Expanding a photo to 16x20, how can i get a higher resolution?

Report · Oct 06, 2025

Hello. I know - I'm a novice and it's probably a basic question. I'm trying to take a digital picture and print it into 16x20 but the image becomes super grainy. How can I improve the resolution so that I can print it and it's not so grainy?

Report · Oct 06, 2025

@rachelle_5233 You need to post specific info, e.g. 16 by 20 what inches or centimeters?

Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5,; Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; (also Laptop Win 11, ver 24H2, LrC 14.5.1, PS 26.10; ) Camera Oly OM-D E-M1.

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What are the pixel dimensions of the image?

If you want to print the image at 16 x 20 inches at 300 ppi, you need ideally 6000 x 4800 pixels.

Physical dimensions in inches multiplied by ppi value = required pixel dimensions.

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Hello. I know - I'm a novice and it's probably a basic question. I'm trying to take a digital picture and print it into 16x20 but the image becomes super grainy. How can I improve the resolution so that I can print it and it's not so grainy?

By @rachelle_5233

What software are you using? Please be specific.