Guide
Standard art print sizes and ratios
Almost every art print is one of a handful of shapes: 2:3, 3:4, 4:5, 5:7, square or the A sizes. Choose the shape first. Every size in the same shape prints from the same file, without cropping.
Below are the standard sizes in each shape, in inches, centimetres and the pixels each one needs.
8 × 10 in · 20 × 25 cm
16 × 20 in · 41 × 51 cm
24 × 30 in · 61 × 76 cm
Why the ratio comes first
A ratio is the shape of a print: its width against its height. Two sizes with the same ratio are the same picture at a different scale. Two sizes with different ratios are not, and printing one at the other means cropping. An image shaped 2:3 printed at 8 × 10 in loses 2 inches from its long side, about a sixth of the picture.
The same goes for frames. A print in a frame of another shape either gets cropped, or needs a mount cut to make up the difference.
Standard print sizes by ratio
2:3 print sizes
The shape of a 35 mm camera frame, so most photographic prints and posters use it.
| Inches | Centimetres | Pixels at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|
| 4 × 6 in | 10.2 × 15.2 cm | 1,200 × 1,800 px |
| 8 × 12 in | 20.3 × 30.5 cm | 2,400 × 3,600 px |
| 12 × 18 in | 30.5 × 45.7 cm | 3,600 × 5,400 px |
| 16 × 24 in | 40.6 × 61 cm | 4,800 × 7,200 px |
| 20 × 30 in | 50.8 × 76.2 cm | 6,000 × 9,000 px |
| 24 × 36 in | 61 × 91.4 cm | 7,200 × 10,800 px |
3:4 print sizes
The shape of most phone photos, and common for canvases.
| Inches | Centimetres | Pixels at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|
| 6 × 8 in | 15.2 × 20.3 cm | 1,800 × 2,400 px |
| 9 × 12 in | 22.9 × 30.5 cm | 2,700 × 3,600 px |
| 12 × 16 in | 30.5 × 40.6 cm | 3,600 × 4,800 px |
| 18 × 24 in | 45.7 × 61 cm | 5,400 × 7,200 px |
| 30 × 40 in | 76.2 × 101.6 cm | 9,000 × 12,000 px |
4:5 print sizes
The classic frame shape, and the portrait shape on Instagram.
| Inches | Centimetres | Pixels at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|
| 4 × 5 in | 10.2 × 12.7 cm | 1,200 × 1,500 px |
| 8 × 10 in | 20.3 × 25.4 cm | 2,400 × 3,000 px |
| 16 × 20 in | 40.6 × 50.8 cm | 4,800 × 6,000 px |
| 24 × 30 in | 61 × 76.2 cm | 7,200 × 9,000 px |
| 32 × 40 in | 81.3 × 101.6 cm | 9,600 × 12,000 px |
11:14 print sizes
A ready-made frame size with a shape of its own, between 3:4 and 4:5.
| Inches | Centimetres | Pixels at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|
| 11 × 14 in | 27.9 × 35.6 cm | 3,300 × 4,200 px |
5:7 print sizes
Cards and small prints. The 50 × 70 cm poster is the same shape.
| Inches | Centimetres | Pixels at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|
| 5 × 7 in | 12.7 × 17.8 cm | 1,500 × 2,100 px |
| 10 × 14 in | 25.4 × 35.6 cm | 3,000 × 4,200 px |
| 20 × 28 in | 50.8 × 71.1 cm | 6,000 × 8,400 px |
1:1 print sizes
Square canvases and square frames.
| Inches | Centimetres | Pixels at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|
| 8 × 8 in | 20.3 × 20.3 cm | 2,400 × 2,400 px |
| 10 × 10 in | 25.4 × 25.4 cm | 3,000 × 3,000 px |
| 12 × 12 in | 30.5 × 30.5 cm | 3,600 × 3,600 px |
| 20 × 20 in | 50.8 × 50.8 cm | 6,000 × 6,000 px |
| 30 × 30 in | 76.2 × 76.2 cm | 9,000 × 9,000 px |
A sizes: A5 to A0
A sizes are the standard paper sizes outside North America. They all share one shape, 1:√2, and each is half the size of the one above it, so a single file covers the whole range.
