Standard Poster Sizes Guide
Unlike business cards, posters come in a whole family of standard sizes, and picking the right one depends on where it will hang. The short version: 11 × 17 inches for small posters, 18 × 24 for medium, and 24 × 36 for the classic large format — while international printing runs on A4 (210 × 297 mm) and A3 (297 × 420 mm). Below you will find every common size with its millimeter, inch and pixel dimensions, plus how to decide between them and how to hand your file to a printer without surprises.
Poster size chart: mm, inches and pixels
Pixel values assume 300 DPI, the resolution print shops recommend for close-up viewing. Larger formats can get away with less — more on that below.
| Size | Millimeters | Inches | Pixels @ 300 DPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 (flyer) | 210 × 297 mm | 8.3 × 11.7 in | 2480 × 3508 px |
| US Letter | 216 × 279 mm | 8.5 × 11 in | 2550 × 3300 px |
| A3 | 297 × 420 mm | 11.7 × 16.5 in | 3508 × 4961 px |
| Small poster (Ledger / Tabloid) | 279 × 432 mm | 11 × 17 in | 3300 × 5100 px |
| Medium poster | 457 × 610 mm | 18 × 24 in | 5400 × 7200 px |
| Large poster (movie poster) | 610 × 914 mm | 24 × 36 in | 7200 × 10800 px |
| Theatrical one-sheet | 686 × 1016 mm | 27 × 40 in | 8100 × 12000 px |
Which poster size do you actually need?
The deciding factor is viewing distance. A poster read at arm's length is really a flyer; a poster seen across a street is closer to signage. Work down this list until the situation matches yours:
A4 / US Letter — handouts, notice boards, cafe counters. Cheap to print anywhere, easy to photocopy, and the default paper size in home and office printers (A4 internationally, 8.5 × 11 in the US).
11 × 17 in or A3— the smallest formats that read as a "real" poster. In the US, 11 × 17 goes by Ledger or Tabloid depending on orientation. Ideal for shop windows, campus walls and community boards where people pass within a few feet.
18 × 24 in — the workhorse medium size for gig posters, open-house signs and event promotion. Large enough for a bold headline visible across a room, small enough to print affordably in short runs.
24 × 36 in— the standard large poster and the size retail "movie posters" are sold in, which also makes frames for it easy to find. Choose it for storefronts, concerts and anywhere the poster must carry a wall. (The one-sheets displayed in actual cinemas are a step bigger at 27 × 40 inches.)
Once you have a size, you can start from a poster template instead of a blank canvas — every layout adapts to your text and colors.
DPI for posters: when 300 matters and when 150 is fine
DPI (dots per inch) links your pixel canvas to the physical print: at 300 DPI, every inch of paper consumes 300 pixels of artwork. That number comes from how much detail the eye resolves at reading distance, which is why it is the rule for flyers, brochures and anything else people hold.
Posters bend the rule. Nobody studies a 24 × 36 from six inches away — from typical viewing distance, 150 DPI looks identical to 300, and large-format print shops quote it routinely. That halves your required pixels: a 24 × 36 needs 7200 × 10800 pixels at 300 DPI but only 3600 × 5400 at 150, a file a quarter of the size. The practical rule: hold small formats to 300 DPI, and treat 150 DPI as the floor for 18 × 24 and up.
Vector elements — text, shapes, charts — sidestep DPI entirely. They are stored as geometry, not pixels, so a PDF with vector type prints razor-sharp at any poster size. Only photos and other raster images need the pixel math above.
Getting a poster ready for print
Add bleed if any color or imagery touches the edge. Extend that artwork roughly 3 mm (1/8 inch) past the trim on every side, so the cutting blade always lands inside printed area. Ask your print shop for its exact bleed spec — a few want 5 mm on large formats.
Respect the margins. Keep headlines, dates and logos well clear of the edges — around 10 mm on an A4 flyer, and proportionally more as the format grows. Generous margins survive imperfect trimming and make the layout breathe.
Export a PDF. Print shops overwhelmingly prefer PDF: it locks the layout, embeds fonts and preserves vectors. Send a PNG only if the shop asks for one, and if you do, size it using the pixel column in the table above.
In Graphtr, the poster preset opens at A4 proportions — 794 × 1123 pixels at screen resolution — and the download menu includes a print-ready PDF. Since text and shapes export as vectors, that PDF scales cleanly to A3 or beyond at the print shop.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common poster size?+
For large posters sold in stores and used for events, 24 × 36 inches is the standard. Medium posters are typically 18 × 24 inches, and small posters or oversized flyers are 11 × 17 inches. Outside the US, A-series paper dominates: A4 (210 × 297 mm) for flyers and A3 (297 × 420 mm) for small posters.
What size is a movie poster?+
The posters cinemas actually hang — called one-sheets — measure 27 × 40 inches. The 24 × 36 inch size most people picture is the retail version sold to fans, which is why store-bought frames are made for 24 × 36 rather than the theatrical dimensions.
How many pixels is an A4 poster at 300 DPI?+
2480 × 3508 pixels. A4 measures 210 × 297 mm (8.3 × 11.7 inches); converting each side to inches and multiplying by 300 dots per inch gives you those pixel dimensions. A3, the next size up at 297 × 420 mm, works out to 3508 × 4961 pixels.
What DPI does a poster need to print well?+
300 DPI is the safe target for anything read at arm's length, such as an A4 flyer on a notice board. For large-format posters viewed from a few feet away — an 18 × 24 or 24 × 36 on a wall — 150 DPI is generally acceptable, because viewing distance hides the lower pixel density. A 24 × 36 poster at 150 DPI is still a hefty 3600 × 5400 pixels.
Which poster size should I pick for a flyer versus a street poster?+
Match the size to the viewing distance. Handouts and notice boards: A4 or US Letter. Shop windows and community boards where people walk past closely: 11 × 17 inches or A3. Walls, fences and event spaces viewed from several feet: 18 × 24. Big statements — storefronts, concerts, anywhere you need to be seen across a room or street: 24 × 36.
Can I design a poster in Graphtr and print it?+
Yes. Graphtr opens its poster canvas at A4 proportions (794 × 1123 pixels at screen resolution) and exports a print-ready PDF. Because text and shapes export as vectors, they stay perfectly crisp when your print shop scales the PDF up — only placed photos are limited by their own resolution.
Make your poster in the browser
Open a correctly proportioned poster canvas in Graphtr, design with vector text and shapes, and download a print-ready PDF — free, no watermark, no sign-up.