What resolution do you need for a poster or banner?

June 20, 2026

Large prints do not always need 300 DPI, because people look at them from farther away. Use this guide to pick the right pixel size and avoid both blurry prints and giant files.

Viewing distance sets the DPI

Arm's length: 300 DPI. Across a room (posters, canvas): 150 DPI is plenty. Across a street (banners, billboards): 72–100 DPI looks sharp.

Pixel sizes for common formats

18 × 24 in at 150 DPI: 2700 × 3600 px. 24 × 36 in at 150 DPI: 3600 × 5400 px. A2 (420 × 594 mm) at 150 DPI: 2480 × 3508 px. A1 at 150 DPI: 3508 × 4961 px. A 3 × 6 ft banner at 100 DPI: 3600 × 7200 px.

Starting from a small image

A 1200 px photo will not fill a 24 × 36 poster. Upscale it 4x to 4800 px with AI, which restores detail instead of smearing pixels, then export at the target DPI.

Color mode and format

Ask your printer: digital large-format shops often prefer RGB JPG or TIFF, while offset shops ask for CMYK. Both exports are available from the same result.

Vector when it is a logo

If the artwork is a logo or lettering, vectorize it instead. A vector file prints sharp at any size with a tiny file.

Fixes blurry, small or pixelated images

HD Upscale