How to print passport photos at home

Photo shops charge for a handful of passport photos, and the job is really just printing the same small picture several times on one sheet at exactly the right scale.

Passport photo
Whichever tool you use here, the file stays on your device. How that works

Step by step

  1. 1Set up the photo first, choosing your country and lining the head up with the guide lines.
  2. 2Choose a print sheet before you save. A 4 by 6 inch sheet holds several copies at the standard size.
  3. 3Save the sheet and take it to any photo counter, or print it at home on photo paper.
  4. 4Print at 100 per cent with scaling turned off, then cut along the hairlines.

Scaling is what ruins a home print

The single most common mistake is letting the printer fit the image to the page. Fit to page nudges everything by a few per cent, which is invisible to the eye and fatal for a document where the size is measured. Turn scaling off, choose actual size, and the millimetres come out right.

The second is paper. Ordinary office paper absorbs ink and the result looks washed out and feels wrong to anyone handling it. Photo paper costs little and is what the counter uses.

If you are printing at a shop, hand over the sheet rather than the single photo. A shop asked for one small picture will often scale it to fill the paper, which puts you back where you started.

Questions

How many photos fit on a sheet?

It depends on the size your country requires. The sheet is filled automatically and the count is shown before you save.

What are the thin lines around each photo?

Cutting guides. They mark the exact edge so you can trim accurately with scissors or a trimmer.

Can I use A4 instead?

Yes, that option is there too, though 4 by 6 photo paper is cheaper at a print counter and wastes less.