What resolution do you need for a 20x24" memorial portrait?
A 20x24" memorial portrait needs 6,000 × 7,200 pixels for a true 300 DPI print, or 4,000 × 4,800 pixels at a more forgiving 200 DPI. That is about a 43 MP camera if the photograph needs no cropping.
The classic easel portrait for a service — the one on a stand at the front, next to the flowers. Ask the funeral home which size their easels take before ordering; this is the most common answer.
- Inches
- 20 × 24
- Aspect ratio
- 5:6
- Pixels at 300 DPI
- 6,000 × 7,200
- Pixels at 200 DPI
- 4,000 × 4,800
Check your photograph against 20x24"
Drop the file in. It is read on your own computer and never uploaded.
Drop the photograph here
JPG, PNG, WebP or iPhone HEIC. You can paste one from the clipboard too — a photo saved from a message works.
The photograph is read on this device and never uploaded.
What each kind of photograph gives you at 20x24"
The crop to 5:6 is already taken off these figures, which is why they are lower than dividing pixels by inches. If you know roughly how many megapixels the photograph is but not its pixel dimensions, start from what you can print from a 12 MP photo — the size nearly every phone saves — or compare every megapixel count against every print size.
| Where it came from | Pixels | DPI at 20x24" | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A photo saved from Facebook | 1,536 × 2,048 | 76 | Soft at this size |
| A photo sent by WhatsApp at standard quality | 1,200 × 1,600 | 60 | Soft at this size |
| A 6x4 print scanned at 300 DPI | 1,200 × 1,800 | 60 | Soft at this size |
| A 6x4 print scanned at 600 DPI | 2,400 × 3,600 | 120 | Soft at this size |
| A 12 MP phone photo | 3,024 × 4,032 | 151 | Soft at this size |
| An iPhone 15 or later at its default 24 MP | 4,284 × 5,712 | 214 | Fine framed |
| An iPhone at 48 MP, full resolution | 6,048 × 8,064 | 302 | Sharp |
| A camera, 24 MP | 4,000 × 6,000 | 200 | Fine framed |
What usually goes wrong at 20x24"
- Using a copy saved from Facebook or a message. Facebook keeps at most 2,048px on the long edge, which is 76 DPI at 20x24"; WhatsApp at standard quality sends about 1,600px. The original on somebody’s phone is usually several times larger. This is one of the most common reasons a photograph will not print, and one message asking for the original often fixes it.
- Dividing raw pixels by inches. It ignores the crop to 5:6 and overstates the resolution, sometimes badly. Every figure on this page has the crop taken off already.
- Scanning at 300 DPI and expecting a bigger print. A 6x4 print scanned at 300 DPI is only 1800px on the long edge. Scanning the same print at 600 DPI doubles that and costs nothing but a setting, so scan high the first time — the print may go back in an album.
- Losing the DPI tag. Some printers and layout programs size the picture from the DPI field, so a file with the right pixels but a 72 DPI tag can come out the wrong size. Every file this site produces has the DPI written into it as well as into its name.
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 20x24" | 20 × 24 | 6,000 × 7,200 | 4,000 × 4,800 | 43 MP |
| 24x36" | 24 × 36 | 7,200 × 10,800 | 4,800 × 7,200 | 78 MP |
Questions
20x24" questions
- What resolution do you need for a 20x24" memorial portrait?
- Count on 6,000x7,200 pixels to hold a true 300 DPI at this size, or 4,000x4,800 if 200 DPI will do — and for a framed portrait it usually will. Uncropped, the first of those is the work of about a 43 MP camera. Both figures have the trim to 5:6 taken off already.
- Can a phone photo print at 20x24"?
- A standard 12 MP phone photo is 3024x4032 pixels, which comes to about 151 DPI at 20x24" once it is cropped to 5:6. That is below 200 DPI, so it will look visibly soft at this size. A smaller print from the same photograph will look better than a large soft one.
- What aspect ratio is 20x24"?
- 5:6, from 20 by 24 inches. Phones shoot 3:4, so reaching 5:6 means giving up some of the edges, and that is precisely why the working resolution comes in under what the raw pixel count promises.
- Is 20x24" the right size for a funeral?
- The classic easel portrait for a service — the one on a stand at the front, next to the flowers. Ask the funeral home which size their easels take before ordering; this is the most common answer.
- Do I need to add bleed to a 20x24" print file?
- Usually not — a portrait destined for a frame rarely needs any, and most shops will not ask. Where one does, expect the usual 0.125 inches all round, taking the file to 6,075x7,275 pixels at 300 DPI. Leave the face comfortably clear of that outer band, since it gets cut away.