Convert inches to pixels at any DPI
One inch is 300 pixels at print resolution and 96 pixels on screen. Type a measurement in inches, set your DPI, and see straight away how many pixels the file needs – from an eighth of an inch up to a 36-inch sheet.
Why convert inches to pixels?
Inches turn into pixels with a single multiplication: the measurement in inches times the DPI. At 300 DPI, the density print shops work in, one inch is 300 pixels, so a Letter sheet of 8.5 × 11 inches holds 2,550 × 3,300 pixels. On screen that same inch counts 96 pixels, the value set by the CSS specification [1].
DPI (dots per inch) is the one number you supply alongside the measurement, and it decides the answer. A quarter of an inch is 24 pixels on screen and 75 pixels in print, at exactly the same physical size.
The converter earns its keep when you are sending artwork to a print shop, selling files that buyers print themselves, or working from a brief written in inches inside software that counts in pixels.
Below you will find a table of 32 measurements at three densities, a table of paper sizes, a table of photo print sizes, and how to switch five programs to inches. The journey the other way is handled by the pixels to inches converter.
How to work out inches to pixels by hand
The formula holds one operation: pixels = inches × DPI. DPI states by definition how many pixels fall on a single inch, so the whole conversion comes down to that multiplication.
Take a 4 × 6 inch print at 300 DPI: the width is 4 × 300 = 1,200 pixels and the height is 6 × 300 = 1,800 pixels. Sent to a screen at 96 DPI, the same print occupies 384 × 576 pixels.
Fractions behave the same way: a 0.125 inch bleed at 300 DPI is 38 pixels, and a 0.75 inch margin is 225 pixels. The input accepts both a full stop and a comma, so 0.125 and 0,125 both work.
If your brief arrives in metric units instead, the same arithmetic is done by the centimeters to pixels converter and the millimeters to pixels converter.
An inch also holds exactly 72 typographic points, so one inch is 96 px on screen and 72 pt in typesetting at the same time. The points to pixels converter ties those two numbers together. US large format quotes sizes in feet, and a foot is twelve inches, so a 10 foot booth wall runs 120 inches. That form is handled by the feet to pixels converter.
How many pixels are in common inch measurements?
| Measurement | 96 DPI (screen) | 150 DPI | 300 DPI (print) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.125 in | 12 px | 19 px | 38 px |
| 0.25 in | 24 px | 38 px | 75 px |
| 0.5 in | 48 px | 75 px | 150 px |
| 0.75 in | 72 px | 113 px | 225 px |
| 1 in | 96 px | 150 px | 300 px |
| 1.25 in | 120 px | 188 px | 375 px |
| 1.5 in | 144 px | 225 px | 450 px |
| 2 in | 192 px | 300 px | 600 px |
| 2.5 in | 240 px | 375 px | 750 px |
| 3 in | 288 px | 450 px | 900 px |
| 3.5 in | 336 px | 525 px | 1,050 px |
| 4 in | 384 px | 600 px | 1,200 px |
| 4.25 in | 408 px | 638 px | 1,275 px |
| 5 in | 480 px | 750 px | 1,500 px |
| 5.5 in | 528 px | 825 px | 1,650 px |
| 6 in | 576 px | 900 px | 1,800 px |
| 7 in | 672 px | 1,050 px | 2,100 px |
| 7.5 in | 720 px | 1,125 px | 2,250 px |
| 8 in | 768 px | 1,200 px | 2,400 px |
| 8.5 in | 816 px | 1,275 px | 2,550 px |
| 9 in | 864 px | 1,350 px | 2,700 px |
| 10 in | 960 px | 1,500 px | 3,000 px |
| 11 in | 1,056 px | 1,650 px | 3,300 px |
| 12 in | 1,152 px | 1,800 px | 3,600 px |
| 14 in | 1,344 px | 2,100 px | 4,200 px |
| 16 in | 1,536 px | 2,400 px | 4,800 px |
| 17 in | 1,632 px | 2,550 px | 5,100 px |
| 18 in | 1,728 px | 2,700 px | 5,400 px |
| 20 in | 1,920 px | 3,000 px | 6,000 px |
| 24 in | 2,304 px | 3,600 px | 7,200 px |
| 30 in | 2,880 px | 4,500 px | 9,000 px |
| 36 in | 3,456 px | 5,400 px | 10,800 px |
The three densities cover three different jobs: 96 DPI is the screen, 150 DPI is enough for a poster seen from across a room, and 300 DPI is the density of photographic and offset printing.
