MINSULA PRINT LAB / FIELD NOTES

Connect pixel dimensions to print size

Pixels describe how much image information you have. Millimetres describe how much paper you want to cover. The relationship is pixels per inch, or PPI. A file's embedded DPI label does not decide its size in this studio: your width and height inputs do.

One sample, two print sizes

The original botanical sample is 1500 × 1200 pixels. At 100 × 80 mm, its width is 100 ÷ 25.4 = 3.937 inches, so 1500 ÷ 3.937 is 381 PPI. At 360 × 288 mm, the same pixels are spread across 14.173 inches, giving about 106 PPI.

Nothing about increasing the millimetre input creates extra original detail. The larger sample may be useful as a broad craft stencil, but fine edges or photographs can look softer. The studio displays a low-resolution notice below 150 PPI and a more cautious detail note below 300 PPI; these are practical signals, not print-quality guarantees.

Check both directions

If you unlock proportions and stretch a 1500 × 1200 pixel image to 100 × 200 mm, the horizontal resolution is still 381 PPI, but the vertical resolution falls to 152 PPI. The studio reports the lower value. The artwork is also visibly distorted, which resolution alone cannot fix.

Choose a better source when possible

1. Use the original export instead of a screenshot or messaging-app thumbnail.
2. Keep proportions locked unless distortion is intentional.
3. Make a small test print of a detailed area before committing to a large tiled job.

PNG, JPEG and WebP inputs are raster images. Transparency is composited onto white. The PDF embeds a high-quality JPEG raster; it does not vectorize the artwork or preserve transparent paper effects. Colour-managed professional proofing is outside this tool's scope.