Overview of Paper and Photo Sizes
Here is a handy list of common paper sizes and Fotolia image sizes to help you quickly check you are buying the right royalty free photos for your needs.
UK Paper Sizes Quick Guide
As a rough guide, here are the suggested image sizes (in megapixels) required for each standard UK paper size if you wanted a 300dpi image:
A6 - 105x148mm - 4.13in x 5.83in - 2.167MP
A5 - 148x210mm - 5.83in x 8.27in - 4.34MP
A4 - 210mmx297mm - 8.27in x 11.69in - 8.7MP
A3 - 297mmx420mm - 11.69in x 16.54in - 17.4MP
Do NOT confuse computer filesize (megabytes) with camera filesize (megapixels). A 6MP camera image can turn out to be just a 3MB file on your PC hard disk.
At Fotolia, the photos are priced based on filesize.
M Standard license - 72dpi. Files >= 1.9MP
L Standard license - 300dpi. Files >=3.7MP
XL Standard license - 300dpi. Files >=7.8MP
XXL Standard license - 300 dpi. Files >= 15MP
Extended licenses and Exclusive Buy Out Licenses are sold at the original file size, so are the largest file the photographer has.
What Image Size/License Do I Buy From Fotolia?
If I were looking for a 300dpi image to print on the front cover of my A5 leaflet, I'd need 4.34MP, so I'd be need to look at the XL sized images to buy on Fotolia.
If my A5 leaflet were not required to be of the top/best quality, I might get away with buying the L license.
Once you've done your first search, you can use the panel on the left to refine and filter your search to only show you images that would be large enough. Try it now!
Buy The Largest File You Can
It is always a good move to buy the largest image you can afford now as it gives you more options in the future of how to use it. The image might not be available next time if you want to buy it larger next time as the photographer may have removed it from sale.