Print size calculator
Enter your photograph’s dimensions in pixels and see how large a print it can take. Or choose a print size and find out how many pixels it needs.
Checked 12 October 2026. Runs only in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
| PPI | Size (cm) | Size (inches) | Rating | Pixels merge from |
|---|
Calculation: cm = px ÷ PPI × 2.54; pixel counts are rounded up. The rating is a rule of thumb based on the eye resolving about 1 arcminute (distance in cm ≈ 8733 ÷ PPI): IDEAL up to 30 cm (a print held in the hand), GOOD up to 45 cm, VIEW FROM A DISTANCE beyond 45 cm. How sharp a print actually looks also depends on the sharpness of the image, noise, the paper and the subject.
How the calculator works
The print size is the number of pixels divided by the PPI (pixels per inch) and multiplied by 2.54 (centimetres in an inch). An image 6000 px wide at 300 PPI is 6000 ÷ 300 × 2.54 = 50.8 cm wide; a height of 4000 px gives 33.9 cm.
In the reverse mode, the number of pixels is worked out as size in centimetres ÷ 2.54 × PPI and rounded up, so that the size is fully covered.
Where the rating comes from
The human eye resolves detail down to roughly one arcminute. From that follows a rough distance beyond which pixels merge: about 8733 ÷ PPI centimetres. At 300 PPI that is 29 cm, at 240 PPI 36 cm, at 180 PPI 49 cm and at 150 PPI 58 cm.
- IDEAL — pixels merge within 30 cm; you can hold the print in your hand.
- GOOD — within 45 cm; a desk, smaller sizes on the wall.
- VIEW FROM A DISTANCE — beyond 45 cm; large prints you look at from further back.
The thresholds are a rule of thumb, not a standard. A sharp, contrasty photograph will stand a lower PPI; a blurred one will not be saved even by 300 PPI. The details are in DPI, PPI and resolution for print.