What You Need

  • An inkjet or laser printer capable of 300 DPI (most modern home printers qualify)
  • Glossy or matte photo paper (4×6 inch sheets recommended)
  • A sharp cutting tool (craft knife or guillotine trimmer) and metal ruler
  • Your downloaded passport photo JPEG from our editor

Paper Selection

Most passport authorities accept both glossy and matte photo paper. However, matte is generally safer because:

  • Matte surfaces don't reflect light, which helps scanning equipment read the photo
  • Some automated systems reject photos where glare obscures facial features
  • Matte paper is less susceptible to fingerprints and smudging

Use genuine photo paper (Canon, Epson, HP brand or equivalent) — plain office paper will not produce acceptable print quality.

Printer Settings

  1. Open your photo in the default photo viewer or editor
  2. Select Print and choose your photo printer
  3. Set paper size to 4 × 6 inch (our print sheets are formatted for this)
  4. Set print quality to Best / Photo Quality
  5. Set DPI to 300 (or "Best" if DPI is not shown separately)
  6. Disable any "fit to page" or "auto scale" options — print at actual size
  7. Disable colour correction / auto-enhance — the photo is already colour-corrected

Using a Photo Lab Instead

If you don't have a good printer at home, most pharmacies and supermarkets offer 4×6 print services for around $0.25–$0.50 per print:

  • Walgreens Photo — in-store 1-hour prints
  • CVS Photo — in-store same-day prints
  • Walmart Photo — in-store or ship to home
  • Target Photo — in-store prints

Upload the 4×6 print sheet JPEG we generate and print it at actual size. Tell the lab "do not crop or scale" — they may try to fill the full 4×6 which would resize your photos.

Cutting the Photos

Once printed, you need to cut the individual passport photos from the sheet:

  1. Use a sharp craft knife or guillotine trimmer — scissors produce uneven edges
  2. Cut along the white guide margins between photos
  3. Edges must be clean and straight
  4. The final photo should match the official dimensions exactly (e.g., 2×2 inch for US)

Verifying Before Submission

Before submitting your passport application, verify:

  • Photo dimensions match the requirement (measure with a ruler)
  • No smudges, fingerprints, creases, or red-eye
  • Photo taken within the last 6 months
  • Your appearance matches your current look