How to Export a Figma Design at 300 DPI: 4 Methods That Work

To export a Figma design at 300 DPI, type 4.1667x into the scale field of the Export panel, choose PNG, and click Export. Figma has no DPI box. It multiplies its 72 DPI base by your scale, and 72 × 4.1667 = 300. The whole job takes about 40 seconds.

Key findings:

• Figma's own documentation states exports default to 72 DPI. The math is fixed: DPI = 72 × scale. So 2x = 144 DPI, 3x = 216 DPI, and the 4x preset = 288 DPI — 4% short of the print standard.
• 4.1667x is the only scale that lands on 300 DPI, because 300 ÷ 72 = 4.166666…. Figma accepts custom values in that field, including the suffixes x, w, and h.
• Scaling from 1x to 4.1667x multiplies pixel count by 17.4×. A 1,050 × 600 business card becomes 4,375 × 2,500 pixels — 10.9 megapixels.
• Figma's REST API caps scale at 4 and renders at most 32 megapixels. Automated 300 DPI pipelines need a workaround, detailed in section 8.

How do you export a Figma design at 300 DPI?

Select the frame, open the Export panel in the right sidebar, click the plus button, choose PNG, then type 4.1667x in the scale field and hit Export. That single custom value is the entire trick. Figma's help center says image exports start at 72 DPI and that DPI equals 72 times the scale. The presets stop at 4x, which gives 288 DPI. You must type the number yourself.

If the file is already exported and reads 72 DPI, you do not have to redo it. Relabel the metadata with the free DPI Converter on this site — no upload, no install, no change to a single pixel.

Why does Figma export at 72 DPI by default?

Figma inherited the 72 DPI number from the original Macintosh screen: 72 pixels per inch, one pixel per point. The canvas is a screen canvas. Photoshop still ships with the same 72 PPI default for the same historical reason. Neither number has anything to do with ink on paper.

Three facts explain what happens on export:

• Figma writes 72 DPI into the file. A PNG carries its density in a pHYs chunk measured in pixels per metre. At 72 DPI that value is 2,835 px/m; at 300 DPI it is 11,811 px/m.
• Screens ignore DPI. Browsers, Slack, and Twitter render raw pixels. A wrong DPI label never looks wrong on screen. It only fails at the print counter.
• Print shops read DPI. They divide pixel width by DPI to get physical size. A 1,050 px card labelled 72 DPI reads as 14.58 inches wide — so the file bounces back.

According to Figma's documentation, this default has one side effect worth knowing: re-import a 2x export into Figma and it appears at half size, because Figma assumes 144 DPI assets are for dense screens. That is confirmation the DPI value is being written and read — just always at 72 × scale.

What scale factor gives exactly 300 DPI in Figma?

The formula is one line: scale = target DPI ÷ 72. For 300 DPI, that is 300 ÷ 72 = 4.166666…, which you type as 4.1667x. Figma rounds output to whole pixels, so a real-world export lands within 0.02 DPI of the target — well inside any print tolerance.

Goal	Type this in the scale field	Resulting DPI	Verdict
Web and screen	1x (preset)	72 DPI	Never for print
Mobile retina assets	2x (preset)	144 DPI	Screen only
Draft posters, distant viewing	2.0833x	150 DPI	Acceptable for large format
Standard print	4.1667x	300 DPI	The target
Preset maximum	4x (preset)	288 DPI	4% short — often rejected
Fine art and prepress	8.3333x	600 DPI	Line art and small text

The scale field also accepts two other suffixes, documented by Figma community support: add w for a fixed pixel width and h for a fixed height. Typing 1050w exports the frame exactly 1,050 px wide regardless of its canvas size. Use it when a print lab demands a fixed pixel dimension instead of a DPI value.

How do you export a Figma design at 300 DPI, step by step?

These six steps work in every current Figma release on the web app, the desktop app, and Windows.

1. Select the whole frame. Click the frame's name in the layers panel. Selecting an inner layer exports only that layer, which is the most common cause of a cropped 300 DPI file.
2. Open the Export panel. It sits at the bottom of the right sidebar. Click the + button to add an export setting.
3. Choose the format. Pick PNG for logos, UI, and flat artwork with sharp edges. Pick JPG for photographs — the file is far smaller at the same pixel count.
4. Type the custom scale. Enter 4.1667x in the scale field. Ignore the 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x presets; none of them reaches 300 DPI.
5. Add a suffix and export. Set a suffix such as -300dpi so files stay distinguishable, then click Export.
6. Verify once. Drop the saved file into a DPI checker. It must report 300 DPI and the expected pixel dimensions.

Prefer the keyboard route? Right-click the frame, choose Copy/Paste as → Copy as PNG for a quick 1x grab, then run the Export panel when quality matters. And if the design is already finished and you just need the number changed, skip the re-export and relabel the file in the free DPI Converter instead.

