Image resolution

When printing photographs and similar types of image, the size of the file
will determine how large the picture can be printed whilst maintaining
acceptable quality. This document provides a guide which should help you
to judge whether a particular image will reproduce well at the size you
want.

What is resolution?
A digital photograph is made up of a number of discrete picture elements,
known as “pixels”. We can see these elements if we magnify an image on
the screen (see right). Because the number of pixels in the image is fixed,
the bigger we print the image, then the bigger the pixels will be. If we print
the image too big, then the pixels will be visible to the naked eye and the
image will appear to be poor quality.
Let’s take as an example an image from a “5 megapixel” digital
camera. Typically this camera at its maximum quality setting will produce
images which are 2592 x 1944 pixels. (If we multiply these two figures,
we get 5,038,848 pixels, which approximately equates to 5 million
pixels/5 megapixels.) Printing this image at various sizes, we can calculate
the number of pixels per inch, more commonly referred to as dots per inch
(dpi). Just note that this measure is dependent on the image being printed, it
is unrelated to the resolution of the printer, which is also expressed in dpi.

Original image size 2592 x 1944 pixels Small format (up to A3)
When printing images onto A4 or A3 pages, aim for 300dpi if at all
Print size (inches) 8x6 16 x 12 24 x 16 32 x 24 possible. This means that your image will be suitable for printing digitally
or conventionally. You are unlikely to need a higher resolution, unless the
Print size (mm) 203 x 152 406 x 305 610 x 457 813 x 610 image contains text or fine line detail. Ask us for further advice if this is the
case.
Print resolution (dpi) 324 162 108 81 If the image is to be printed digitally (usually on a toner-based press) then
240dpi is generally more than adequate. Resolution can be further reduced,
We can see that the effective resolution reduces as we increase the print to around 150dpi, without very significant loss of quality. It is even possible
size. Now comes the subjective bit: what resolution is “good enough”? For to get usable results from lower resolutions, down to 75dpi or so, but this is
many years in conventional (offset litho) printing, the reprographic standard very dependent on the type and content of the image.
for good quality commercial printing has been to require a resolution
of 300dpi at the printed size. This figure still holds good, but for many Large format (above A3)
digital print applications it is possible to get good reproduction with lower Digital poster printing uses large-format inkjet printers. Because the results
resolution. are viewed from greater distances than small-format print, then lower
Although it is possible to increase image resolution using image editing resolutions can normally be used. 300dpi is generally more than is required
software, such as Photoshop, this is unlikely to improve the print quality of and would mean very large file sizes. 200dpi is fine; for most work 150dpi
an image at high degrees of enlargement. Some low-resolution images can will give very good results. Particularly for larger poster sizes, resolution can
have their print quality improved, often by the use of specialist software; ask be reduced down to 75dpi if necessary. Again, images containing text or fine
us for advice. lines benefit from resolutions higher than the minimum.

Approximate image sizes

Print size
A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A0
Resolution 105  x  148mm 148  x  210mm 210  x  297mm 297 x 420mm 420 x 594mm 594 x 841mm 841 x 1189mm

1240 x 1750 pixels 1750 x 2480 pixels 2480 x 3510 pixels 3510 x 4960 pixels 4960 x 7020 pixels 7020 x 9930 pixels 9930 x 14040 pixels
300dpi
7 Mb* 13 Mb 26 Mb 52 Mb 105 Mb 210 Mb 420 Mb

990 x 1400 pixels 1400 x 1980 pixels 1980 x 2810 pixels 2810 x 3970 pixels 3970 x 5610 pixels 5610 x 7950 pixels 7950 x 11230 pixels
240dpi
4 Mb 8 Mb 17 Mb 34 Mb 67 Mb 134 Mb 270 Mb

620 x 870 pixels 870 x 1240 pixels 1240 x 1750 pixels 1750 x 2480 pixels 2480 x 3510 pixels 3510 x 4970 pixels 4970 x 7020 pixels
150dpi
© StroudPrint 2009

2 Mb 4 Mb 7 Mb 13 Mb 26 Mb 52 Mb 105 Mb

310 x 440 pixels 440 x 620 pixels 620 x 880 pixels 880 x 1240 pixels 1240 x 1750 pixels 1750 x 2480 pixels 2480 x 3510 pixels
75dpi
0.5 Mb 1 Mb 2 Mb 4 Mb 7 Mb 13 Mb 26 Mb
*
This is the approximate uncompressed size of the image. If the image is saved in a compressed file format,
such as JPEG, then the actual file size will be substantially smaller.

Overleaf: how to check image resolution ➤

Checking image resolution
As already mentioned, file size is not a reliable guide to the size
of an image because of the effects of compression. Therefore
it is useful to be able to check the actual pixel size of an image.
The image can of course be opened in a suitable editing
program, such as Adobe Photoshop, or Paintshop Pro, but
it is also possible to check the size without opening the file.
Assuming that the image is on a PC running Windows, locate the
image via My Computer or Explorer, right click on the file and
select Properties from the pop-up menu. Next select the tab
Summary (see right), then click the Advanced button which will
display information about image size and resolution (far right).

The amount of detail

shown will depend on
the type and source
of the image.