Flyers · Glossary
What DPI should a flyer be?
Aim for 300 DPI at the finished size, which is what most print shops ask for and gives crisp type and photographs at reading distance. For A4 that means 2,480 by 3,508 pixels. About 150 DPI, 1,240 by 1,754 pixels for A4, is the practical floor for photographs held at arm's length; below that, prints start to look soft.
Resolution advice online splits between people quoting 300 as a rule and people saying it is overkill. Both have a point, and the useful answer depends on what is in the file and who is printing it.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published · Updated
| Density | Pixels | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| 72 DPI | 595 x 842 | Screen only, too soft to print |
| 150 DPI | 1240 x 1754 | Photographs viewed at arm's length; the flyer builder's editing canvas |
| 300 DPI | 2480 x 3508 | What most print shops ask for, and what an A4 export from the builder comes out at |
Where 300 comes from
Three hundred dots per inch is roughly the limit of detail the eye can resolve on a page held at reading distance, about 30 centimetres. That is why it became the standard for photographic and commercial print, and why print shops quote it: a file at 300 DPI will never be the reason a job looks soft. A flyer is usually held a little further away than a photo book, so 150 DPI photographs rarely look bad, but small type and fine lines show the difference first, and a flyer is full of both.
Where resolution actually goes wrong
In the photographs placed on the page, not in the export setting. A picture uploaded at 400 pixels wide and stretched across half an A4 page is effectively about 100 DPI at that size, and it will look soft however the page is exported, because the detail was never there. Check the pixel width of each photograph against the width it will print at: for a photo 105 millimetres wide, half of A4, 300 DPI needs about 1,240 pixels and 150 DPI about 620. Getting the source images right fixes most disappointing prints.
What the flyer builder exports
The builder edits on a canvas sized at 150 DPI, 1,240 by 1,754 pixels for A4, which keeps dragging and resizing smooth. Exports are rendered at twice that size, so an A4 page comes out at 2,480 by 3,508 pixels, exactly 300 DPI at A4, as a PNG, a JPG at quality 95 or a PDF. The text is not vector in any of them: the PDF embeds each page as that 300 DPI image, so its text cannot be selected or searched, but at 300 DPI lettering is sharp at normal reading distance. Exports are RGB, with no bleed and no CMYK conversion, so tell the shop that when you send the file.
What to ask the printer
Three questions cover it. What resolution do you want at the finished size, and is 300 DPI in RGB acceptable. Do you need bleed and crop marks, which this export does not add. And do you want a PDF or an image file. Most shops accept an RGB PDF and convert it for press; asking first avoids a file being bounced back on the day of the job. For anything colour critical, ask for a printed proof.
Common mistakes
Upscaling a small photograph to reach 300 DPI, which adds pixels but no detail. Exporting at a higher density than the source images support and expecting it to sharpen them. Confusing DPI in a file's metadata with the actual pixel count, which is the only number that matters for print. And judging print sharpness from a zoomed screen view, when the test is the printed page at arm's length.
Questions people ask
Will a printer accept a 150 DPI flyer?
Many will, with a warning, because their preflight checks are written for 300. For a flyer read at arm's length, photographs at 150 DPI usually look acceptable, but small text and thin lines lose crispness. If the choice is yours, supply 300 DPI at the finished size and the question never comes up.
Why does my photo look soft in the print?
Almost always because the source image had too few pixels for the size it printed at, not because of the export setting. A photo that is 600 pixels wide printed at 100 millimetres is about 150 DPI; at 200 millimetres it is about 76. Replace it with a larger original rather than exporting at a higher density.
Should I export at a higher density just in case?
Only up to what your source material supports. Exporting beyond the resolution of your photographs makes a larger file without adding detail. At 300 DPI at the finished size you meet what most shops ask for, and going higher mainly slows uploads and preflight checks.
Does DPI affect the printed colours?
No. Resolution and colour are separate. Colour differences between screen and print come from the conversion from screen RGB to printing inks, and from paper stock. An RGB file at any resolution will be converted by the shop; ask for a proof if an exact brand colour matters.
Is DPI the same as PPI?
Strictly, no. PPI is pixels per inch in the file, and DPI is ink dots per inch on the press. In everyday use, and in most print shop specifications, DPI is used to mean PPI, and what they are asking for is enough pixels at the finished size.
Make one with flyers
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Create a flyer with OneCraftRelated questions
- What is bleed?What is bleed in printing: extra artwork past the trim line so an imperfect cut leaves no white edge. How much to add, how to set it up, and when to skip it.
- A4 flyer size in pixels at 72, 150 and 300 DPIAn A4 flyer is 2480 x 3508 pixels at 300 DPI, 1240 x 1754 at 150 DPI and 595 x 842 at 72 DPI. A4 is 210 x 297 mm or 8.27 x 11.69 inches.
- PNG vs JPG: which to usePNG vs JPG: PNG compresses without losing detail and supports transparency, JPG shrinks photos by discarding detail. Which suits flyers, posters and print.
- CMYK vs RGB: why printed colours look differentCMYK vs RGB: RGB mixes light for screens, CMYK mixes ink for paper, and ink cannot reach every screen colour. What shifts in print and how to limit it.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .