Photo 5×7 in pixels
1500 × 2100 px
at 300 DPI, the print standard · Photo 5×7 is 127 × 177.8 mm · 3.1 megapixels
Photo 5×7 at every resolution
A sheet of paper has no pixel size of its own. It has a physical size — 127 × 177.8 mm, or 5 × 7 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 | 360 × 504 | 0.2 MP | 0.5 MB | Screen only — visibly soft in print |
| 96 DPI | 480 × 672 | 0.3 MP | 0.9 MB | Screen only — visibly soft in print |
| 150 DPI | 750 × 1050 | 0.8 MP | 2.3 MB | Drafts, internal documents, large-format viewed from a distance |
| 200 DPI | 1000 × 1400 | 1.4 MP | 4.0 MB | Acceptable for office printing |
| 300 DPI | 1500 × 2100 | 3.1 MP | 9.0 MB | The commercial print standard |
| 400 DPI | 2000 × 2800 | 5.6 MP | 16 MB | Fine detail and small type |
| 600 DPI | 3000 × 4200 | 12.6 MP | 36 MB | Line art, technical drawings, archival scanning |
| 1200 DPI | 6000 × 8400 | 50.4 MP | 144 MB | Archival and reproduction work |
What the file size means for Photo 5×7
At 300 DPI an uncompressed Photo 5×7 is 9.0 MB, and at 600 DPI it is 36 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 9.0 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: 1500 px
Height: 2100 px
Resolution: 300 pixels/inch
Colour: CMYK for print, RGB for screen
Bleed: 3 mm on every edge → 1571 × 2171 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 5×7 in pixels?
There is no single answer — it depends on the resolution. At the print standard of 300 DPI, Photo 5×7 is 1500 × 2100 pixels. On screen at 72 DPI it is only 360 × 504.
What resolution should an Photo 5×7 document be?
300 DPI for anything going to a commercial printer, which makes the canvas 1500 × 2100 pixels. 150 DPI (750 × 1050) 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 6.8 MB of file.
How big is an Photo 5×7 file at 300 DPI?
About 9.0 MB uncompressed at 24-bit colour — 1500 × 2100 × 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 5×7 PDF is usually tens of megabytes.
How many megapixels is Photo 5×7 at 300 DPI?
3.1 megapixels. For comparison, Photo 5×7 at 600 DPI is 12.6 MP — quadruple, because doubling the resolution doubles both dimensions.
Photo 5×7 in millimetres, inches and points · All paper sizes · Screen resolutions