Printing a passport photo at home: size, paper and settings
Two separate questions: how to make a sheet that prints at the right size, and what the official sources say about paper. They are answered separately below.
Part 1 — Making a print sheet (what the tool does)
PhotoSpec’s free Print Sheet puts a finished photo on a 4 × 6 in, US Letter or A4 sheet at the photo’s published physical size.
- Choose the country and document, or type your own measurement.
- Pick the paper (4×6, Letter or A4) and how many copies.
- Add your finished photo. It is processed in your browser and not uploaded.
- Download the sheet and print at 100%, with page scaling and “fit to page” turned off. Any scaling changes the physical size.
- Cut along the guides.
The sheet is saved at 300 pixels per inch. That is the tool’s setting, not a government rule — none of the documents in our verified source data publishes a DPI figure.
The tool only handles size. It does not check your background, head position, lighting or expression, and a correctly sized photo can still be rejected.
Part 2 — What governments say about paper
This is a separate question from what the tool can make. Below is only what the official sources state. None of them says, in so many words, that a home-printed photo is accepted or refused. Where a source is silent, we say so.
| Document | What the official source says about paper |
|---|---|
| U.S. passport (paper application) | “Print your photo on matte or glossy photo-quality paper.” No photocopies or scanned photos; wrong paper is a rejection reason. |
| U.S. passport online renewal | Upload a digital photo — no print. |
| U.S. immigrant visa (DS-260) | Two identical photos, printed on photo quality paper, 2 × 2 in. |
| USCIS I-485, I-765, N-400 | Two photos, “printed on thin paper with a glossy finish”, unmounted, 2 by 2 inches. (N-400: applicants living outside the U.S.) |
| Spain passport | 32 × 26 mm on “papel fotográfico de buena calidad”. |
| Spain DNI, driving licence | No paper rule found in the official sources. |
| Poland ID card (in-office application) | The regulation says the photo is made “na papierze fotograficznym” (on photographic paper). |
| Poland passport | Bring a printed photo. A 2016 ministry guide mentions glossy photo paper, including glossy photo paper for printers. |
| Germany passport and ID card | Inside Germany, no printed photo is used: the photo is produced electronically by a photo service or taken by the authority. |
The U.S. passport page also gives a printing tip for photos that show printer dots or look grainy: use higher-quality ink, paper or print settings, raise the printer resolution, and use glossy or matte photo paper.
Part 3 — Don’t have a good photo yet?
The Print Sheet works on a file you already have. PhotoSpec (the app) guides the framing while you shoot and checks the photo before saving. It is processed on your phone and not uploaded. $3.99 per saved photo on Google Play; retakes are free; the Print Sheet costs nothing extra. No ads, no subscription, no separate Pro version.
Android · iPhone version in App Store review
Related
Digital passport photos · Passport photo cost by store
Sources
Everything here comes from the issuing authority’s own pages. Where the official wording is ambiguous or differs between documents we have said so rather than picked a number. Our sourcing policy is described in sources and verification.
- U.S. Department of State — Passport Photos (last updated March 24, 2026): travel.state.gov — Passport Photos
- U.S. Department of State — U.S. Visas Photo Requirements: travel.state.gov — Photo Requirements
- USCIS — form instructions: I-485 (09/04/26) p.10 · I-765 (08/21/25) p.21 · N-400 (01/20/25) p.4
- Spain — passport photo: Real Decreto 896/2003, art. 4 · dnielectronico.es REF_1084
- Spain — DNI: BOE-A-2025-6601, art. 6.2.d
- Poland — ID card regulation: Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1031, § 5 ust. 1
- Poland — ID card or passport photo: gov.pl — Zdjęcie do dowodu lub paszportu
- Germany — passport and ID card photos: PassG §6(2) · PAuswG §9(3) · PassV §4 · PAuswV §5a (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Last checked 12 September 2026. Rules change — check the authority before you submit.