Print & resolution guides

Short, practical explanations of the terms behind print quality — written for people who just want to print a photo, not become printing engineers.

What you'll learn

These guides build on each other, but each one works on its own. Start with the concepts, then use the calculators to apply them to your own photo.

Understanding DPI and PPI

Guide

What is DPI?

What DPI really stands for, how it differs from PPI, and which one matters for printing photos.

Answers: What does DPI mean, and why isn't it the same as resolution?

Guide

DPI vs PPI

The two terms explained side by side, with a clear table of what each one measures.

Answers: Are DPI and PPI the same thing?

Choosing print resolution

Guide

Best DPI for printing

Practical resolution targets for photos, posters and documents, based on viewing distance.

Answers: What resolution should I use for my print?

Understanding print size

Guide

How large can I print my photo?

A plain-English walkthrough of the whole question, with a quick reference table.

Answers: How big can I print my photo before it looks soft?

Not sure where to start?

How large can your image be printed?

Skip the theory and find out directly: upload your photo to the print size calculator and see exactly how large it can print, plus a quality verdict for your viewing distance.

Try the print size calculator

Tools

Put it into practice

Print size calculator

Upload an image and see how large it can print.

Print quality checker

Will it print well at the size you want?

Pixels to inches

Convert any pixel dimensions to a print size.