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Collage Maker Guide

Printable Collage Maker — inches, not slogans

“Print ready” is a claim about pixels per inch at a physical size. This page does the arithmetic so you do not order a poster from a social canvas and blame the paper.

Need the main studio? Collage Maker

Written by Safaat Rahman Siham, Founder & Developer at Convertify4u. Contact us.

What this canvas can actually ink

300 DPI is a relationship, not a button

A square export is roughly 2160×2160 after 2× capture. 2160 ÷ 300 ≈ 7.2 inches. That comfortably covers a 5×7 with crop, a 6×6, and many small frames. An 8×10 for a true 300 DPI file wants 2400×3000 — already past this square. A3 for a 300-pixel-per-inch lab wants about 3508×4961. We do not have those pixel boxes. If a lab will accept 150 DPI, you can push physically larger with softer results; that is a lab conversation, not a hidden “poster mode.” 16:9 capture (~3840×2160) is a wide 12.8×7.2 inches at that same density — a small panorama print, still not a trade-show banner.

Paper sizes we do not simulate

There is no A4 (210×297 mm) or US Letter canvas in the dropdown. You can place a 4:5 or 1:1 board onto A4 in a print dialog and live with margins, or you can design the collage as a centered image on a larger InDesign/Word page. Canvas-wrap shops need extra bleed for the fold; we do not generate mirror edges. Photo-book services each have their own box — treat this PNG as a photo among photos, not as a imposed spread.

Color and codec for labs

Screens are backlit RGB. Cheap labs punch saturation. PNG avoids an extra JPG generation if the board has graphic edges; many consumer labs prefer JPG anyway. Soft-proofing and ICC profiles are out of scope. If color is contractual (a fashion lookbook), this studio is a layout comp. For gifts and family frames at ~7 inches, export PNG or high JPG from original camera files, not from a screenshot, and you will be fine.

How it works

  1. 1

    Pick the physical size first

    If it is larger than ~7 inches on the short side at lab-grade 300 ppi, this canvas is a comp, not the press file.

  2. 2

    Use camera originals

    Print punishes chat exports. Convert HEIC to PNG if you need headroom.

  3. 3

    Export and let the lab scale down, not up

    Downscaling a 2160 px square to 4×6 is healthy. Upscaling it to 18×24 is not.

Use cases

Small framed gifts

5×7 and 6×6 class prints from a square or 4:5 board.

Card inserts

A four-cell wedding still on a folded card, well inside the pixel budget.

Desk prints

Office 4×6 recaps that nobody will inspect with a loupe.

Comps for a print vendor

Show the grid logic, then rebuild at real resolution in a prepress tool if the order is large.

Problems we solve

Poster-sized promises

A social canvas cannot be an honest A2. We would rather lose the keyword than mail you a blurry tube.

Wrong aspect for the frame

A 16:9 board in an 8×10 frame means heavy crop. Match the frame’s ratio as closely as 1:1 / 4:5 / 16:9 allow, then mat.

Screenshotting the editor

The on-page preview is scaled to fit the UI. Always use Save Collage.

Trust & technology

Documented pixel math

2160 px ÷ 300 DPI ≈ 7.2 in. You can check us.

No fake A4 preset

Paper sizes are not in the dropdown. We say so.

PNG available

When the lab (or you) wants fewer extra generations.

Frequently asked questions