Monday, October 10, 2016

10 Most Common Paper Sizes for Printing Photos Worldwide

Which paper size is best for printing your photo at home, or for ordering prints? Here is the answer to this question. We have created a list of the most popular and commonly used paper sizes in the world.

The most common paper sizes for printing photos are:


  1. Argentina – ISO A and B Series
  2. Canada – Non-metric traditional paper sizes
  3. European Union – ISO A, B and C Series: Metricated traditional paper sizes
  4. Japan – JIS A and B series: Metricated traditional paper sizes
  5. United Kingdom – ISO A, B and C series: Metricated traditional paper sizes
  6. United States – Non-metric traditional paper sizes.

List of Paper Sizes, with Height:Width ratio:

1. 4R Photo Paper – 4x6 inches  (4"x 6”)  – Aspect Ratio: 3:2

If you are an amateur or a portrait photographer, then this standard paper size is good choice to print your photos because it is a suitable size for you to practice your art prints. It adds up a good stock of frames in a more cheap and size friendly way. However this paper size is very much popular in the South Asian parts of the world. So if you are a student and trying to make things less expensive for passport sized photos which are needed a lot of times then you can try this app from your smartphone called “Passport ID Photo Maker Studio”. Search on Google Play store for "ID Photo" or "Passport Photo" and get yourself the free version of the app. The app will create you a perfect combination of 9 pp. sized photos within the 4 x 6” space. So now you can print them as a single photo at rates of a 4 x 6” photo. And scissor it yourself later to have your ID photos.

2 - 5R Photo Paper – 5x7 inches (5"x 7”) – Aspect Ratio: 7:5

A 5 x 7” square inches paper for printing your photos has exactly a size of 127 x 178 mm and an aspect ratio of 7:5. This is a standard photographic print size and widely known as “13 x 18 cm” around the globe.  The alternate name of this print size is 5R.

3. 6R Photo Paper – 6x8 inches (6"x8") - Aspect Ratio: 4:3

A 6 x 8” square inches paper for printing your photos has exactly a size of 152 x 203 mm and an aspect ratio of 4:3. This is a standard photographic print size. The alternate name of this print size is 6R. This is paper size is best suited for the family photography, a photo for desk display or the better to create a wall collage of memories. This size is most popular, affordable and comfortable among all other sizes. If you are planning to make a wedding photo album or a collage of childhood memories then this might be the best paper size to print your photos

4. 8R Photo Paper – 8x10 inches (8"x10") –  Aspect Ratio: 5:4

A 8 x 10” square inches paper for printing your photos has exactly a size of 203 x 254 mm and an aspect ratio of 5:4. This is a standard photographic print size and widely known as “20 x 25 cm” around the globe. The alternate name of this print size is 8R. A slice of difference in size but both are very popular paper sizes among the photography and framing because these are perfect sizes of you are planning to open an art gallery with wall mounting or standing display on any flat surface. In short these are hanging pictures sizes. One of the top selling paper sizes for photos in USA.
A 8R is a great option to choose for your graduation and diplomas certificates whereas a 8.5 x 11” is very diverse paper size allowing you to print your photos.

5, 6. 11R and S11R – 11x14 inches and 11x17 inches – Aspect Ratio: 17:11 and 14:11

A 11 x 14” square inches paper for printing your photos has exactly a size of 279 x 356 mm and an aspect ratio of 14:11. This is a standard photographic print size and widely known as “28 x 36 cm” around the globe. The alternate name of this print size is 11R. A 11 x 17” square inches paper for printing your photos has exactly a size of 279 x 432 mm and an aspect ratio of 17:11. This is a standard photographic print size and widely known as mini posters around the globe. The alternate name of this print size is S11R. Both paper sizes are versatile, meaning they offer variety of display characteristics for the photo. These sizes are preferred mostly in the art shops, musical venues and theaters. If you are one of those silent artist or painter who is planning to sell your work through gallery and conventional space then this size will be appropriate for your photographs. A not too big and a not too small 11R and S11R paper sizes are great size option for your advertising policies in landscape orientation.

