 72 DPI.
US Legal is Letter width and three inches longer, used for contracts and forms. It measures 8.5 × 14 in, or 215.9 × 355.6 mm.
| Resolution | Pixels (portrait) | With 0.125 in bleed | Megapixels | Uncompressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 DPI | 612 × 1008 | 630 × 1026 | 0.62 | 1.8 MB |
| 96 DPI | 816 × 1344 | 840 × 1368 | 1.1 | 3.1 MB |
| 100 DPI | 850 × 1400 | 875 × 1425 | 1.2 | 3.4 MB |
| 150 DPI | 1275 × 2100 | 1313 × 2138 | 2.7 | 7.7 MB |
| 200 DPI | 1700 × 2800 | 1750 × 2850 | 4.8 | 14 MB |
| 240 DPI | 2040 × 3360 | 2100 × 3420 | 6.9 | 20 MB |
| 300 DPI | 2550 × 4200 | 2625 × 4275 | 11 | 31 MB |
| 400 DPI | 3400 × 5600 | 3500 × 5700 | 19 | 54 MB |
| 600 DPI | 5100 × 8400 | 5250 × 8550 | 43 | 123 MB |
| 1200 DPI | 10200 × 16800 | 10500 × 17100 | 171 | 490 MB |
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 US Legal
For print that will be held and read, use 300 DPI: 2550 × 4200 pixels, 11 megapixels. Use 600 DPI only for line art or very small text. 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 US Legal, prints at 286 DPI: fine from a step back, a little soft up close.
- A 24 megapixel camera photo (6000 × 4000 pixels), cropped to fill US Legal, prints at 429 DPI: sharp at any distance.
- A 48 megapixel photo (8000 × 6000 pixels), cropped to fill US Legal, prints at 571 DPI: sharp at any distance.