DPI Checker
Drop in a photo to see its resolution and how sharp it prints, at every photo size and on mugs, blankets, canvas and posters. A sharp print needs 300 DPI up close, 150 on a wall and about 100 on fabric.
Drop image, or click to browseTap to choose a photo
JPG, PNG, HEIC, WEBP (up to 50MB)
The check runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded unless you choose to fix the photo.
Know the pixel size already? The print size chart works from the numbers.
What DPI means for a photo
DPI, or dots per inch, is how many of a photo’s pixels land on each inch of paper. A file doesn’t have a DPI of its own; it has pixels. The DPI appears when you choose a print size: divide the pixels along one side by the inches along that side.
So the same 3,000×2,400 photo is 300 DPI as a 10×8 and 150 DPI as a 20×16. The number saved in the file, often 72, is a label left by the camera or editor, and printers ignore it. That’s why the checker shows a DPI for every size rather than one number for the photo.
Resolution needed for each product
Typical print areas; suppliers vary by an inch or so. Pixels are listed short side first.
| Product | Print area | Sharp | Looks fine from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 oz mugSeen up close, in the hand | 3.5×8.5 in | Sharp1,050 × 2,550 px (300 DPI) | Looks fine from700 × 1,700 px (200 DPI) |
| OrnamentSeen up close, in the hand | 3×3 in | Sharp900 × 900 px (300 DPI) | Looks fine from600 × 600 px (200 DPI) |
| Photo puzzleSeen up close, in the hand | 10×14 in | Sharp3,000 × 4,200 px (300 DPI) | Looks fine from2,000 × 2,800 px (200 DPI) |
| T-shirt frontPrinted on fabric | 12×16 in | Sharp1,800 × 2,400 px (150 DPI) | Looks fine from1,200 × 1,600 px (100 DPI) |
| Throw pillowPrinted on fabric | 18×18 in | Sharp2,700 × 2,700 px (150 DPI) | Looks fine from1,800 × 1,800 px (100 DPI) |
| Baby blanketPrinted on fabric | 30×40 in | Sharp4,500 × 6,000 px (150 DPI) | Looks fine from3,000 × 4,000 px (100 DPI) |
| Photo blanketPrinted on fabric | 50×60 in | Sharp7,500 × 9,000 px (150 DPI) | Looks fine from5,000 × 6,000 px (100 DPI) |
| Metal printHung on a wall | 12×18 in | Sharp3,600 × 5,400 px (300 DPI) | Looks fine from1,800 × 2,700 px (150 DPI) |
| CanvasHung on a wall | 16×20 in | Sharp4,800 × 6,000 px (300 DPI) | Looks fine from2,400 × 3,000 px (150 DPI) |
| PosterHung on a wall | 18×24 in | Sharp5,400 × 7,200 px (300 DPI) | Looks fine from2,700 × 3,600 px (150 DPI) |
| Vinyl bannerRead from across a room | 24×48 in | Sharp2,400 × 4,800 px (100 DPI) | Looks fine from1,728 × 3,456 px (72 DPI) |
When a customer’s photo is too small
If you sell custom blankets, mugs or canvases on Etsy or through Printify or Printful, you know the order: the photo is a screenshot, a crop from a group shot, or something saved off Facebook, and it’s a fraction of the pixels the product needs. Printed as it is, it comes back blurry, and a blurry keepsake becomes a refund or a bad review.
Check it before you print. If the checker says it will look soft, ask the customer for the original file first: the photo in their camera roll is often far bigger than the one they sent. If that’s all there is, upscale it to the product’s size, and the print gets real detail instead of blur. The fix runs on the checker above, sized for the product you picked.
Doing this every week? Resly Studio upscales customer photos in batches, on credits that cost less per image.
DPI questions
How do I check the DPI of an image?
Drop it into the checker above. A file only has pixels; its DPI depends on how big you print it. Divide the pixels by the inches: a photo 3,000 pixels wide printed 10 inches wide is 300 DPI, and the same photo printed 20 inches wide is 150 DPI.
What DPI is good for printing?
300 DPI for anything seen up close, like photo prints, mugs and ornaments. Wall prints look fine from 150 DPI because they're seen from further away, and fabric like blankets and pillows hides detail in its texture, so 100–150 DPI is enough there.
Can I convert an image to 300 DPI?
Changing the DPI number in an editor only changes the label; the pixels stay the same, so the print looks the same. To print bigger at 300 DPI you need more pixels, which is what upscaling adds. Resly rebuilds the photo's detail with AI rather than just stretching the pixels, then delivers it at the size you need.
Why does my phone photo say 72 DPI?
Phones and most cameras write 72 into the file whatever the photo is. It means nothing for printing. A 12-megapixel phone photo (4,032×3,024 pixels) prints sharp at 300 DPI up to about 10×13 inches.
What resolution does a photo blanket need?
A 50×60 inch blanket looks good from about 100 DPI, which is 5,000×6,000 pixels, and great at 150. Most customer photos are far smaller: a 1,200-pixel photo is only about 20 DPI on a blanket, which is why they come out blurry.
Why does Printify or Printful say my image is low resolution?
Print-on-demand apps divide the image's pixels by the product's print area, the same way this checker does, and warn when the result drops below what prints cleanly. Upscaling the image to the product's size before you upload it clears the warning and, more to the point, the blur.