How to Print Borderless Photos at Home, Step by Step

A photo with a white frame looks like a document; the same photo printed edge to edge looks like a print from a lab. Most home photo inkjets can print borderless photos, but the setting hides in different places, works only with certain papers, and always trims a little from the picture. This guide explains how borderless printing works, where to switch it on, and how to get clean edges without cutting off anything important.

How borderless printing works

A printer cannot stop its ink exactly at the paper’s edge. To leave no white margin, it does something simple: it makes the image slightly larger than the paper, so a thin strip runs off every side. Canon’s driver guide describes it exactly that way: the data is enlarged so that it extends slightly off the paper. Brother’s settings guide says the same, and adds the consequence: because the image is made slightly larger than the paper, some cropping of the photo edges happens.

So two things are always true:

1. A little of the picture is lost on all four sides.
2. Some ink is sprayed just past the paper edge, into a part of the printer designed to absorb it.

What you need

• A printer that supports borderless printing. Most photo-oriented inkjets do; many laser printers do not. Check the specifications for “borderless”.
• A supported paper size. Canon says borderless printing only supports specific paper sizes. Common ones are 4 x 6 inch (10 x 15 cm), 5 x 7 inch, A4 and Letter, but your printer’s list is what counts.
• A supported media type. Usually glossy or matte photo paper. Canon says borderless printing is not recommended with plain paper, and that print quality may fall or the sheet may be stained at the top and bottom depending on the paper. Our guide to the best paper for a home printer covers photo papers.

Where to find the setting

Windows (example: Brother). Brother’s guide to printing a photo: open the printer’s preferences from the print dialog, set the Media Type to the paper you loaded, choose the Paper Size, tick Borderless on the Basic tab, set Color, and print. Brother adds that you should always match Media Type to the paper for the best quality, and suggests loading one extra sheet of the same photo paper in the tray.

Mac (example: Canon). Canon’s Mac driver guide: in the print dialog choose a paper size ending in “(borderless)”, open the Borderless Printing section of the pop-up menu, adjust the amount of extension if needed, and click Print. Canon recommends the second slider position from the right for most cases.

Phones and tablets. Printing through AirPrint or Mopria shows only the options the printer reports, and borderless choices vary by model. The maker’s app usually exposes borderless photo printing more reliably; see AirPrint vs Mopria.

Crop first, so nothing important is cut

The biggest cause of disappointing borderless prints is a mismatch in shape. Canon warns that when the ratio of height to width differs between the image and the paper, part of the image may not be printed, and suggests cropping the image to the paper size in an application first.

• 4 x 6 inch paper has a 3:2 shape. Many phone photos are 4:3 or taller, so printing one borderless on 4 x 6 trims noticeably from the top and bottom (or the sides).
• Crop the photo to 3:2 yourself, so you choose what goes.
• Keep faces, heads and text a safe distance from every edge, because the extension trims a little more.

Our guide to photo printing at home has more on sizes and cropping.

The extension setting

Some drivers let you choose how far the image extends past the paper:

• More extension makes sure no thin white line appears at the edges, but crops more of the image and sprays more ink beyond the paper.
• Less extension keeps more of the image but may leave a hairline white edge on some sheets.

Canon warns that setting the slider to the far right may smudge the back of the paper. Stay with the maker’s recommended setting unless you see white edges.

Fixing common problems

The Borderless option is greyed out. Choose a paper size marked borderless and a photo media type. Brother notes that borderless may not be selectable for some combinations of media type and quality, or from some applications. Canon notes that some media types, such as envelopes, become unavailable when borderless is on, and that you cannot combine borderless with scaled or page layout printing; turn those off.

Thin white lines on one edge. The paper may be loaded slightly skewed; reload it squarely against the guide. Increase the extension one step if it persists.

Smudges on the back or streaks at the top and bottom. Reduce the extension, check you are using photo paper, and clean the inside of the printer as the manual describes. Canon’s manuals have a bottom plate cleaning procedure for this.

Colours look wrong. Check the media type matches the paper. If lines or colours are missing, read print head clogging before reprinting.

Is borderless worth the ink?

Borderless prints use slightly more ink per photo because of the extension, and the absorbent area that catches overspray fills up over time. For a handful of prints for frames or albums, the result is worth it. For a large batch of snapshots, a small white border is cheaper, and a print shop may cost less per photo; our guide to printer cost per page shows how to compare.