16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
How many pixels for a 16 x 20 print?
For a sharp 16 x 20 print you need 4800 x 6000 pixels (28.8 megapixels) at 300 pixels per inch. At 200 PPI, 3200 x 4000 pixels still look sharp at arm's length, and 2400 x 3000 (150 PPI) is the usual floor for a print seen from a few feet away.
| Quality | Portrait (width x height) | Landscape | Megapixels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharp, 300 PPIPhoto quality, even held in the hand | 4800 x 6000 | 6000 x 4800 | 28.8 MP |
| Good, 200 PPILooks sharp at arm's length | 3200 x 4000 | 4000 x 3200 | 12.8 MP |
| Fair, 150 PPIFine on a wall, seen from a few feet away | 2400 x 3000 | 3000 x 2400 | 7.2 MP |
Check your photo for a 16 x 20 print
Drop in a photo or type its size in pixels. The photo is read on your device and never uploaded.
Your photo stays on this device: only its width and height are read, in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Or try an example
Add a photo or type its size to see how it prints at 16 x 20, and at every other common size.
Will it print sharp at 16 x 20?
How common image sizes print at 16 x 20, filling the paper. A 12 MP phone photo comes out at 189 PPI, fair, with 6% trimmed to fit.
| Image | At 16 x 20 | Trimmed to fit |
|---|---|---|
| 24 MP camera photo6000 x 4000 (24 MP) | Good250 PPI | 17% |
| 12 MP phone photo4032 x 3024 (12.2 MP) | Fair189 PPI | 6% |
| 4K video frame3840 x 2160 (8.3 MP) | Too low135 PPI | 30% |
| Full HD frame or screenshot1920 x 1080 (2.1 MP) | Too low67 PPI | 30% |
| Instagram portrait post1080 x 1350 (1.5 MP) | Too low67 PPI | None |
| Small web image1024 x 768 (0.79 MP) | Too low48 PPI | 6% |
| Early camera phone photo640 x 480 (0.31 MP) | Too low30 PPI | 6% |
The 16 x 20 shape and cropping
A 16 x 20 print has a 5:4 shape. 5:4 photos (Instagram's 4:5 portrait posts) fit it with nothing trimmed. Other shapes lose part of the picture to fill the paper:
- 4:3 (most phones): 6% trimmed
- 3:2 (most cameras): 17% trimmed
- 16:9 (video and widescreen): 30% trimmed
- 1:1 (square posts): 20% trimmed
To keep the whole photo, choose "fit" instead of "fill" when you order, and accept a white border, or pick a print size closer to the photo's shape.
If your photo is too small for 16 x 20
- Find a bigger copy. A photo saved from a chat, a social network or a web page is often a smaller copy of the original, which can have several times the pixels.
- Print smaller. The calculator above shows the largest size your photo prints sharp at.
- Upscale it. Pixelperfect redraws a 1024 x 768 web image at about 2370 x 1770 pixels, which takes it from 48 to 110 PPI at 16 x 20 (too low). That is the limit: the free plan returns about 4 megapixels, which reaches only about 114 PPI at 16 x 20, so for a print this size look for a larger original instead. The added detail is drawn by AI rather than recovered, so check small text and faces before you print. How AI upscaling works
16 x 20 print questions, answered
How many pixels is a 16 x 20 at 300 DPI?
What is the minimum resolution for a 16 x 20 print?
How many megapixels do I need for a 16 x 20 print?
Can I print a 16 x 20 from a phone photo?
Can upscaling make a small photo big enough for a 16 x 20?
Other print sizes
Printing smaller?
16 x 20 needs a large original. For prints up to about A4, an upscale can turn a small photo into one that looks sharp at arm's length. Your first 3 upscales each month are free.