7. Collage – 16x20 inches  –  16"x20” – Aspect Ratio: 5:4

If you are perplexed with what sizes of photographs to hang over the wall of your home or if you are fond of wall arts then this paper size is what you must look for printing. This dimension is perfect for mid-sized displays of art in your walls. The photos fit in more decoratively. The design-driven art will reflect your quality interiors because this way you can make highlight pieces on your wall or part of mixture with other photos to form a collage on wall.

8. Decorative Design –  24x36 inches –  24"x36” – Aspect Ratio: 3:2

This is classic poster size for printing your photos, moreover something bigger than just a mere snap. It is very big paper size that can cover large space of your wall. It demands a firm support if you want it to stay for longer time. A high resolution and high pixel photograph demands such a big paper size. This size is mostly used as advertising flyers, movie posters and decorative designs. It is suitable for dorm room, black light, background photographs and your office walls.

9. Poster Sizes – 27x40 inches  –  27"x40”

27 x 36” might be looking small for your eyes then you need something bigger like 27 x 40” paper size that can totally satisfy your wall art space. They are next measurement upgrade. These are not so commonly used paper sizes but with the addition of bold framing you can have a large noticeable photographic presence all over your wall. This is the most common movie poster size used for advertising movies, events and basement decoration.

10. Bus Stop Poster - 40x60 inches –  40"x60” –  Aspect Ratio: 3:2

The largest photo paper size that is really big for any photo because it is commonly known as Bus Stop Size. This paper size of designing and art are for bus stops. This is the largest popular paper size unless you are going for custom sizes at your will.

Though our list consists of the most widely used photo sizes, the later ones are not quite of use to many people except they are engaged in advertising agencies. You can purchase the photo papers for printing your photos in local stationery stores. A glossy paper is required by most authorities for your photos to be accepted.






5 Places to Print Passport Photos in United Kingdom (UK)

It is a huge concern for the UK passport photo processing because there are a lot of examples of rejection and it is eminent if there are any fault in the passport photo making. You can find a lot of places to get your passport photos printed in the United Kingdom but some are weird enough to know that they exist and some don’t support such services. Here is the list of photo printing options in the UK.

List of Photo Photo Printing Options in UK

1. Photo booths

The photo booths are similar to telephone booths except it offers people to print passport and visa photos. These kinds of booths are very normal to be found if you are traveling in United Kingdom because shopping malls and marts in UK consist of these photo making tiny studios. In fact most photo booths in UK offer a UK version of passport photo printing service as well as some other countries like US and India. So these booths are very common places to look for printing your passport photo if you are near metro stations and large supermarkets.

2. Online website services

PhotoMountsUk is an online shop website offering best UK passport photo printing service in highest quality at best prices. They even have volume discounts and all courier deliveries are made by UPS in 1-2 working days. There are no limits over the bulk printing so it is a good option if you are with lots of different photos. All you need to do is place an order, submit your digital image and give your delivery address and you are good to go for as low as £2.95.

3. Local automated machines

If you need to print passport photos and you also in very hurry then there are other options in UK like ATM places. These are local automated machines similar to ATMs but they offer you passport photo printing service at lowest as £5 per set. These machines located nearby local streets in UK can help you with its services within 10 minutes. Only if you are planning to print in bulk as of all family members then it can add up to a lot of expenses regarding other options.

4. Bricks-and-mortar Print Shops

It is well known that online printing services are taking everyone with ease and comfort everywhere in world. But still there some old print shops like Minuteman Press Printing Franchise who are not into the internet commerce things and still manages to outcast big companies for such printing services. In UK, it is very popular and feasible to search for
a print shop to get your passport photo printed in standard rates. Despite the online craze of printing services, people still rely on these bricks-and-mortar print shops outside the UK cities. These print shops use digital printing and hence they offer print-on-demand service.

5. The Identity and Passport Service (IPS)

IPS is the official wing of the Government of UK Home Offices responsible for all the UK Passport Services. This includes from UK passport application processing, handling, printing to delivery process inside the country and overseas. This is probably the safest and most reliable destination for anyone willing to get the UK passport done in efficient and perfect manner because ultimately HM Passport Office is the sole issuer of UK passports. The fun part is that they deliver at your doorsteps via their new secure delivery system.