How do you build Figma frames at exact 300 DPI sizes?

The second method is the professional one. Instead of scaling on export, size the frame so that its pixels already equal inches × 300. Export at 1x, and the file needs no scale math at all.

pixels = physical inches × 300

In metric, 1 mm equals 11.81 px at 300 DPI, and 1 cm equals 118.11 px. Figma's frame fields accept px, mm, in, and %, so you can type the physical size directly and let it convert.

Print format	Physical size	Figma frame at 300 DPI
Business card (US)	3.5 × 2 in	1,050 × 600 px
Business card + 3 mm bleed	3.75 × 2.25 in	1,125 × 675 px
Postcard	4 × 6 in	1,200 × 1,800 px
Photo print	5 × 7 in	1,500 × 2,100 px
US Letter	8.5 × 11 in	2,550 × 3,300 px
A4	210 × 297 mm	2,480 × 3,508 px
A3 poster	297 × 420 mm	3,508 × 4,961 px

Export at 1x and you have the correct pixel count for 300 DPI. One catch: Figma still writes 72 DPI into the metadata. Run the file through the DPI Converter to relabel it to 300 — a metadata-only edit that leaves all 1,050 pixels untouched. The result prints at exactly 3.5 × 2 inches.

How do you check that a Figma export is really 300 DPI?

Never trust the filename, the export setting you remember, or how big it looks on screen. Verify the saved file with one of these three checks:

1. Online (fastest): drop the file into the image DPI checker. It reads the density metadata and reports DPI, pixel dimensions, and print size together in one glance.
2. Photoshop: open the export and press Ctrl+Alt+I (Cmd+Opt+I on Mac). The Resolution field shows what Figma actually wrote to disk.
3. Operating system: on Windows, right-click → Properties → Details. On Mac, open in Preview and choose Tools → Show Inspector. Preview can also rewrite the DPI for you under Tools → Adjust Size.

Check every export path once. Figma's own re-import behavior, messaging apps that recompress images, and PDF conversion can all change the stored value. One report from the DPI checker takes about two seconds and saves a reprint.

How do you export a 300 DPI PDF from Figma?

PDF export behaves differently from PNG, and this is where most print files break. Figma supports PDF export at 1x only — there is no scale option — and it sizes the page at 72 pixels per inch. That has a concrete consequence: a 2,550 × 3,300 px US Letter frame exports as a PDF page of about 35.4 × 45.8 inches, not 8.5 × 11.

Two correct routes exist:

• Route A — correct page size. Build the frame at 72 px per inch: 612 × 792 px for US Letter, 595 × 842 px for A4. Export PDF. The page lands at true size. Then make sure every placed photo has enough pixels: effective PPI = image pixels ÷ displayed inches. A photo in a 4-inch slot needs 1,200 px to clear 300 PPI; a 1,000 px logo in that same slot sits at 250 PPI.
• Route B — press-ready file. Figma exports RGB only, with no CMYK, no ICC profile, no bleed, and no crop marks. For a real press run, add a print plugin such as Printery or Print for Figma, or export PNG at 4.1667x and assemble the PDF in Acrobat or InDesign.

Ben Katz, creator of the Print for Figma plugin, explained the geometry in a 2026 Figma Community thread: "if you scale things up, when you export as PDF, it will be the wrong size. This is because Figma uses 72 DPI to determine the PDF dimensions." In a PDF, DPI is a property of each raster image, not of the page — so the fix is always about pixel counts inside the page.

For documents that arrive as PDF rather than leaving as one, the steps in our guide on changing PDF DPI apply directly.

How do you automate 300 DPI Figma exports with the API and plugins?

Manual exports scale poorly. Three automation paths exist, each with a hard limit worth knowing.

• REST API: GET /v1/images/:file_key?ids=...&scale=4 renders PNG, JPG, SVG, or PDF. Figma documents the scale parameter as a number between 0.01 and 4, so the API ceiling is 288 DPI — short of 300. The same endpoint renders a maximum of 32 megapixels; anything larger is silently scaled down. A 24 × 36 in poster at 300 DPI needs 7,200 × 10,800 px — 77.8 MP — so it arrives at roughly 192 DPI.
• Plugin API: exportAsync() accepts an arbitrary scale value, so a plugin can request 4.1667 where the REST API cannot. Community plugins already do this: the open-source figma-export tool rewrites the PNG pHYs chunk to your target density using DPI ÷ 0.0254 pixels per metre — 300 DPI becomes 11,811 px/m.
• Print plugins: Printery, Print for Figma, and TinyImage Compressor add what Figma omits — CMYK conversion, ICC profiles, bleed, crop marks, and a DPI control. TinyImage offers 72, 150, and 300 DPI PDF presets; one published test took a 13.3 MB Figma PDF down to 447 KB at 150 DPI, about 97% smaller.

