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Poster print sizes, IKEA and Kmart frames

The frame decides the size, not the printer. Here is what fits what, what the mount in the box covers, and how big the file needs to be.

Last updated 6 September 2026

The short answer

30×40 cm for one race on a wall with other things on it. 50×70 cm when you want people to walk over and look. 21×30 cm for a shelf, or a gallery wall of several races in matching frames.

Or print A-series, A3 or A2, and frame it at Kmart. Just do not print at A3 expecting it to fit an IKEA frame. It will not. More on both below.

IKEA frames and what they hold

IKEA's frames run to their own ladder of sizes, close to the A-series but not the same. Most of the bigger ones come with a cardboard mount whose opening is the next size down, so one frame gives you two print sizes to choose from.

Ranges vary by country, so check the box before you print. FISKBO and YLLEVAD are the cheap ones and come without a mount.

Kmart frames and the A-series

Kmart frames the sizes IKEA skips, so an A3 or A2 print has somewhere to go. The box frames are named after the mount opening rather than the frame, which is the thing to watch: a Frame Box A4 is an A3 frame that shows an A4 print through card.

The Large Poster Frame is the odd one out at 61×91.5 cm, and a 61×91 print loses the half centimetre under the lip. Officeworks frames the same A ladder if the Kmart shelf is bare.

Why A3 does not fit

This catches everyone out: A3 is what the print shop quotes, 30×40 is what IKEA sells frames in, and they are not the same rectangle. Pick the ladder before you print. Race Map's centimetre sizes match IKEA, its A sizes match Kmart, and the PDF puts a 30×40 poster on an A3 sheet with marks to cut along.

Mount, no mount, or a printed border

A poster inside a mount looks considered; one filling its frame looks bold. Both are good, and the choice changes the size you print.

• No mount. Print at the full frame size, 30×40 cm of paper in a 30×40 cm frame, and the map runs to the edges.
• The mount from the box. Print at its opening instead, so 21×30 cm for a 30×40 frame, or A4 for a Frame Box A4. Cheaper to print, and real card looks better than printed white.
• A printed border. For frames sold without a mount, IKEA's FISKBO and YLLEVAD or Kmart's certificate frames, or when you want a wider border than the mount gives. Race Map prints the white onto the sheet for you.

How big does the file need to be?

300 DPI is what print shops call photographic quality. Below about 150 it goes soft up close; above 300 you are just making a bigger file. Race Map exports at 300 DPI at every size, so a 70×100 cm poster really is 8268×11811 pixels.

Getting it printed

Any print shop or online poster service will take the PDF as it is. It carries the page size, so there is nothing to get wrong at the counter. Ask for matte or satin, 200 gsm or heavier, and it will sit flat in the frame. Gloss reflects the room and fights the glazing.

At home, 21×30 cm and A4 are easy. Anything bigger needs an A3 printer, and home printers rarely print to the edge, which matters if you have gone without a mount.

Portrait or landscape?

Follow the route. A course that runs north to south, like most point-to-point marathons, wants portrait. One that sprawls east to west, or a lap circuit that fills a square, is happier in landscape or in one of the layouts that fills the sheet with map and puts the title over it. Race Map re-lays out the poster either way, so nothing gets cropped.

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Race Map is free, needs no account, and never uploads your file · Exporting a route from Strava, Garmin and the rest