ARCH C in pixels
5400 × 7200 px
at 300 DPI, the print standard · ARCH C is 457.2 × 609.6 mm · 38.9 megapixels
ARCH C at every resolution
A sheet of paper has no pixel size of its own. It has a physical size — 457.2 × 609.6 mm, or 18 × 24 inches — and a pixel count only appears once you choose how many pixels go in each inch.
| Resolution | Pixels | Megapixels | Uncompressed 24-bit | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 DPI | 1296 × 1728 | 2.2 MP | 6.4 MB | Screen only — visibly soft in print |
| 96 DPI | 1728 × 2304 | 4.0 MP | 11 MB | Screen only — visibly soft in print |
| 150 DPI | 2700 × 3600 | 9.7 MP | 28 MB | Drafts, internal documents, large-format viewed from a distance |
| 200 DPI | 3600 × 4800 | 17.3 MP | 49 MB | Acceptable for office printing |
| 300 DPI | 5400 × 7200 | 38.9 MP | 111 MB | The commercial print standard |
| 400 DPI | 7200 × 9600 | 69.1 MP | 198 MB | Fine detail and small type |
| 600 DPI | 10800 × 14400 | 155.5 MP | 445 MB | Line art, technical drawings, archival scanning |
| 1200 DPI | 21600 × 28800 | 622.1 MP | 1.74 GB | Archival and reproduction work |
What the file size means for ARCH C
At 300 DPI an uncompressed ARCH C is 111 MB, and at 600 DPI it is 445 MB — four times as much, because doubling the resolution doubles both dimensions. That squaring is the reason large formats become unwieldy so quickly: the same 300 DPI that produces a manageable file at small sizes produces 111 MB here.
If a file is going to a printer, ask what they want before choosing. 300 DPI is the safe default and 150 is often enough for anything read from more than arm's length.
Setting up the canvas
Width: 5400 px
Height: 7200 px
Resolution: 300 pixels/inch
Colour: CMYK for print, RGB for screen
Bleed: 3 mm on every edge → 5471 × 7271 pxThe bleed figure is the one people forget: artwork that runs to the edge must extend 3 mm past it on all four sides, so the working canvas is larger than the finished sheet.
Frequently asked questions
What is ARCH C in pixels?
There is no single answer — it depends on the resolution. At the print standard of 300 DPI, ARCH C is 5400 × 7200 pixels. On screen at 72 DPI it is only 1296 × 1728.
What resolution should an ARCH C document be?
300 DPI for anything going to a commercial printer, which makes the canvas 5400 × 7200 pixels. 150 DPI (2700 × 3600) is acceptable for a draft or an internal document. Large formats read from a distance can go lower — a poster viewed from two metres looks sharp at 150 DPI, and dropping to it here saves 83 MB of file.
How big is an ARCH C file at 300 DPI?
About 111 MB uncompressed at 24-bit colour — 5400 × 7200 × 3 bytes. Compression brings that down a great deal for flat artwork and very little for a photograph, which is why a print-ready ARCH C PDF is usually tens of megabytes.
How many megapixels is ARCH C at 300 DPI?
38.9 megapixels. For comparison, ARCH C at 600 DPI is 155.5 MP — quadruple, because doubling the resolution doubles both dimensions.
ARCH C in millimetres, inches and points · All paper sizes · Screen resolutions