Guide

300 DPI print-ready files, explained properly

“Print-ready” gets thrown around a lot and means something very specific: the right pixel count for the size, composed for the ratio, with bleed where the provider needs it. Here's the maths, the ratios worth selling, and where AI files fall short.

Export a real master POD file specs

The maths

Pixels you need at 300 DPI

Inches × 300 = pixels. That's the whole formula. It's also why a 1024 px AI image is a 3.4 inch print.

Print sizes with their ratio and required pixel dimensions at 300 DPI
Print size	Ratio	Pixels at 300 DPI
5×7 in	5:7	1500 × 2100
8×10 in	4:5	2400 × 3000
11×14 in	11:14	3300 × 4200
12×18 in	2:3	3600 × 5400
18×24 in	3:4	5400 × 7200
24×36 in	2:3	7200 × 10800
A3	A-series	3508 × 4961
A2	A-series	4961 × 7016

Try it

Check any size before you list it

Step 1 · Pick a ratio

The Etsy bestseller. Include it in every listing.

Step 2 · Pick a size

Step 3 · Output settings

Export spec

7,275 × 10,875 px

Print size: 24 × 36 in
Metric: 610 × 914 mm
Density: 300 DPI
Bleed: 0.125 in each edge
Megapixels: 79.1 MP

Most common poster size

Composition

Compose for the ratio, then crop from the master

A square AI image, the format most general AI tools return — What generic AI returns
Square, screen resolution. Crop it to 2:3 and you lose a third of the image — usually the part that made it work.

The same artwork composed for a 2:3 print ratio at 300 DPI — What DecoDrop composes for
Composed for the ratio from the start, upscaled to a real 300 DPI master, with a safe margin inside the trim line.

DPI on its own means nothing

A file is not “300 DPI”; a file is a pixel count. 300 DPI is only true at a specific print size. 3000 × 3000 px is 300 DPI at 10×10 in and 100 DPI at 30×30 in — same file.

Upscaling adds pixels, not information

A good model invents plausible detail and that is often enough for wall art viewed from two metres. It cannot recover a texture that was never captured, so start as large as the generator allows.

Bleed is extra image, not extra canvas

Providers trim slightly inside the sheet. Bleed means the artwork extends past the trim line so no white edge appears. Keep anything important inside a safe margin.

Crop from a master, never from a crop

Each ratio should be cut from the same full-resolution master. Cropping a crop compounds the losses and drifts the composition across sizes.

The ratio set DecoDrop exports

Every one of these is cut from the same 300 DPI master, with a safe margin inside the trim line.

2:3
12×18 · 16×24 · 20×30 · 24×36 in
3:4
12×16 · 18×24 in
4:5
8×10 · 16×20 in
5:7
5×7 · 10×14 in
11:14
11×14 · 22×28 in
A-Series
A4 · A3 · A2 in

The honest version

Why AI output isn't print-ready by default

Every general generator optimises for a screen. Nothing in that pipeline knows what size you intend to sell.

Generic AI hands you a square

ChatGPT, Midjourney and Canva's generator return a screen-sized image — often 1:1 or 16:9.

DecoDrop treats the ratio as the starting point: 2:3, 3:4, 4:5, 5:7, 11×14 and A-series, each cropped from one 300 DPI master so nothing important gets cut off.

Generic AI gives you one image

Prompt again and you get a different palette, a different light, a different world.

DecoDrop generates a coordinated collection in a single run — same palette, same treatment — because buyers shop sets, not singles.

Generic AI stops at the file

You still have to upscale, resize, mock up and rename before anything can be listed.

DecoDrop continues into room mockups, vendor-ready print packs with bleed, and SKU-named files you can upload straight to Printify, Printful or Gelato.

FAQ

Common questions

What does 300 DPI actually mean for a poster?

Multiply the print size in inches by 300 to get the pixels you need. A 24x36 inch poster at 300 DPI is 7200 x 10800 pixels. If your file is smaller than that, the printer will either refuse it or print it soft.

Can you upscale an AI image for printing?

Yes. Modern upscalers reconstruct convincing detail, and wall art is forgiving because it is viewed from a distance. What upscaling cannot do is recover detail that was never generated, so composing at the target ratio and upscaling once from the largest available source gives the best result.

Which print ratios should I sell?

2:3 covers the most common poster sizes and is the safest default. Add 3:4 and 4:5 for framed prints, 11x14 for the US framing standard, and A-series if you sell to Europe or Australia. Selling all of them from one master avoids maintaining separate artwork per size.

Next steps

Where these files go next

Workflow

Stop hand-checking pixel counts

DecoDrop upscales once, then exports every ratio at the right size with the bleed already applied.

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