Alternative: DIY - Print at Home With Home Printer

Unless you are tired and boring to try new things around the technology, you can opt for the do it yourself with your own home printer. This is a much nicer alternative to try if you cannot do with ones mentioned above. For this, you need just three basic things to start with.

A good quality camera mobile or a smartphone (who don’t have possess a smartphone nowadays!), your own color home printer and a recommended android app “Passport ID Photo Maker Studio” with all the pro-tools for your ease.

Now all you need to do is install the passport photo utility app from Google Play Store and start taking the perfect photo. Everything else from photo editing to checking the requirements are performed by the app on your commands. Now connect the color home printer by means available like Bluetooth, WiFi connectivity or wired connections. And start printing your passport photo as much as you like. If you are planning to move to the US, don't forget to read our article dedicated to printing passport photos in the United States. Happy Printing!


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

10 Places to Print Passport Photos in the United States


This articles is a follow up to other articles that discuss about preparing passport / id photos yourself using mobile apps like passport id photo studio. Once you have arranged your photos for printing, next step would be to get it printed, if required

List of Printing Options

1. Print at Shipping Company Stores

The biggest international shipping company and chain supply stores in the US are FedEx and UPS. Both of them offer the passport photo printing services at their local office locations nearby your community. FedEx Office Print and Ship Services are the official FedEx store locations where the passport photo printing services is readily available. 2 passport photos cost around $15.00 via FedEx Kinkos as known previously whereas the UPS store passport photo services can cost around $12.00 for same two photos. There are more than 2000 FedEx franchise stores and 4700 UPS franchise stores all around the US.

2. Find National Drugstore Chain Stores

The major pharmaceutical companies and health care retail stores are the Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and Duane Reade. These are the national drugstore chains of American retail and health care companies that offer passport photo printing services through their local franchise stores at reasonable prices. A combined total of more than 20,000 franchise stores in various locations of the US, these stores aid you in getting your passport photo printed in perfect way. Drugstores are easy to print place. You can get your photo taken processed and ready within few hours. CVS Pharmacy is an online platform with printing photo services to your nearest CVS store. It is a subsidiary of an American retail and health care company named CVS Health.

3. Order Prints at Digital Photography Studios

The digital photography studios are not visited as often in the US locations. These professional studios charge a bit more than what usually the above mentioned stores do. So to avoid extra expenses for a printing service, people usually omit these places. However to submit a decent quality passport photo for the application process is very important. So these places offer good quality photo with professional support.

4. Print at US Post Offices

Most of the US post offices offer more than just getting your passport photo printed for you. They also accept your passport application and related paperwork. The passport application acceptance service also includes passport photo service. So this is a one stop place for everything about your passport procedures. You can get your photo taken quickly and sent ahead for processing; a super easy place to do everything.

5. Order Prints from Registered Passport Expediters

For people with urgent need of express passport photo processing, a registered passport expediting service helps the applicant to get a passport photo within a two weeks or less. These places also help the applicants who are unable to visit regional agency. Most of the expediters who reside in these service agencies can help you get your passport photo processed instantly in these locations. A more convenient place to print your passport photos during urgency.

6. Get Printed from Membership Franchise Stores

There are many franchise stores which offer the certain time period of membership for various types of services and one of them is photo printing services. Some of the examples are 1 hour photo lab at Costco Photo Center and AAA travel services. There are exists more than 500 Costco stores where you can get your passport photo printed in good quality and price. These membership franchise stores provide you the one of the cheapest prices for the photo printing service. If you are a member of such franchise company then you are good for a discounted rate.

7. Visit Local Retail Stores with Printer

Getting your passport photo printed in the major retail stores nearby is much more convenient and cheaper than the passport acceptance facility. The passport photo must adhere to the strict rules and requirements of the US Dept. of State Consulate and thus no any glitches must occur. So you can visit your nearest local retail stores and ask a photo specialist for the printing services. The best place to recommend is Walmart Photo Center.

8. Print at Universities and Campus Vicinity

Every year among the huge passport applicants number, there also remains a huge number of students and people related to education institutes, colleges and who dwell in university boundaries. For these walks of people, it is very comforting to know that there are offices of student affairs and study abroad program which provide a full package of passport photo printing services. As a lot of students are trying for the passport procedures, these educational vicinities offer printing services along with taking these photos and processing further. So if you are a student, go check those offices and ask for these awesome services.

