Skip Menu. Navigate to content in this page
Accessibility Assistance, opens A D A page

File Size and Pixel Requirements

The size of your file is a helpful measurement to determine how large we can make a print without it becoming distored or pixelated. 

Below are recommended file requirement in order to produce a high resolution print with good clarity. 

Size Guidelines

 Canvas Size  Minimum File Size   Minimum Pixels
8x10 100kb 640x640
11x14 200kb 720x960
16x20 1mb 960x641
20x24 1.4mb 1920x1080
24x36 1.5mb 1448x2170
30x40 3mb 1600x1200
40x60 4.5mb 3456x5184

How do I check my file size?

Knowing your file size will help to troubleshoot whether or not your image file is the optimal size for enlarging onto canvas.  File size can help indicate whether or not you have the largest version of your file available.  

iPhone

To check the file size on your iPhone you will need to do a little bit of a work around, as there is no quick and easy way that we have found to check file size.

  1. Click on the “photos” app
  2. Select “photos” at the bottom left of the screen
  3. Scroll through and choose your desired photo
  4. Click the square box that has an up arrow located in the bottom left corner
  5. Choose to mail your image
  6. Compose an email to yourself (please note that you will not actually need to email your image)
  7. A pop up menu will appear, listing the options for how to send the image.  Look for the “actual size” listing, this gives you the size of the file!
  8. Once you have the file information you can cancel the email.  You will need to select cancel on the size pop up, and cancel on the new message.  You may need to delete draft as well, and then cancel sharing your photo in order to get back to the main screen of the photo app.

Android Phones:

  1. Open up the app, Photos or Gallery.
  2. Select the photo with a single tap
  3. Tap on the “I” icon at the bottom of the screen to bring up the image’s info
  4. Right below the file name (usually a string of numbers with .jpg at end) it will list three sets of numbers: The first set will be the megapixels (example: 12.2MP).  Second will be the dimensions in pixels (example: 3024x4032).  Third is the file size (example: 3.2MB)

Windows Computer:

  1. Locate the image file through Windows Explorer
  2. Right-click on the image and select Properties.
  3. The first tab displayed, General, will show the file size of the image, as Size, right below Location.
  4. To find the pixels, first click on the Details tab.
  5. Under the Image heading, the Dimensions will be listed in pixels.

Mac OSX:

  1. If you have a 2-button mouse, right click on the image file. If you have a single-button mouse, “control-click” on the image. This will bring up a menu box.
  2. Click on “Get Info”.
  3. The file size will be listed in the top-right of the box.
  4. Pixel size will be listed under the “More Info” section as “Dimensions”.

Can I up-rez my small file?

We have found that uprezzing a small file does not typically enable us to successfully enlarge the image.  Our experience is that the file is still soft or pixelated when we attempt to enlarge an uprezzed file to the desired canvas size. Your best bet is to investigate if you have the largest file available. If you do have the largest size available then we will need a new image to work with.

I have a physical print, can I mail in my photo?

If you have a physical photograph you want to use, we recommend having the image scanned as a jpeg file at a resolution of 600 DPI in order to get the best quality photo to us. Your local printing company, FedEx/Kinkos, or Office Depot are some of the places where you can get your image scanned.

If you have a negative you would like to print, we recommend contacting your local photography shop and having them create a digital file for you.

Return to Main Image Quality Page