DPI Converter

Check what your photo can genuinely print at, then set its DPI tag if a lab or publication has asked for a specific number. The pixels are never re-compressed, and because it all runs in your browser, your photos never touch our servers.

Drag & drop a photo to check its print resolution

or browse your files · JPG, PNG, WebP

Your photo is read in your browser and never uploaded to our servers.

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How to check and change the DPI of an image

  1. 1

    Add a photo

    Drag and drop a JPG, PNG or WebP image into the box above, or click to browse and pick one from your device.

  2. 2

    See what it can actually print

    You get the pixel dimensions, the DPI tag currently stored in the file, and the largest print the photo supports at 300, 240 and 180 PPI. Enter a print size to check any specific one.

  3. 3

    Set the DPI tag if a lab asks

    Write a new DPI value into the file and download it. The pixels are copied across untouched, with no re-compression, so the image is byte-for-byte identical apart from the tag.

What this tool changes, and what it cannot

It is worth being blunt about the scope, because most DPI tools are not. This tool does two separate things. It reads your photo's pixel dimensions and tells you the largest print it supports at each quality level, which is the question people are usually really asking. And it writes a DPI value into the file header, which is what you need when a print lab or publication rejects a file for reading 72 DPI.

What it does not do is add pixels. There is no upscaling here, deliberately. Changing a DPI tag cannot make a small photo printable at a larger size, and tools that blur that line leave people believing a 1200 pixel image is now ready for a poster. If the print size table says your file tops out at 8 inches, that is the honest answer.

Why a file can say 72 DPI and still print beautifully

The DPI value stored in an image is metadata: a note attached to the pixels rather than a property of them. It tells software what size to print the image by default, and nothing more. A 6000 x 4000 pixel photo holds those 6000 pixels whether its tag says 72 or 300, which is why a file that looks alarming in a spec check can be perfectly fine in practice. The number that matters is pixel dimensions divided by print size. For the full explanation, see the guide on DPI for printing photos.

DPI or PPI?

Strictly, PPI (pixels per inch) describes your file and DPI (dots per inch) describes the ink dots a printer lays down. In everyday use the industry treats them as the same thing, and when a lab asks for a 300 DPI file it means 300 PPI at the final print size. This tool uses whichever term matches what you are looking at: PPI for the print size calculations, DPI for the tag written into the file.

Your photos stay on your device

The file is read, inspected and edited entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, which is the point when the image is a client's wedding or a commercial shoot under contract. If you want to see every other tag the file carries, our EXIF viewer works the same way, and the metadata remover strips them before you share.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Checking and changing the DPI of an image with Picstack is completely free, with no sign-up, watermark or file limits.
No, and any tool claiming otherwise is misleading you. The DPI value is a tag in the file header that tells a printer what size to output the image by default. Changing it from 72 to 300 does not add a single pixel. What decides print sharpness is the pixel dimensions divided by the print size, which is why this tool shows you the print sizes your photo actually supports rather than just flipping a number.
Because the intake check reads the tag in the file header rather than counting pixels. Plenty of exports carry a 72 DPI tag, or no DPI tag at all, while holding more than enough pixels for a large print. Setting the tag to 300 with this tool clears the check without altering the image.
Not in the way people usually mean. This tool rewrites the DPI tag; it never invents pixels. If a photo does not have the pixel dimensions for the print size you want, no DPI change will fix that, and upscaling to fake it produces soft, artificial detail. The print size table above tells you honestly how large the file can go.
No. This DPI converter runs entirely in your browser. Your photo is read on your own device, the header edit happens locally, and nothing is ever sent to our servers. That matters when the file is paid client work.
You can check the print resolution of JPG/JPEG, PNG and WebP images, and write a DPI tag to JPG/JPEG and PNG. WebP has no widely supported DPI field, so there is nothing to write for that format.