A4 physical dimensions
A4 paper measures 210 × 297 mm, which is approximately 8.27 × 11.69 inches. The A-series relationship is defined by ISO 216. Rotating the page changes orientation, not dimensions.
A4 pixels at common sampling values
| Sampling | Portrait pixels | Approx. megapixels |
|---|---|---|
| 72 PPI | 595 × 842 | 0.50 MP |
| 96 PPI | 794 × 1123 | 0.89 MP |
| 150 PPI | 1240 × 1754 | 2.18 MP |
| 300 PPI | 2480 × 3508 | 8.70 MP |
| 600 PPI | 4961 × 7016 | 34.81 MP |
Values are rounded to the nearest whole pixel. Different software may round one dimension differently by one pixel.
How to calculate A4 pixel dimensions
At 300 PPI, the width is 2480.315 pixels and the height is 3507.874 pixels, which round to 2480 × 3508.
Which value should you choose?
Use the resolution appropriate for the job. A screen preview does not need a 600 PPI A4 bitmap. A close-viewed photo or detailed print commonly targets around 300 PPI. Line art and specialised reproduction may benefit from different workflows. Larger files also consume more memory and storage.
Why the printer creates PDF instead of a full-page bitmap
Actual Size Lab resamples only the placed image and embeds it onto a physical A4 PDF page. This avoids creating an unnecessarily huge full-page 600 PPI canvas when the requested image is small. It also preserves explicit page dimensions for the print dialog.