Picture resolution requirements for prints

• April 28, 2007
• James Skemp
• photography, technology

What follows is, for more my own information than for anyone else, is a listing of common print sizes, and the approximate resolution a photo must be in order to print well and acceptably.

The math involved is to take the size of the print and multiply each side by either 300 or 200. 300 (dpi) is the best quality, while 200 (dpi) is acceptable. Armed with these two answers, you can then have a nice range of which you should shoot for. Below are the numbers found from a handful of sites.

4x6

Best: 1600x1200^{1, 3}

Lower: 1280x960³

Minimum: 540x360²; 1024 x 768^{4, 5}

Absolute minimum: 640x480⁴

5x7

Best: 2048x1536^{1, 3}

Medium: 1600x1200³

Minimum: 1152 x 864^{4, 5}; 630x450²

8x10

Best: 2560x1920^{1, 3}

Medium: 2048x1536³

Lower: 1600x1200³

Minimum: 1600x1200⁴; 1536x1024⁵; 900x720²

8x12

Best: 2560x1920¹

11x14

Best: 3072x2048^{1, 3}

Medium: 2560x1920³

Lower: 2048x1536^{3, 5}

Minimum: 1260x990²

12x18

Best: 3072x2048¹

Medium: 3072x2048³

Lower: 2560x1920³

Minimum: 2048x1536⁵; 1620x1080²

16x20

Minimum: 1800x1440²

20x30

Minimum: 2700x1800²

Information has been culled from Dummies (listed as 1), Walgreens (2), Samy's Camera (3), and Shutterfly (4). The Photo Company used to have information online, but I'm not finding it any more ... (hence my decision to write on this).

Edit: Found The Camera Company information (listed as 5).

• photography