# Paint: How many pixels x pixels...?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 10, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157 "2014-05-10T23:26:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/1 "2014-05-10T23:26:32Z")
I am sure the SD bank of wisdom has the experience to know this answer to save me from a ton of trial and error… You know how Paint lets one stretch the “canvas” to X pixels x Y pixels? How many X and Y pixles equate to 8.5 x 11 inches? Thanks!
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### Author:  [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/2 "2014-05-10T23:35:20Z")
At a resolution of 96 pixels per inch you get 816 x 1056. Depends on the [quality you want](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_density).
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/3 "2014-05-10T23:46:44Z")
Look for Properties. It’s usually in a drop down menu in the upper left. You can set the units to inches there.
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/4 "2014-05-11T00:19:15Z")
Computers don’t work in inches, only virtual squares called pixels. You know how if you look at a newspaper under a magnifying glass, you can see the little dots that make up the pictures? It’s a similar idea.
So the thing is, you can choose how many pixels you want per square inch. The higher the count, the sharper-looking the image, but also the bigger the filesize. If you printed something with a too-low pixel resolution, it would come out looking something like [this](http://99designs.com/designer-blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/printed-pixels.jpg).
In the print industry, 300 dpi (dots per inch, roughly equivalent to pixels per inch) is typical for a good-enough looking print. **At 8.5x11 inches, that means you need 2550 x 3300 pixels, or 8,415,000 total pixels (8.4 megapixels)**.
What are you trying to do with Paint? If you’re trying to blow up an existing image into 8.5x11 size, it’s unlikely to produce good results.
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### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/5 "2014-05-11T00:22:23Z")
Thanks, all! Paint is so crude, I’ve never bothered to get to know what it can do. Now, I’m in a bit of a pinch to try and doctor somethign up. Obviously, I lack a more robust graphics program! (FYI: Listen Do you want to know a secret? I am originally a Macintosh user for which Microsoft made all the software. There was a highly versatile graphics program called MacPaint which could draw rings around what Microsoft has screwed us with today as a basic graphics program.)
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### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/6 "2014-05-11T00:24:49Z")
> [@Reply](#):
>
> Computers don’t work in inches, only virtual squares called pixels. You know how if you look at a newspaper under a magnifying glass, you can see the little dots that make up the pictures? It’s a similar idea.
>
> So the thing is, you can choose how many pixels you want per square inch. The higher the count, the sharper-looking the image, but also the bigger the filesize. If you printed something with a too-low pixel resolution, it would come out looking something like [this](http://99designs.com/designer-blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/printed-pixels.jpg).
>
> In the print industry, 300 dpi (dots per inch, roughly equivalent to pixels per inch) is typical for a good-enough looking print. **At 8.5x11 inches, that means you need 2550 x 3300 pixels, or 8,415,000 total pixels (8.4 megapixels)**.
>
> What are you trying to do with Paint? If you’re trying to blow up an existing image into 8.5x11 size, it’s unlikely to produce good results.
Thanks for your thoughts…I’ll have to play around with this!
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/7 "2014-05-11T00:26:40Z")
You can download the much better [Paint.net](http://www.getpaint.net/) for free. It’s made for Windows (not by Microsoft), easy to use, and much better than MS Paint.
If you’re really brave, you can also get the free [GIMP](http://www.gimp.org/) program – a free Photoshop clone – but it’s ugly and difficult to use.
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### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/8 "2014-05-11T02:10:46Z")
> [@Reply](#):
>
> You can download the much better [Paint.net](http://www.getpaint.net/) for free. It’s made for Windows (not by Microsoft), easy to use, and much better than MS Paint.
>
> If you’re really brave, you can also get the free [GIMP](http://www.gimp.org/) program – a free Photoshop clone – but it’s ugly and difficult to use.
That’s cool! Thanks!
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### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/9 "2014-05-11T02:17:07Z")
OK, I’m not sure how I got Paint to do this (and, suddenly, it doesn’t know to do it anymore), but: After I adjusted Properties to inches and set width and height to 8.5" x 11", it was opening all files the right size. Until, suddenly, it’s not!
It is now defaulting to some weird setting (like twice as big), and when I reset Properties (and, Page Setup to portrait, centered on the page)…it cuts off half the document instead of scaling the whole image to fit 8.5" x 11". So, how do I fix this one?
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/10 "2014-05-11T02:28:15Z")
I always set my dpi first. usually 150 or 300. A lot of magazines use 150 dpi photos. This article gives very practical advice.
> **[Understanding DPI, Resolution and Print vs. Web Images](https://vsellis.com/understanding-dpi-resolution-and-print-vs-web-images/)**
>
> DPI, PPI, Size, Resolution got you a little confused? Here's a very simple explanation to help you understand Resolution & print vs. web images.
After you set the dpi, programs I’ve used all would show estimated print size based on pixel dimensions.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2014, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-how-many-pixels-x-pixels/688157/11 "2014-05-11T08:03:35Z")
> [@Jinx](#):
>
> OK, I’m not sure how I got Paint to do this (and, suddenly, it doesn’t know to do it anymore), but: After I adjusted Properties to inches and set width and height to 8.5" x 11", it was opening all files the right size. Until, suddenly, it’s not!
>
> It is now defaulting to some weird setting (like twice as big), and when I reset Properties (and, Page Setup to portrait, centered on the page)…it cuts off half the document instead of scaling the whole image to fit 8.5" x 11". So, how do I fix this one?
Paint doesn’t scale when changing dimensions. If you need to resize an image, use the selection panel to select all, then use the Resize and Skew button to resize it to the dimensions you want. Only after then should you actually change the document dimensions.
But, honestly, as long as the image is bigger, this shouldn’t matter for printing. The option already exists to scale the image in Page Setup. Make sure the options on the right are set to “Fit to” the number of pages you want (I’m assuming 1x1.) It should not be on “Scale”