Scan settings
What your scanner setting actually produces
Pick the print in your hand and the setting on the scanner. Every number that combination produces is below, and the register at the foot holds all of them at once.
A 4 x 6 inch print scanned at 600 DPI gives you 2400 by 3600 pixels, which is 8.6 megapixels, and that is a proper archival master. It reprints at up to 8 x 12 inches with nothing lost.
Scan once at this setting, keep the master, and the job never needs doing again. Restoration software also works better here, because it can see the boundary between damage and picture clearly.
How large can a scan print?
Every scan has a ceiling, and it is set the moment you choose the resolution. The table redraws with the picker above.
| Quality grade | Largest print |
|---|---|
| Excellent (300 PPI) | 8 x 12 in |
| Very good (240 PPI) | 10 x 15 in |
| Wall display (150 PPI) | 16 x 24 in |
The rule behind every row
Pixels are inches multiplied by DPI on each side, and nothing else. A 4 by 6 inch print at 600 DPI is 2400 by 3600 pixels because 4 times 600 is 2400. That single sum produces every figure on this page, which is why nine separate pages for nine combinations was nine copies of one idea.
What changes between combinations is the judgement, not the arithmetic. At 300 DPI you get a faithful copy at the original size. At 600 DPI you get an archival master with room to reprint larger. At 1200 DPI you get a small print scanned as though it were a big one, which is the setting that rescues wallet photographs and damaged prints where the detail is the whole point.
The nine combinations, in one register
Each of these had its own page until 16 Sep 2026. Each of those addresses still works and now leads here.
| Print and setting | Pixels | MP | JPEG | TIFF | Largest reprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 x 6 print at 600 DPI | 2400 x 3600 | 8.6 | ~2.5 MB | ~24.7 MB | 8 x 12 in |
| 8 x 10 print at 600 DPI | 4800 x 6000 | 28.8 | ~8.2 MB | ~82.4 MB | 16 x 20 in |
| 8 x 10 print at 300 DPI | 2400 x 3000 | 7.2 | ~2.1 MB | ~20.6 MB | 8 x 10 in |
| 5 x 7 print at 300 DPI | 1500 x 2100 | 3.2 | ~0.9 MB | ~9 MB | 5 x 7 in |
| Polaroid (image area) at 600 DPI | 1860 x 1860 | 3.5 | ~1 MB | ~9.9 MB | 6.2 x 6.2 in |
| 4 x 6 print at 300 DPI | 1200 x 1800 | 2.2 | ~0.6 MB | ~6.2 MB | 4 x 6 in |
| Wallet photo at 1200 DPI | 3000 x 4200 | 12.6 | ~3.6 MB | ~36 MB | 10 x 14 in |
| 3 x 5 print at 600 DPI | 1800 x 3000 | 5.4 | ~1.5 MB | ~15.4 MB | 6 x 10 in |
| 5 x 7 print at 600 DPI | 3000 x 4200 | 12.6 | ~3.6 MB | ~36 MB | 10 x 14 in |
Which setting for which job
- 300 DPI for a print you only need to reproduce at its own size, on a screen or as a like for like reprint.
- 600 DPI for anything you care about. It is the floor for a master copy, and it gives restoration enough to work with.
- 1200 DPI for wallet photographs, small prints and anything damaged. Small originals are the case where resolution, not software, is what recovers the detail.
If you would rather be told than choose, the DPI advisor picks the setting from two questions, the pixel calculator covers any size not listed here, and the scanning guide covers the craft: the glass, the colour mode, the file format and the corrections to leave switched off.
Common questions
- How many pixels is a 4 x 6 photo at 600 DPI?
- 2400 x 3600 pixels, which is 8.6 megapixels. The arithmetic is inches multiplied by DPI on each side, so every combination on this page is the same sum.
- Is 300 DPI enough for scanning old photos?
- Only if the scan will never be enlarged, reprinted larger or restored. 300 DPI reproduces a print at its own size and leaves no headroom. 600 DPI is the sensible floor for anything you care about, and 1200 DPI for small or damaged prints where the detail is the point.
- What file size will my scan be?
- It depends on the combination. A 4 x 6 print at 600 DPI lands around 2.5 MB as a high quality JPEG or about 24.7 MB as an uncompressed TIFF master. Keep the TIFF for photographs that matter and export JPEGs for sharing.
- Why is there one page for scan settings instead of one per size?
- There used to be nine, one per combination, and each was the same four numbers with a different heading. They were merged into this picker on 16 Sep 2026 so the answer is complete in one place. Every one of those nine addresses still works and leads here.
Scan once, restore forever
These numbers future-proof the file. What the decades did to the print itself is the other half of the job, and that is what the repair wall is for.
