How to print a photo collage

A collage that looks perfect on the phone can come back from the shop with the caption cut off and a face trimmed at the edge. Nearly always the cause is the same: the picture and the paper were different shapes. Decide the paper first, build the collage to fit, and the print will match the screen.

Step 1: choose the paper size before you start

Every paper size has a shape. Build the picture in the same shape and nothing needs to be cut.

4 × 6 inch (2:3): choose "4 × 6 inch print" in the size list of the collage maker or frame maker. Exact fit.
8 × 10 inch (4:5): choose Portrait. Exact fit. The same file also suits 16 × 20 inch enlargements if the photos are large.
Square prints: choose Square. Many shops print 5 × 5 or 8 × 8 inches.
A4 (1:1.41): no size in our list matches A4 exactly. Build in the 4 × 6 print size and ask for the print "fitted, with a white border", or accept a thin trim at the long ends.
5 × 7 inch (5:7): build in Portrait and keep faces and words away from the two long edges, where a little will be trimmed.

The full list of papers and their shapes is in the print size chart.

Step 2: build with a safe margin

Use a little spacing and a white background. The outer spacing acts as a border and protects the photos from trimming.
Keep the caption short and let it sit well inside the bottom edge.
After choosing the layout, check each box and drag photos so that no face touches a border.

Step 3: use large photos

In a collage, each photo fills only part of the paper, so a collage is more forgiving than a single large print. Even so, photos that came through a chat, and screenshots, turn soft on paper. Use originals from the gallery wherever you can, and place any small photo in a small box.

Step 4: get the file to the shop without shrinking it

Best: carry it on the phone and transfer by cable, or on a pen drive.
Good: email it to the shop.
If the shop uses WhatsApp: send it as a document, not as a photo, so that the file is not made smaller on the way.

Step 5: tell the shop three things

The size, in inches or as A4.
"Fit the whole picture", not "fill the paper", if the shapes differ. Fitting leaves thin white strips; filling crops.
The finish: glossy or matte (see below).

Ask to see the picture on the shop's screen before it is printed. Cropping mistakes show there, when they are still free to fix.

Glossy or matte

Glossy paper gives deep colours and strong contrast. It shows fingerprints and reflects light, which matters behind glass.
Matte paper has no shine. It suits collages with faces, pictures that will hang opposite a window and anything people will hold and pass around.

For a framed collage on a wall, matte is the safer choice.

Printing at home

A home inkjet printer can print a good A4 collage on photo paper. In the print window, choose the paper type that matches the paper, select the best quality, and turn on "fit to page". Let the print dry flat for a few minutes before you touch the surface or frame it.

After printing

Hold prints by the edges. To frame the print, read frame and mount sizes. To send a collage by post or courier, place it between two pieces of stiff card inside the envelope so that it cannot bend.

Questions people ask

What size should I print a photo collage?

A 4 × 6 inch print suits two to four photos. For five to nine photos, 8 × 10 inches or A4 keeps each face large enough to see.

Why did the shop cut off part of my collage?

The collage and the paper had different shapes and the shop filled the paper. Build the collage in the shape of the paper, or ask the shop to fit the whole picture with a white border.

Is matte or glossy better for a collage?

Matte for a collage that will be framed behind glass or handled, because it does not reflect light or show fingerprints. Glossy gives stronger colours.

Frame a photo Make a collage