How many pixels are in each paper size?
| Size | Inches | Millimeters | Pixels at 300 DPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | 8.5 × 11 | 216 × 279 | 2,550 × 3,300 |
| Legal | 8.5 × 14 | 216 × 356 | 2,550 × 4,200 |
| Tabloid (Ledger) | 11 × 17 | 279 × 432 | 3,300 × 5,100 |
| Half Letter | 5.5 × 8.5 | 140 × 216 | 1,650 × 2,550 |
| Executive | 7.25 × 10.5 | 184 × 267 | 2,175 × 3,150 |
| ANSI C | 17 × 22 | 432 × 559 | 5,100 × 6,600 |
| ANSI D | 22 × 34 | 559 × 864 | 6,600 × 10,200 |
| ANSI E | 34 × 44 | 864 × 1,118 | 10,200 × 13,200 |
| A4 in inches | 8.27 × 11.69 | 210 × 297 | 2,480 × 3,508 |
| A3 in inches | 11.69 × 16.54 | 297 × 420 | 3,508 × 4,961 |
Dimensions for the American sizes and the ANSI series come from ANSI/ASME Y14.1 [2]. The last two rows give A4 and A3 in inches, which is how they show up in North American software. Outdoor media sit outside that series and their sides come in feet or meters, where 20 feet is exactly 6.096 m, and the meters to pixels converter turns that figure into pixels.
How many pixels does a photo print need?
| Size in inches | Size in cm | Pixels at 300 DPI | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 × 2 | 5.1 × 5.1 | 600 × 600 | US passport and visa photograph |
| 2.5 × 3.5 | 6.4 × 8.9 | 750 × 1,050 | Trading card, portrait business card |
| 3.5 × 5 | 8.9 × 12.7 | 1,050 × 1,500 | Small album print |
| 4 × 6 | 10.2 × 15.2 | 1,200 × 1,800 | The most ordered print size, 10 × 15 cm in Europe |
| 5 × 7 | 12.7 × 17.8 | 1,500 × 2,100 | Desk frame print |
| 6 × 8 | 15.2 × 20.3 | 1,800 × 2,400 | Album enlargement |
| 8 × 10 | 20.3 × 25.4 | 2,400 × 3,000 | Portrait print, portfolio photograph |
| 8 × 12 | 20.3 × 30.5 | 2,400 × 3,600 | Enlargement in the camera aspect ratio |
| 9 × 12 | 22.9 × 30.5 | 2,700 × 3,600 | Wall art, smaller poster |
| 11 × 14 | 27.9 × 35.6 | 3,300 × 4,200 | Portrait with a mat board |
| 12 × 18 | 30.5 × 45.7 | 3,600 × 5,400 | Poster in the photo aspect ratio |
| 16 × 20 | 40.6 × 50.8 | 4,800 × 6,000 | Large wall print |
| 16 × 24 | 40.6 × 61.0 | 4,800 × 7,200 | Poster in the camera aspect ratio |
| 18 × 24 | 45.7 × 61.0 | 5,400 × 7,200 | Standard gallery poster |
| 20 × 30 | 50.8 × 76.2 | 6,000 × 9,000 | Large poster, canvas print |
| 24 × 36 | 61.0 × 91.4 | 7,200 × 10,800 | Cinema poster, the largest common print |
American labs quote print sizes in inches and European labs in centimeters, which is why both sit side by side here. The pixel column says how many pixels the file needs for the print to come out at 300 DPI.
Inch and pixel side by side
| Property | Inch (in) | Pixel (px) |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of unit | Physical, from the imperial system | Digital, a single point of an image |
| Value in CSS | 1 inch = 96 px | 1 px = 1/96 inch |
| Metric equivalent | 2.54 cm | 0.265 mm at 96 DPI |
| At 300 DPI | 1 inch = 300 px | 1 px = 0.0033 inch |
| Depends on density | No, the size is fixed | Yes, the size follows the DPI |
| Where it is quoted | Paper, prints, screen diagonals | Image files, stylesheets, interface mock-ups |
How to set inches in your program
Photoshop
Choose Image › Image Size and switch the unit next to width and height to inches. The neighbouring Resolution field holds the DPI Photoshop uses to turn inches into pixels.Illustrator
You pick the document unit when you create the file and change it later through Edit › Preferences › Units. Illustrator stores DPI for images embedded in the artwork.InDesign
Open Edit › Preferences › Units & Increments, then set the horizontal and vertical ruler units to inches. The change covers the rulers and every measurement field in the program.Procreate
You choose the unit as you create the canvas, and you change the size and DPI under Actions › Canvas › Crop and Resize. Changing DPI recalculates the canvas size in inches and leaves the pixel count untouched [3].Canva
Click Resize and pick inches from the unit list above the dimension fields. Print density is settled at export time, when you save a PDF for print.CSS and SVG
You can writewidth: 1indirectly in a stylesheet, and the browser converts it using the fixed rate of 96 pixels per inch, whatever the density of the display [1].
