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How do I print a product label image at a real width of about 10 cm using a PDF?

Set the fit mode to original size and enter the right DPI. Printed width is pixels divided by DPI, in inches, so a 1200 px wide label at 300 DPI prints 4 inches, or 10.16 cm, wide, centred on the page. Then print at actual size, not fit to page.

Published · 3 min read

Why fit inside is wrong for this

Fit inside scales the image up or down to fill the page within the margins, so your small label comes out nearly as wide as the sheet. That is right for documents, but not for a box label or a thank you card that has to be a set size. Original size treats the image as an object with a real physical size and ignores the paper size.

The arithmetic, kept simple

An inch is 2.54 cm, and DPI is how many pixels go into one printed inch. So the width in centimetres is the pixels divided by the DPI, times 2.54.

  • A 1200 × 800 px label at 300 DPI: drawn 288 × 192 pt, which is 4 × 2.67 in, so 10.16 cm wide and about 6.8 cm tall.
  • The same label at 150 DPI: 576 × 384 pt, 8 inches wide, twice the size at half the sharpness.
  • The same label at 72 DPI on A4 portrait: 1200 pt wide on a page only 595.28 pt wide, so the sides are cropped and the tool warns you.

To hit a target width from a given image, divide its pixels by the width in inches. Ten centimetres is about 3.94 inches, so a 1200 px label needs a DPI close to 300. The tool accepts values from 36 to 600 DPI.

Steps

  1. Open Images to PDF and add the label image.
  2. Choose the paper size in your printer, usually A4.
  3. Under Fit mode choose Original size. The resolution field appears with a hint showing the resulting printed size.
  4. Enter 300 and create the PDF. The label looks small in the middle of the page; that is correct.
  5. In the print dialog choose actual size or 100%, and turn off anything like fit to page or shrink to printable area.
  6. Print one test page and measure it with a ruler before printing the batch.

Is my image big enough for that size?

For labels seen up close, 300 DPI is a common benchmark for crisp print. If your image is only 600 px wide and you want 10 cm, you need about 150 DPI and the print will be softer. Upscaling beforehand with the Image resizer changes the number but adds no real detail, so ask your designer for a larger original instead.

More than one label per sheet?

Each image in this tool becomes its own page, so ten labels means ten pages. If you want several labels on one sheet, combine them into a single image first in the layout you want, then choose a DPI that gives each label the width you need.

Common questions

Does the margin change the printed size?

No. In original size the margin only marks the area beyond which the image is cropped. The size comes from pixels and DPI.

My label printed smaller than expected; why?

Almost always because the printer shrank the page to fit the paper. Print again at actual size.

Does changing DPI change image quality?

The pixels stay the same. What changes is how many of them are printed per inch, which is what makes a print sharper or softer.