What Size Should You Print Your Black and White Photos?
Choosing a print size sounds simple until you are staring at a list of fourteen options. The good news: three questions will get you to the right size almost every time. Where will the print be used? What shape is your photo? And will it go in a frame?
1. Start with where the print will live
| Where it will be used | Good sizes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Held in the hand, album, keepsake box | 3½x5, 4x5, 4½x6 & 4x6 | Personal and easy to pass around |
| Desk, shelf, bedside table | 5x7, 5x5 | Big enough to see across a table |
| Wall, single print | 8x10, 8x12, 10x15 | Holds its own from a few feet away |
| Wall, gallery grid | 5x5, 5x7 or 8x10 in a set | A group reads as one larger piece |
| Portfolio or review | 8x10, 8½x11, 10x12 | Standard sleeve and box sizes |
| Statement piece over a sofa or bed | 10x15 and larger | See the note on big prints below |
Black and white is especially good small. Without color pulling the eye, a 4x6 or 5x7 print becomes an intimate object, and a grid of small prints looks deliberate on a wall.
2. Match the size to your photo’s aspect ratio
Every camera captures a certain shape, called the aspect ratio.
Definition of aspect ratio: the proportional relationship between the width and height of a print, film frame or image file. It does not represent actual physical dimensions (like inches or pixels) but rather indicates how wide it is compared to how tall it is (width:height).
Choose a print size with the same aspect ratio and nothing gets cropped. Choose a different aspect ratio and part of the picture will be cut off.
| Camera or film | Aspect Ratio | Prints with no cropping |
|---|---|---|
| Most DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, 35mm film | 2:3 | 4x6, 6x9, 8x12, 10x15 |
| Most phones (standard photo mode) | 3:4 | 4½x6, 6x8, 9x12 |
| Square crops, 6x6 medium format film | 1:1 | 5x5, 8x8, 10x10 |
| 6x7 medium format film, 4:5 crops | 4:5 | 4x5, 8x10 |
The classic surprise is the 8x10. It is a squarer shape than most cameras, so a full 35mm or DSLR frame is cropped a bit on the short sides. That is fine for many portraits. For a wide landscape, 8x12 keeps the whole picture. When you order from us, click “edit” on each image to see the crop before you check out.
3. Plan for the frame
Frames come in standard sizes, and a mat (the card border around the print) makes almost any black and white photo look finished. Common pairings:
- A 5x7 print in an 8x10 frame with a mat
- An 8x10 print in an 11x14 frame with a mat
- A 4x6 print in a 5x7 frame with a mat
- A Custom Frame can accommodate any size print and any size mat.
If you are not using a mat, order the print at the frame’s exact size. A white border on the print itself is another clean option, and it suits black and white particularly well. We offer both borderless and white-border prints.
Need the frame too? Our parent lab offers custom framing at www.fromex.com.
4. Check your file is big enough
A simple rule of thumb for sharp prints is 300 pixels for every inch of print. You do not need to hit it exactly, but it tells you when a file is getting thin.
| Print size | Ideal file size (pixels) |
|---|---|
| 4x6 | 1200 x 1800 |
| 5x7 | 1500 x 2100 |
| 8x10 | 2400 x 3000 |
| 10x15 | 3000 x 4500 |
Almost any modern camera or phone clears these easily. Watch out for photos saved from screenshots, social media, emails, phone transfers, etc. These are often downsized to a lower resolution. Our file prep guide walks through exporting.
Printing from film? A 35mm negative prints beautifully up to 10x15. If you want scans to print from later, our 18 MB scans are made for prints up to 12x16.
What about really big prints?
Our silver gelatin prints go up to 10x15 inches. For larger black and white prints, up to 44x96 inches, our parent lab makes archival giclee (pigment inkjet) enlargements through fromex.com. They are a different process from silver gelatin, and we will always tell you which one you are getting.
A quick cheat sheet
- Not sure? Start with 5x7. It works on a shelf, in a frame and as a gift.
- Shot on a phone? Try 4½x6 or 6x8 for no cropping.
- Square photo? 5x5 for a grid, 10x10 as a single print.
- Hanging one print on a wall? 8x10 or larger.
- Printing the same photo for family? Prices drop on 25 or more copies of the same image.
Ready to print? Black and white prints on real Ilford silver gelatin paper, from wallet size to 10x15. See sizes and order
