Photo 16×20 in pixels
4800 × 6000 px
at 300 DPI, the print standard · Photo 16×20 is 406.4 × 508 mm · 28.8 megapixels
Photo 16×20 at every resolution
A sheet of paper has no pixel size of its own. It has a physical size — 406.4 × 508 mm, or 16 × 20 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 | 1152 × 1440 | 1.7 MP | 4.7 MB | Screen only — visibly soft in print |
| 96 DPI | 1536 × 1920 | 2.9 MP | 8.4 MB | Screen only — visibly soft in print |
| 150 DPI | 2400 × 3000 | 7.2 MP | 21 MB | Drafts, internal documents, large-format viewed from a distance |
| 200 DPI | 3200 × 4000 | 12.8 MP | 37 MB | Acceptable for office printing |
| 300 DPI | 4800 × 6000 | 28.8 MP | 82 MB | The commercial print standard |
| 400 DPI | 6400 × 8000 | 51.2 MP | 146 MB | Fine detail and small type |
| 600 DPI | 9600 × 12000 | 115.2 MP | 330 MB | Line art, technical drawings, archival scanning |
| 1200 DPI | 19200 × 24000 | 460.8 MP | 1.29 GB | Archival and reproduction work |
What the file size means for Photo 16×20
At 300 DPI an uncompressed Photo 16×20 is 82 MB, and at 600 DPI it is 330 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 82 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: 4800 px
Height: 6000 px
Resolution: 300 pixels/inch
Colour: CMYK for print, RGB for screen
Bleed: 3 mm on every edge → 4871 × 6071 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 Photo 16×20 in pixels?
There is no single answer — it depends on the resolution. At the print standard of 300 DPI, Photo 16×20 is 4800 × 6000 pixels. On screen at 72 DPI it is only 1152 × 1440.
What resolution should an Photo 16×20 document be?
300 DPI for anything going to a commercial printer, which makes the canvas 4800 × 6000 pixels. 150 DPI (2400 × 3000) 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 62 MB of file.
How big is an Photo 16×20 file at 300 DPI?
About 82 MB uncompressed at 24-bit colour — 4800 × 6000 × 3 bytes. Compression brings that down a great deal for flat artwork and very little for a photograph, which is why a print-ready Photo 16×20 PDF is usually tens of megabytes.
How many megapixels is Photo 16×20 at 300 DPI?
28.8 megapixels. For comparison, Photo 16×20 at 600 DPI is 115.2 MP — quadruple, because doubling the resolution doubles both dimensions.
Photo 16×20 in millimetres, inches and points · All paper sizes · Screen resolutions