API workaround for exact 300 DPI: design the frame at 75 px per inch instead of 72, then request scale 4. The output is 4 × 75 = 300 pixels per inch. Relabel the metadata with the DPI Converter afterwards, because Figma still writes 72 × 4 = 288 into the file. For a folder of up to 50 files with no code at all, the converter's batch mode does the relabeling in the browser.

What mistakes produce 72 DPI or wrong-size print files?

Five errors account for nearly every failed Figma print job:

1. Using the 4x preset. It gives 288 DPI, not 300. Automated preflight at many print labs rejects anything under 300.
2. Exporting at 1x and assuming Figma handles DPI. 1x means 72 DPI, full stop. The file will read as 14.58 in wide for a 1,050 px card.
3. Scaling a frame full of photos. Vectors and type stay razor sharp at 4.1667x. A placed 600 px photo does not gain detail — it gains interpolation. Source images must carry enough pixels before export.
4. Ignoring color mode. Figma is RGB-only. Bright blues, vivid greens, and neon oranges shift when a printer converts to CMYK. Keep brand-critical colors inside the CMYK gamut and proof them before the run.
5. Sending the PDF built from a 300-DPI-sized frame. The page comes out 4× too large. Design PDF frames at 72 px per inch, and put the pixel density into the images instead.

Rule of thumb from industry analysis of print intake: a file fails preflight for metadata reasons far more often than for image quality. Fix the number first.

How does Figma compare to other 300 DPI tools?

Figma is the fastest place to design the artwork, but it is not the only place to finish the file.

Tool	Set 300 DPI directly	Keeps pixels intact	CMYK / bleed	Cost	Best for
Figma (4.1667x)	Yes, via scale math	Yes for vectors	No	Free with Figma	Logos, flyers, UI art
Figma + print plugin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Free tier, paid pro	Press-ready PDFs
Photoshop	Yes, Image Size with Resample off	Yes	Yes	≈ US $23 / month	Photo retouching plus DPI
GIMP	Yes, Image → Print Size	Yes	Limited	Free	Desktop work, no subscription
DPI Converter (online)	Yes, metadata only, batch up to 50	Yes, zero resampling	No	Free	Fixing a Figma export in seconds

The pattern holds across workflows: design in Figma, relabel or verify with a converter, and only open a heavy editor when pixels or color actually have to change. The same logic covers photographic files in our walkthrough on changing the DPI of an image.

What do print and Figma professionals recommend?

Four consensus points appear across official documentation and practitioner discussion from 2022 to 2026:

• Figma Help Center, Export formats and settings: "By default, assets exported as images from Figma have a DPI of 72. To calculate the DPI of an image exported at scale, multiply 72 by the chosen scale. For example, images exported at 2x have a DPI of 144." This is the source of the 4.1667x rule.
• Ali_Jaya_Meilio_Lie, Figma Community member, replying in the "Images with 300 DPI resolution" thread (opened May 18, 2022; 13 replies, 49,745 views): "One trick is to export for 4.17x, so the final dpi will be about 300dpi." Four years later, that trick is still the standard answer.
• Ben Katz, creator of the Print for Figma plugin, on PDF geometry (2026): scaling the frame up "will be the wrong size" because Figma uses 72 DPI for PDF dimensions. His advice: keep frames at print size and check each image's effective PPI instead.
• Prepress screen rule: image resolution should run 1.5 to 2 times the press screen frequency, which is why a 150 lpi press wants 225 to 300 PPI files and why 300 became the default request.

Experts recommend one habit above all: verify the delivered file, not the export dialog. Settings panels show intent; the saved file shows fact.

Case study: exporting a 3.5 × 2 inch business card at 300 DPI

A designer finished a business card in Figma. The frame measured 1,050 × 600 px — the exact 300 DPI target for 3.5 × 2 inches. She exported at 1x and emailed it. The printer replied the same day: "Your card is 14.58 inches wide."

1. Diagnosis: 1,050 ÷ 72 = 14.58 in. The pixels were right; the metadata said 72 DPI.
2. Fix A — re-export: set the scale to 4.1667x. Output: 4,375 × 2,500 px, 10.9 MP, labelled 300 DPI, printing at 3.5 × 2 in. Time: 40 seconds. File size: roughly 6–8× larger.
3. Fix B — relabel: keep the 1,050 × 600 file and run it through the DPI Converter to write 300 DPI into the metadata. Output: same 1,050 pixels, correct 3.5 × 2 in print size, file under 1 MB. Time: 15 seconds.
4. Verification: the DPI checker reported 300 DPI, 1,050 × 600 px, 3.5 × 2 in. The card printed on the next run.

