What DPI do you need for an A0 poster?
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For an A0 poster viewed from a normal distance, 150 DPI at final size is the working standard — that is 4,967 × 7,022 pixels. The often-quoted 300 DPI would need 9,933 × 14,043 pixels, about 139 megapixels, which almost no camera or export produces — and for a poster read from a few metres away, it would be wasted anyway. Viewing distance, not the rulebook number, decides what is sharp.
Written by Maciej Antosz, Production Manager at Silver Image London ·
“Is my file good enough for A0?” is a question we answer with a measurement, not an opinion — the same engine that powers our free preflight checker reads the pixel count and does the arithmetic. Here is that arithmetic in the open, run on the files people actually send.
What do real files measure at A0?
| Source file | Pixels | DPI at A0 | Engine verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24MP camera | 6,000 × 4,000 | 121 | Low at A0 — recommended maximum A1 |
| iPhone 12MP photo | 4,032 × 3,024 | 86 | Not recommended at A0 — recommended maximum A2 |
| A0-ready artwork at 150 DPI | 4,967 × 7,022 | 150 | Acceptable for large format viewed from distance |
| A0 at full 300 DPI | 9,933 × 14,043 | 300 | ≈139 MP — effectively only vector or studio composites get here |
Two things worth noticing in that table. A very good camera file is still only an A1 poster, not an A0 — and a phone photo tops out around A2. Neither of those is a failure; they are just the honest sizes at which the print will look sharp in hand.
Does viewing distance really change the requirement?
Yes, and it is the single most misunderstood part of poster work. DPI is pixels divided by physical size — but perceived sharpness is governed by how far the eye stands from the print. A brochure is read at arm’s length and deserves 300 DPI; an A0 poster on a wall is read from two to five metres, where 150 DPI looks identical to 300. For work that will be inspected up close — exhibition panels, photographic prints — our engine applies a stricter 200 DPI threshold before it recommends a size for close viewing.
How do you check your own file?
Drop it into the preflight checker. It reads the pixel dimensions in your browser — the file is never uploaded — and returns the effective DPI at every size from A6 to A0, a recommended maximum size, and a print-readiness score. It is the same calculation we run when a file arrives by email, just moved to your side of the send button.
What if the file falls short?
Three honest options, in the order we suggest them: print smaller (an A1 that is sharp beats an A0 that is soft); go back to the source for a bigger original — a vector logo or an original photo rather than a screenshot of one; or accept the softness knowingly where the poster hangs far from the viewer — sometimes the right call, but it should be a decision, not a surprise. What we will not do is quietly upscale a file and hope: artwork is checked before it goes on press. Details of the products themselves are on same day poster printing and large format printing, and the wider set-up rules are in the large format artwork guide.
Send the file, we will check it
Every job is preflighted before press — resolution, bleed, fonts, page size. If A0 will not hold up, you will hear it from us before it prints, with the size that will.
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