What resolution do you need for an 18x24" pet portrait?
An 18x24" pet portrait needs 5,400 × 7,200 pixels for a true 300 DPI print, or 3,600 × 4,800 pixels at a more forgiving 200 DPI. That is about a 39 MP camera if the photo needs no cropping.
Poster scale. Viewed from further away, so 200 DPI is genuinely acceptable here in a way it is not at 8x10.
- Inches
- 18 × 24
- Aspect ratio
- 3:4
- Pixels at 300 DPI
- 5,400 × 7,200
- Pixels at 200 DPI
- 3,600 × 4,800
Check your customer’s photo against 18x24"
Drop the file in. It is read on your device and never uploaded.
Drop a pet photo here
JPG, PNG, WebP or iPhone HEIC. You can paste from the clipboard too.
The photo is read on this device and never uploaded.
Will a phone photo print at 18x24"?
Here is where the cameras your customers actually own land at this size, with the crop to 3:4 already accounted for.
| Source | Pixels | DPI at 18x24" | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone main camera, 12 MP | 3,024 × 4,032 | 168 | Too small |
| iPhone 48 MP ProRAW / HEIF Max | 6,048 × 8,064 | 336 | Prints sharp |
| Recent Samsung Galaxy, 12 MP | 3,000 × 4,000 | 166 | Too small |
| Photo sent through WhatsApp | 1,200 × 1,600 | 66 | Too small |
| Instagram download | 1,080 × 1,350 | 56 | Too small |
| Entry-level DSLR, 24 MP | 4,000 × 6,000 | 222 | Acceptable framed |
Common mistakes at 18x24"
- Dividing raw pixels by inches. It ignores the crop to 3:4 and overstates the DPI, sometimes badly.
- Upscaling and calling it 300 DPI. Resampling a small file up to 5,400×7,200 produces a file with the right dimensions and none of the detail. The metadata says 300 DPI; the print says otherwise.
- Forgetting the DPI metadata entirely. Several print-on-demand services read the DPI field and will scale the image to suit it. A file with the right pixels but a 72 DPI tag can come back wrong.
- Accepting a messaging-app copy. WhatsApp and Messenger recompress to roughly 1200px on the long edge, which is 66 DPI at 18x24". Always ask for the original.
Every size, side by side
| Print size | Inches | Pixels at 300 DPI | Pixels at 200 DPI | Camera needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5x7" | 5 × 7 | 1,500 × 2,100 | 1,000 × 1,400 | 3.1 MP |
| 8x8" | 8 × 8 | 2,400 × 2,400 | 1,600 × 1,600 | 5.8 MP |
| 8x10" | 8 × 10 | 2,400 × 3,000 | 1,600 × 2,000 | 7.2 MP |
| A4 | 8.27 × 11.69 | 2,481 × 3,507 | 1,654 × 2,338 | 8.7 MP |
| 11x14" | 11 × 14 | 3,300 × 4,200 | 2,200 × 2,800 | 14 MP |
| 12x12" | 12 × 12 | 3,600 × 3,600 | 2,400 × 2,400 | 13 MP |
| 12x16" | 12 × 16 | 3,600 × 4,800 | 2,400 × 3,200 | 17 MP |
| A3 | 11.69 × 16.54 | 3,507 × 4,962 | 2,338 × 3,308 | 17 MP |
| 16x20" | 16 × 20 | 4,800 × 6,000 | 3,200 × 4,000 | 29 MP |
| 18x24" | 18 × 24 | 5,400 × 7,200 | 3,600 × 4,800 | 39 MP |
| 24x36" | 24 × 36 | 7,200 × 10,800 | 4,800 × 7,200 | 78 MP |
18x24" questions
- What resolution do you need for an 18x24" pet portrait?
- An 18x24" print needs 5,400x7,200 pixels for a true 300 DPI result, or 3,600x4,800 pixels at a more forgiving 200 DPI. That is roughly a 39 MP camera if the photo needs no cropping at all.
- Can an iPhone photo print at 18x24"?
- A standard 12 MP iPhone photo is 3024x4032 pixels, which gives about 168 DPI at 18x24" after cropping to the 3:4 aspect ratio. That is below 200 DPI, so this size should not be sold from a standard iPhone photo. Ask for a 48 MP capture or offer a smaller size.
- What aspect ratio is 18x24"?
- 18x24" is 3:4 (18 by 24 inches). A phone photo is 3:4, so no cropping is needed — this is the size that wastes the fewest pixels.
- Do I need to add bleed to an 18x24" print file?
- Only if your print provider asks for it. When they do, the standard is 0.125 inches on every edge, which makes the file 5,475x7,275 pixels at 300 DPI. Keep anything important well inside that margin, because the bleed area gets trimmed off.