What Size Should Your Art Prints Be? A Practical Guide for Artists
- Kate Wullink
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
What Size Should Your Art Prints Be? A Practical Guide for Artists
If you've ever stared at your finished painting and thought "okay, but what size do I actually print this?" — you're not alone. Print sizing is one of those decisions that feels simple until you're actually in it, and getting it wrong can mean prints that don't sell, frames that don't fit, or money left on the table.
Here's everything you need to know to make smart sizing decisions for your prints.
Start With Standard Frame Sizes
The single most practical thing you can do when choosing print sizes is work backward from what's easy to frame. Buyers love prints they can frame without a trip to a custom framer, and sticking to standard sizes removes a barrier to purchase.
The most common standard frame sizes in the US are:
5x7" — great entry-level price point, impulse buy territory
8x10" — one of the most popular print sizes across the board
11x14" — a sweet spot for wall art; feels substantial without being overwhelming
12x16" — less standard but popular in the fine art world
16x20" — solid statement piece size
18x24" — large format, great for bold or detailed work
24x36" — poster size, works well for illustrators and graphic-heavy work
If you can offer your work in at least two or three of these sizes, you're in good shape.
How Your Original Dimensions Affect Your Options
Here's where a lot of artists get tripped up: you can't always print a painting at every standard size without cropping or adding white borders.
For example, if your original painting is 9x12", the proportions (3:4 ratio) translate cleanly to 12x16" and 18x24" — but not to 8x10" or 11x14" without adjusting the composition.
Before committing to print sizes, map out your original's aspect ratio and see which standard sizes it fits naturally. A good fine art reproduction studio can help you figure this out during the proofing process — and in some cases, adding a small white border can make a non-standard ratio work across more sizes without cropping your image.
What Sells Best at Art Fairs
If you're selling at local art markets or festivals, sizing strategy shifts a little. Here's what tends to move at in-person events:
Small prints (5x7" and 8x10") are your bread and butter. People browsing an art fair often aren't planning to spend a lot, but a $20–35 small print is an easy yes. Have plenty of these.
Medium prints (11x14" and 12x16") are your mid-tier sellers. They photograph well for your display, look impressive on a table or wall grid, and appeal to buyers who want something more significant.
Large prints (16x20" and up) don't sell as frequently at fairs, but having one or two on display makes your booth look professional and draws people in. Think of them as display pieces that occasionally sell.
A common mistake is printing too many large sizes and not enough smalls. Start heavy on 5x7" and 8x10", then see what your specific audience gravitates toward.
What Sells Best Online
Online is a different beast. Without the tactile experience of holding a print or seeing it in person, buyers rely more heavily on how the work looks in lifestyle photos and mockups.
For online sales, 8x10" and 11x14" tend to perform best — they're easy to visualize in a home, easy to ship, and hit a price point that doesn't require much deliberation.
A few things that help online print sales regardless of size:
Show the print in a room setting (this is exactly what art mockups are for)
Include a size reference like "fits a standard IKEA RIBBA frame"
List dimensions clearly in both inches and centimeters if you have international buyers
Should You Offer Every Size?
Not necessarily. Offering too many sizes can overwhelm buyers and create decision fatigue. A cleaner approach:
Pick two or three sizes that work naturally with your original's proportions
Make sure at least one is under $30 (accessible price point) and one is over $75 (perceived value anchor)
Add sizes over time based on what people actually ask for
You don't have to figure it all out on the first print run. The advantage of working with a studio that archives your files is that you can reprint at new sizes anytime, without starting from scratch.
The File Quality Question
One thing that limits your sizing options more than anything else is the quality of your digital file. A low-resolution scan or phone photo might look fine at 5x7", but fall apart at 16x20".
This is why investing in a professional art scan early pays off. A high-resolution TIFF file gives you the flexibility to print at virtually any size without loss of quality — which means you're never locked into small sizes because your file can't handle anything bigger.
At Fine Ink Printing, every scan is delivered as both a web-friendly JPEG and a print-ready TIFF, and your files are archived so you can order reprints in new sizes down the road without rebooking a scan.
The Short Answer
If you're just starting out and want to keep it simple: offer your work in 8x10" and 11x14", make sure your original was scanned at high resolution, and see what your buyers respond to. You can always expand from there.
And if you're not sure which sizes your original painting can support, that's a great question to bring to your first appointment.
Fine Ink Printing serves artists in Fort Collins, Denver, Boulder, Longmont, Greeley, Windsor, and nationwide.Call or text to book: (970) 699-2792 | kate