DPI and print resolution for stickers

Print sharpness depends on how many image pixels land on each inch of paper. That's effective dpi (or ppi): pixels ÷ printed inches.

Rules of thumb

• 300 dpi is the usual target for printed artwork viewed up close, which is how stickers are seen. Sticker Bench marks 300+ as good.
• 150–299 dpi is often acceptable for bold, simple graphics, but fine lines and small text can look soft. Marked fair.
• Below 150 dpi, blur or pixelation is likely to show. Marked low.

These are common printing conventions, not guarantees. Home inkjets, paper coatings and viewing distance all change what's visible, so print a test.

The arithmetic

Pixels needed = printed inches × dpi. A 2 in (50.8 mm) sticker at 300 dpi needs 2 × 300 = 600 px. A 75 mm sticker needs 75 ÷ 25.4 × 300 ≈ 886 px. If your image is 400 px wide and printed 50 mm wide, its effective resolution is 400 ÷ (50 ÷ 25.4) ≈ 203 dpi.

When bleed is on, artwork is scaled up slightly to cover it, which lowers effective dpi a little. The studio's dpi badge already accounts for this.

Upscaling doesn't add detail

Enlarging a small image in an editor raises the pixel count but not the detail. The print may look smoother, but no sharper. Start from the largest original you have. SVG artwork is vector, but Sticker Bench converts SVGs to a 2,400-pixel image on import (for safety, see privacy), which is 300 dpi at up to 8 in (203 mm) on the long side.