The most common ratio in size for the art to take up is between 25% to 50% of the available wall space, however, there are no strict rules so you can print as big or small as you want. When you’re trying to decide how big you want your print, keep in mind interior design principles and how well a photo will look when it’s enlarged.
Interior Designers Best Practices With Extra-Large Format Prints
Balance Proportion Of Art & Space
You want your art to fill the space and be noticed but you don’t want to overwhelm the wall (unless that’s the look you’re going for) so find the correct balance between available wall space and your art print. A common interior design guideline is to balance the blank space with art by leaving about 50% to 75% of the wall as blank space and using the remaining 25% to 50% for the art.
Visual Impact
How much of a visual impact do you want your art to have? The larger the print the more of a focal point it will be for the room whereas average size or small prints better blend into the wall and the surroundings together becoming part of the decor without dominating it.
Furniture Considerations For Prints
Every room has furniture in it and the larger the art piece the better it should blend in with the decor and not feel disconnected from the design. Keep in mind you’ll also want some space between the prints and the furniture in the room so if you want an extra-large print, make sure it matches the furniture and doesn’t butt up against it.
Wall Shape
Consider the shape of the wall when figuring out the print size. For tall, narrow walls, you may want to use vertically oriented art to fill the space appropriately. Similarly, for wide, horizontal walls, horizontally oriented art can work well.
How Does The Image File Impact The Size Of the Art Print?
Image Resolution
Image resolution refers to the amount of detail (data) an image holds, typically measured in pixels per inch (PPI) or dots per inch (DPI). Higher-resolution images have more pixels and can be enlarged without losing as much detail. For high-quality print, a resolution of 300 DPI is often recommended, but the specific DPI requirement may vary depending on the type of print and viewing distance.
Image Format
Image formats like JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and RAW have different characteristics. While JPEG is a compressed format that can lead to some loss of quality, TIFF and RAW formats are uncompressed and offer higher image quality. PNG is lossless but may have larger file sizes. For extra-large prints, we suggest using TIFF, RAW, or PNG. JPEGs can work but the more they are compressed to save data space, the worse the quality of the image is when it’s enlarged.
Image Content
The more complex or detailed an image is the harder it may be to enlarge. Photographs with lots of fine textures or subtle gradients can be challenging to enlarge without losing all that detail.
Printer Quality
High-end commercial-grade printers are the best at printing extra-large format files. They allow for the use of better quality paper and have more advanced inks and cutting-edge technology that helps capture the grandeur of a large print.
How To Determine The Right Size
So you have this amazing image and you want to cover your walls with it. But how can you determine how big can you really print? At ArtisanHD, we make it easy. Check out our handy print sizing guide to get an idea of how your photo or artwork will look on your wall in your extra-large size. Below are some common print sizes, but you can make the size completely custom in our Configurator. It will also tell you if your file size is large enough to print big while maintaining a sharp, vibrant resolution.
Print big!
