Canvas Resolution Calculator — Pixels for Print Size

PPI (pixels per inch) is the image resolution — how many of your artwork’s pixels land in each printed inch, and it is what this calculator works in. DPI (dots per inch) describes the printer hardware: the density of ink dots it sprays, e.g. an Epson inkjet at 1440 or 2880 dpi. A printer lays down many ink dots to reproduce a single image pixel, so the two figures are not interchangeable. People often say "DPI" when they mean PPI; for sizing a canvas, PPI is the correct quantity.

300 PPI is the standard for high-quality print at normal viewing distance. 150 PPI is acceptable for large prints (posters, banners) viewed from further away. 72 PPI is screen-only. For fine-art giclée printing some artists work at 360 PPI to match the native resolution of Epson photo printers (Canon photo printers are native 300 PPI).

Divide the size in cm by 2.54 to get inches, then multiply by your PPI. For example, 30 cm at 300 PPI: 30 ÷ 2.54 = 11.81 inches × 300 = 3,543 pixels.

8-bit is standard and sufficient for most digital art. 16-bit gives smoother gradients and more editing headroom but doubles the uncompressed file size. 32-bit is used for HDR compositing and special effects — file sizes are enormous (quadruple 8-bit). Note this calculator reports the uncompressed pixel-data size; PNG, JPEG and most working files on disk are smaller once compressed.

This depends on your RAM. As a guide: 8 GB RAM handles up to about 8,000 × 8,000 px comfortably in Photoshop. 16 GB handles 12,000 × 12,000 px. Procreate on iPad limits the maximum layer count based on canvas size and device, so larger canvases give you fewer layers.

AI upscaling tools like Topaz Gigapixel can upscale 2–4× with decent quality. However, starting at the correct resolution always produces a sharper result than upscaling after the fact. Decide your final print size first, set the canvas to match (size × PPI), and paint at full resolution.