When will you need this conversion?
Artwork for a print shop
The brief arrives in inches at 300 DPI. A Letter sheet is 2,550 × 3,300 pixels, and a 0.125 inch bleed adds 38 pixels on every edge.Files buyers print themselves
The buyer downloads the file and prints it at home, so the size is quoted in inches together with the density. An 18 × 24 inch poster at 300 DPI is 5,400 × 7,200 pixels.A print from the lab
Before ordering a 5 × 7 inch print you check the file holds at least 1,500 × 2,100 pixels. Anything smaller the lab upscales on your behalf.Margins and borders
Margins are quoted in fractions of an inch. A 0.75 inch margin is 225 pixels at 300 DPI, and a 0.25 inch border is 75 pixels.
Convert other units to Pixels
Convert Inches to other units
Explore other unit converters
Sources
- CSS Values and Units Module Level 4 — W3C
- Paper size — Wikipedia
- Procreate Handbook – Canvas — Savage Interactive
Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.
Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team
Frequently asked questions
How many pixels are in one inch?
As many as the DPI you set. At 96 DPI an inch holds 96 pixels, at 150 DPI it holds 150, and at 300 DPI it holds 300. The figure of 96 applies on screen, because that is the number the CSS specification assigns to an inch.
Is 1 inch 300 pixels?
At 300 DPI it is, exactly. That density is the one used in photographic and offset printing, which is why files bound for a print shop are prepared in it. For screen work the same inch holds 96 pixels.
How many pixels is 8.5 x 11 inches?
A Letter sheet is 2,550 × 3,300 pixels at 300 DPI, 1,275 × 1,650 at 150 DPI, and 816 × 1,056 pixels at 96 DPI. Letter is the standard sheet across the United States and Canada, 6 mm wider and 18 mm shorter than A4.
How many pixels is a 4 x 6 inch photo?
A 4 × 6 inch print, 10 × 15 cm in metric, needs a file of 1,200 × 1,800 pixels at 300 DPI. At 200 DPI, 800 × 1,200 pixels will do, and such a print still looks good in an album held at arm’s length.
What is 2.5 inches in pixels?
2.5 inches is 240 pixels at 96 DPI, 375 pixels at 150 DPI, and 750 pixels at 300 DPI. The 2.5 × 3.5 inch format is the size of a trading card, so 750 × 1,050 pixels at print density.
What is 7 inches in pixels?
7 inches is 672 pixels at 96 DPI and 2,100 pixels at 300 DPI. Paired with a 5 inch side it makes a 5 × 7 inch print measuring 1,500 × 2,100 pixels.
How many pixels is an inch in CSS?
96 pixels. The CSS Values and Units specification states that 1in = 2.54cm = 96px, and that the pixel is the canonical unit for every absolute length. Writing width: 1in always yields 96 pixels, even on a display with 220 pixels per inch.
Do DPI and PPI mean the same thing?
When you are preparing graphics both abbreviations lead to the same arithmetic, which is why the field on this page is labelled DPI / PPI. The difference lies in the device: PPI describes the pixel density of a screen or a camera sensor, while DPI describes the ink dots a printer lays on paper.
What DPI should I use for printing?
Print shops work at 300 DPI for prints and anything read close up. A poster seen from a metre away looks right at 150 DPI, and a large-format banner at 72 DPI, because viewing distance grows with the format. The converter accepts any value from 1 to 2400.
How many pixels is 3 x 5 inches?
3 × 5 inches is 900 × 1,500 pixels at 300 DPI and 288 × 480 pixels at 96 DPI. That is the size of an index card, close to A6 in the metric series.
Do two 4 x 6 prints fit on an 8.5 x 11 sheet?
Yes. Two prints side by side take up 8 inches of width and the sheet offers 8.5. In height they take 6 inches against the sheet’s 11. A third print would call for another 6 inches of height, 12 in total, one inch more than the sheet has.
How many inches is A4?
A4 measures 8.27 × 11.69 inches, or 210 × 297 mm, which comes to 2,480 × 3,508 pixels at 300 DPI. North American software shows A4 in inches, which is why 8.27 turns up in the dimension fields rather than a round number.
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