The lesson generalizes. When the frame is already sized at inches × 300, relabeling beats re-exporting. When the frame is screen-sized — say 600 × 343 px — you genuinely need the 4.1667x scale, because those pixels cannot describe a 300 DPI print at that physical size. Need the pixel target for a different format? The DPI calculator returns it in one step.

Your 15-minute Figma 300 DPI action plan

1. Minutes 0–3: write down the required print size in inches and the DPI the recipient asked for.
2. Minutes 3–5: confirm pixel targets with the DPI calculator — inches × DPI gives the numbers your frames must clear.
3. Minutes 5–9: resize frames to those pixel values, or type the physical size directly into Figma's width and height fields.
4. Minutes 9–12: export PNG at 4.1667x, or export at 1x and relabel with the DPI Converter when the frame is already at 300 DPI size.
5. Minutes 12–15: verify one file per batch in the DPI checker. For PDFs, confirm the page measures 8.5 × 11 in or 210 × 297 mm.

Run it once and the routine fits inside a coffee break. Repeat it before every print order and preflight rejections disappear.

FAQ

Can Figma export at 300 DPI directly?

Not with a labeled DPI setting — Figma has no DPI field. It exports at 72 × your scale factor, so typing 4.1667x in the Export scale field produces 300 DPI. That custom value is the direct method.

Why is my Figma export 72 DPI?

Because you exported at 1x. Figma's documented default is 72 DPI, and the presets scale from there: 2x = 144, 3x = 216, 4x = 288. Only a custom scale above 4x reaches 300.

Does exporting at 4x in Figma give 300 DPI?

No. 4x gives 288 DPI, because 72 × 4 = 288. That is 4% below the standard and some print labs reject it. Type 4.1667x instead to land on 300 DPI.

How do I export 300 DPI from Figma without changing the image size?

Two options, depending on what "size" means. To keep the same printed dimensions while raising DPI, re-export at 4.1667x — pixels grow, printed size stays put. To keep the exact same pixel dimensions, relabel the metadata from 72 to 300 with the free DPI Converter; this only changes the number in the file header and never resamples.

Is Figma good for print design?

Yes, with three caveats. Figma exports RGB only, so CMYK conversion happens elsewhere. PDF export is locked to 1x and sizes pages at 72 px per inch. And raster images must already carry enough pixels — vectors scale freely, photos do not.

How do I make a 300 DPI PDF from Figma?

Build the frame at 72 px per inch (612 × 792 px for US Letter), then export PDF at 1x so the page measures correctly, and place images that hold at least 300 pixels per displayed inch. For CMYK, bleed, and crop marks, use a print plugin or assemble the PDF from 4.1667x PNG exports.

How can I check the DPI of a file exported from Figma?

Open it in the image DPI checker, which reads the stored density, pixel dimensions, and print size together. Screens never display DPI, so looking at the image cannot answer the question.

Does a 300 DPI export make my Figma file much bigger?

Yes. Going from 1x to 4.1667x multiplies pixel count by 17.4×. A 1,050 × 600 card becomes 4,375 × 2,500 px. If the frame is already sized at inches × 300, export at 1x and relabel instead — identical print result, a fraction of the bytes.

Conclusion: your next steps

Exporting a Figma design at 300 DPI comes down to one number: type 4.1667x in the Export scale field, because Figma always reports 72 × scale. Today, run that export on one frame and confirm it in the DPI checker. This week, resize your standard print frames to inches × 300 so future exports happen at 1x. Before your next print order, check one delivered file end to end — page size, pixel count, and DPI together. That 15-minute routine turns a printer's rejection email into a solved problem, and it costs nothing but the 40 seconds the export takes.

Sources and further reading

• Figma Help Center — Export formats and settings: the 72 DPI default and the DPI = 72 × scale formula
• Figma Developers — REST API images endpoint: scale range 0.01–4 and the 32-megapixel render limit
• Figma Developers — Plugin API ExportSettings: scale, width, and height export constraints
• Figma Community — "Images with 300 DPI resolution" discussion thread (May 18, 2022; 13 replies, 49,745 views)
• Figma Community — Print for Figma plugin thread on PDF page geometry (Ben Katz, 2026)
• Prepress screen-rule standards — the 1.5–2× image-to-screen frequency rule
• On this site: the DPI guide, DPI calculator, and DPI checker

Related guides

• How to change the DPI of an image — Windows, Mac, and browser methods
• How to change DPI in Photoshop — the Resample-off workflow
• What size image is best for 300 DPI — exact pixel sizes for every print format
• How to convert an image to 600 DPI — the step up for prepress and scanning labs
• All DPI guides — the full article library