How to Print Your Passport Photo at Home or at a Kiosk
Once your photo is ready, printing it correctly matters as much as taking it. A photo that is scaled wrongly or printed on poor paper can be rejected even if the picture is perfect. Here is how to print it well, at a kiosk or at home.
The 4x6 inch print sheet
IDPhotoly arranges your photos on a 4x6 inch (10x15 cm) sheet, the standard size of a photo print. Several passport photos fit on one sheet, so you pay for one ordinary print instead of one print per photo. That is why this route is cheap compared with a studio session. The sheet includes guide lines to show where to cut.
Where to print
- Photo kiosks: many shops and malls have self-service kiosks that print from a USB stick, a card or a phone.
- Pharmacies and supermarkets: many have a photo counter that prints 4x6 inch photos.
- Online print services: upload the sheet and collect or receive the prints by post.
- At home: with a colour printer and photo paper.
When you use a shop, choose 4x6 inch (10x15 cm) and ask for no automatic cropping, zoom or "fit to frame". Prices differ between shops, so compare before you pay.
Printing at home
1. Use photo paper, glossy or matte. Plain office paper dulls colours and shows banding.
2. Open the sheet and choose the print dialog.
3. Select the paper size 4x6 inch (10x15 cm) or the size of the paper you loaded.
4. Set the scale to 100 percent or actual size. Never choose fit to page, fill or shrink to fit, because that changes the photo size.
5. Choose the highest quality or the photo paper setting.
6. Print one test sheet before you print several.
Checking the size with a ruler
Measure the printed photo itself, not the sheet. Most documents state a size in millimetres or inches. If the print is slightly small or large, your printer or the print app has scaled the image. Go back to the print dialog, find the scaling option and set it to actual size.
Cutting along the guide lines
Cut along the guide lines with a sharp pair of scissors or a paper trimmer. Cut slowly and keep the cut straight, since a crooked edge looks careless. Stay on the line, and keep the margin around the head intact.
Common printing mistakes
- Scaling: fit to page or an automatic shrink makes the photo the wrong size.
- Colour cast: an ink or paper problem gives a yellow or blue tint to the skin and background. Run the printer's cleaning routine and use matching ink.
- Low-quality paper: thin paper wrinkles and shows banding.
- Cutting into the head: trim only along the lines.
- Smudged ink: let glossy prints dry before you handle them.
Price, refund and privacy
Prices start at $6.99 as a one-time payment, handled by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record. Your photo is processed in your browser and is not uploaded. If an official authority rejects the photo, you can request a full refund by email within 30 days at [email protected]. IDPhotoly is not affiliated with any government.
Last updated October 5, 2026.