Each colored box represents a certain number of megapixels. The numbers along the top and left side are print dimensions in inches at 300ppi (pixels per inch). Most books and magazines require 300ppi for photo quality. For example, the chart shows that you can make a 5" x 7" photo quality print from a 3 megapixel camera.
I think it's not really quite as cut and dried as that - it can also depend on the level of detail in the photo (lots of very fine detail may not scale up as well), how it's going to be viewed (e.g. in a large room versus up close in a hallway), and of course how sharp the shot is to begin with (meaning how much actual resolution is in the photo versus the sensor's resolution).
When I was shooting with my D70, which has a 6MP sensor, I printed a number of my photos at 8"x12" with good results. I probably could have gone a bit larger than that.
with what dpi? 300?
does anyone know where to find or have available a chart or list of the minimum requirements for size / dpi / resolution / etc. for different print sizes?
you can cover the moon with a print at one dot per mile, and it'd look great from here