How big is an 8 × 10 print? Pet portrait print sizes explained

An 8 × 10 print is 8 inches wide and 10 inches tall when it hangs upright. That is 20.32 × 25.4 cm. It is the smallest of the four art print sizes Purrealism offers for a royal pet portrait. This guide gives all four sizes in inches and centimetres, shows the shape of each one, and explains what to check before you print or frame: the paper, the pixels and the mat.

How big is an 8 × 10 print?

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology defines one inch as exactly 25.4 mm, which is 2.54 cm. Multiply each side by 2.54 and you get the size in centimetres. Here are the four sizes you can choose in the portrait studio:

Print size	In centimetres	Shape	Paper area (square inches)
8 × 10 in	20.32 × 25.4 cm	4:5	80
12 × 16 in	30.48 × 40.64 cm	3:4	192
18 × 24 in	45.72 × 60.96 cm	3:4	432
24 × 36 in	60.96 × 91.44 cm	2:3	864

Paper area grows faster than the side lengths. A 12 × 16 print covers 2.4 times the paper of an 8 × 10. An 18 × 24 covers 5.4 times as much, and a 24 × 36 covers 10.8 times as much.

To see a size before you choose it, cut a sheet of newspaper or brown paper to the measurements in the table. Tape it to the wall or stand it on the shelf where the portrait will go, then look at it from where you usually sit.

What shape is each print size?

The shape of a print is its ratio: the two sides divided down to the smallest whole numbers. For 8 × 10, both numbers divide by 2, which gives 4:5. For 12 × 16 and 18 × 24, the result is 3:4. For 24 × 36, both numbers divide by 12, which gives 2:3.

So the four sizes come in three shapes:

• 4:5 (8 × 10 in): the width is 80 percent of the height. This is the widest shape of the four.
• 3:4 (12 × 16 in and 18 × 24 in): the width is 75 percent of the height.
• 2:3 (24 × 36 in): the width is two thirds of the height. This is the tallest and narrowest shape.

Shape matters when an image and the paper do not match. The image then has to be trimmed at the edges, or it needs blank borders. The 12 × 16 and 18 × 24 prints share one shape, so an image that fits one of them fits the other at a larger scale.

Which size suits which place in your home

An 8 × 10 inch print suits a desk, a bedside table or a shelf, where people see it up close. It is also easy to wrap and carry as a gift. For a memorial, it can stand on a shelf next to a collar or a name tag, as the guide on how to memorialize a pet describes.

A 12 × 16 inch print suits a wider shelf or a narrow wall, such as a hallway or the space beside a door.

An 18 × 24 inch print can hang on a wall by itself, for example above a desk or a dresser.

A 24 × 36 inch print suits a large, empty wall, such as the wall above a sofa or a bed. A portrait with a busy background has more room at the two larger sizes. The Rajput Warrior portrait in the gallery, for example, shows a dog in armour with a fort at sunset behind it.

Think about light when you choose the wall. The Canadian Conservation Institute advises keeping colour prints out of direct sunlight, so pick a wall that the sun does not reach.

Matte or glossy paper

Every print size comes on matte or glossy paper. Glossy paper has a shiny surface. Matte paper has a flat surface with no shine.

The difference shows up in how each surface reflects light. Florida State University's guide to light explains that a smooth surface reflects light at one definite angle, while a rough surface reflects light in all directions. A shiny print behaves like the smooth surface. From some places in the room, you may see a bright reflection of a lamp or a window on it. A matte surface spreads that light out.

If the portrait will face a window, or people will often see it from the side, matte paper is the easier choice. If the room has soft light and you like a shiny surface, glossy paper suits it.

How many pixels a photo needs to print sharply

A digital image is made of tiny squares of colour called pixels. When it is printed, those pixels are spread across the paper. The number of pixels in each inch of paper sets how much detail the print can show.

The University of Chicago Press gives 300 dpi as its standard print resolution for photographs. For a digital photo, dpi (dots per inch) means how many pixels sit along each inch of the printed paper. The press gives an example: an image with 900 pixels on its shortest side prints 3 inches wide on that side at 300 dpi.

Multiply each side of a print by 300 to get the pixels it needs:

Print size	Pixels needed at 300 per inch	Total pixels
8 × 10 in	2,400 × 3,000	7.2 million
12 × 16 in	3,600 × 4,800	17.28 million
18 × 24 in	5,400 × 7,200	38.88 million
24 × 36 in	7,200 × 10,800	77.76 million

To check a photo you already have, divide its width and height in pixels by 300. A photo of 3,000 × 4,000 pixels gives 10 × 13.3 inches, which covers an 8 × 10 print.

Purrealism also offers each portrait as a digital pack, a high-resolution download. If you ever print a digital file yourself, check its pixel size against the table first. For the photo of your pet that you add in the studio, the guide on how to photograph your pet for a portrait explains what makes a good picture.

What size frame and mat to use

A mat is a sheet of card with a window cut in it. It sits between the print and the glass. The Canadian Conservation Institute explains that, inside a frame, a window mat creates an air space that keeps the image from touching the glass. The Library of Congress gives the same advice for photographs: keep the photo off the glass, either with a window mat or with spacers in the frame.

The Canadian Conservation Institute lists these pre-cut mat and frame sizes: 8 × 10, 10 × 12, 14 × 18, 16 × 22, 22 × 28 and 28 × 36 inches. Here is how the four print sizes fit them. The border in the last column assumes the print sits in the centre.

Print size	Frame with room for a mat	Mat border on each side
8 × 10 in	10 × 12 in	1 in
8 × 10 in	14 × 18 in	3 in at the sides, 4 in at the top and bottom
12 × 16 in	14 × 18 in	1 in
12 × 16 in	16 × 22 in	2 in at the sides, 3 in at the top and bottom
18 × 24 in	22 × 28 in	2 in

An 11 × 14 inch frame is another choice for an 8 × 10 print. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's 4-H photography exhibit asks for 8 × 10 inch prints in an 11 × 14 inch mat, which leaves 1.5 inches at the sides and 2 inches at the top and bottom when the print is centred.

The Institute also says that the top and side borders of a mat are usually the same width, while the bottom border is made wider so the picture looks balanced.

A 24 × 36 inch print is too large for every size on that list. The biggest, 28 × 36 inches, is the same height as the print, so it leaves no room for a mat at the top and bottom. For the largest print, choose a frame bigger than 28 × 36 inches if you want a mat, or use spacers to keep it off the glass.