| Size | Millimetres | Inches | Pixels at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | 5.8 × 8.3 in | 1,748 × 2,480 px |
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 8.3 × 11.7 in | 2,480 × 3,508 px |
| A3 | 297 × 420 mm | 11.7 × 16.5 in | 3,508 × 4,961 px |
| A2 | 420 × 594 mm | 16.5 × 23.4 in | 4,961 × 7,016 px |
| A1 | 594 × 841 mm | 23.4 × 33.1 in | 7,016 × 9,933 px |
| A0 | 841 × 1189 mm | 33.1 × 46.8 in | 9,933 × 14,043 px |
Ready-made frame sizes
In the US
| Frame | Centimetres |
|---|---|
| 4 × 6 in | 10.2 × 15.2 cm |
| 5 × 7 in | 12.7 × 17.8 cm |
| 8 × 10 in | 20.3 × 25.4 cm |
| 11 × 14 in | 27.9 × 35.6 cm |
| 12 × 16 in | 30.5 × 40.6 cm |
| 16 × 20 in | 40.6 × 50.8 cm |
| 18 × 24 in | 45.7 × 61 cm |
| 24 × 36 in | 61 × 91.4 cm |
In the UK and Europe
| Frame | Inches | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| 13 × 18 cm | 5.1 × 7.1 in | Close to 5:7 |
| 21 × 30 cm | 8.3 × 11.8 in | Takes an A4 print |
| 30 × 40 cm | 11.8 × 15.7 in | 3:4 |
| 40 × 50 cm | 15.7 × 19.7 in | 4:5 |
| 50 × 70 cm | 19.7 × 27.6 in | 5:7 |
| 61 × 91 cm | 24 × 35.8 in | 2:3, the same as 24 × 36 in |
| 70 × 100 cm | 27.6 × 39.4 in | The large poster size |
Frame sizes are the size of the opening for the print. With a mount, the print is smaller than the frame: an 8 × 10 in print is often mounted in an 11 × 14 in frame.
How many pixels a print needs
- 300 PPI for prints seen up close: anything on a desk, a shelf or a bedroom wall. Multiply each side in inches by 300.
- 150 to 200 PPI is usually enough for large posters seen from across a room.
- From centimetres, divide by 2.54 first: a 30 × 40 cm print at 300 PPI needs 3,543 × 4,724 px.
Which size to choose
The right size depends on the wall more than the print. Our wall art size guide covers how big art should be above a sofa, a bed or a fireplace. If you sell prints online, the Etsy print sizes guide covers which files to offer.
Questions
- What ratio is an 8 × 10 print?
- 4:5. So are 16 × 20 in, 24 × 30 in and 40 × 50 cm, which means one file prints all of them without cropping.
- What ratio are A sizes?
- Every A size is 1:√2, about 1:1.41. Each one is half the next size up, so a file made for A2 prints at A3, A4 or A5 without cropping.
- What ratio is 11 × 14?
- 11:14, a shape between 3:4 and 4:5. Few standard sizes share it apart from 22 × 28 in, so it usually needs a file of its own.
- How many pixels do I need to print 8 × 10 inches?
- 2,400 × 3,000 pixels at 300 PPI, the resolution for prints seen up close. Multiply each side in inches by 300.
- What is 50 × 70 cm in inches?
- About 19.7 × 27.6 inches. It is a 5:7 shape, the same as a 5 × 7 in print.
See every size on a real wall
Upload your work, add the size you plan to print, and it hangs at that size in 600 rooms at once. Free, no watermark, no account needed to start.
More guides: Wall art size guide, Art print sizes for Etsy.