9. Visit Warehouse and Low Price Retail Stores

Walmart offers their online website portal specifically for the passport photo services. If you are with good connectivity then it is better to opt for this option. The steps are simple and easy. Upload your photo into their website, get it processed and finally the nice part is that they deliver your printed result at your doorsteps. It offers as low as $7.99 for two passport photos. But if you want it to do professionally at your own home printer then we suggest you take a glance at one of the best app to support you; “Passport ID Photo Maker Studio” packaged with pro-tools to support you with all of the troubles you may get during its hectic steps.

10. Print at Photo Booths

Lastly photo booths are not the common places to be found in United States as it is unlikely different for people in UK. In US, mostly there are shopping malls and even it is hard to find a photo booth outside of these malls. So normally people don’t visit photo booths for passport photo and it also doesn’t comply with the standards to be fair. But if you do find such photo booths, please don’t turn around and neglect them because it does prints your passport photo. Some booths even allow you to get your photo done in compliance with UK and India photo standards. If you are finding it hard to print photos due to confusing standard requirements, there is this awesome mobile app “Passport ID Photo Maker Studio” built with pro-tools that does your editing in seconds and makes most of your task much easier for you. The app can be your best option to consider for the cheaper and yet better service for your passport photo.
You can find so many places to get your passport photos printed in the United States unless you dwell in a very remote area or the suburbs of the city. All the big cities and local areas have these fundamental places. The most common places to visit for the printing the passport photos are pharmacies, local print shops, warehouse clubs, shipping stores, newspaper offices, digital photography stores and some of the other large retail stores. We will describe you the 10 prominent places and their services to get your passport photos printed in the US.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Photo requirements for EDV application form - everything you need to know

If you are still not aware about the requirements for your EDV application photo then you are at right place to acknowledge the real-experience facts and guidelines about it. Here we are to guide you through everything you need to know starting from basics.We assure that you shall have a pixel perfect photo for your EDV application after you have read and implemented these guidelines. Okay! Let’s start from some of the most important things to know about the EDV photo and its specifications firstly.

EDV Photo Guidelines

A passport-sized photograph MUST be uploaded, attached and finally submitted with your EDV online application through your application process. If the online application includes the details of more than a person (for e.g. an entrant’s spouse), then a photograph of each included person must be submitted accordingly.
  1. The submitted photograph/s MUST be taken recently and MUST not be older than 6 months. The most ideal thing to do is to take a photograph recently for this purpose only. After all, this must not be a big deal for such a dream lottery. Isn’t it?
  2. If your photo doesn’t fit the technical formats officially stated by US State EDV Consulate, then the Department of State’s free Photo Tool automatically rejects your submitted photo and gives you another chance to make it right. You get a lot of chances like this one. So here we stand at a safe side for a thing or two for now.
  3. The EDV digital photograph to be submitted can be produced in two different ways. Both ways are equally acceptable according to the US Embassy photo requirements.

How to take photo for EDV Form

  1. A new digital photograph can be taken with a professional visa photo service which is best recommended but if you want you may take the photo yourself by using a professional high definition camera. However, the photograph MUST not be altered, enhanced or using any digital effects to change the person’s real appearance in any way.
  2. You can also take a picture using a camera phone with decent quality. Then you can use freely available mobile apps to crop the photograph to required size. So far the best app that you can find in the Play Store is "Passport ID Photo Maker Studio" that gives you all the pro-tools you need to make sure that the photo meets all the required guidelines.
  3. The other and equally acceptable option is to scan a photographic print with a digital scanner and create a scanned photograph. The photograph thus produced can also comply with the standards mentioned within the photo requirements.

Do the photos meet EDV form requirements?

Yet you cannot know whether your submitted photograph is accepted as correct one or not; even if the online Photo Tool approves the technical formats because the status of acceptance of the submitted photograph totally resides at discretion of US Embassy or consulate. So you get only one best chance to check everything about your EDV application photograph. So, use it carefully because once you submit then you cannot undo anything until another lottery opening.

Technical Requirement of an EDV Photo

The EDV online application photograph to be submitted MUST strictly meet these official and specific requirements as per the accordance of US Embassy Consulate rules for digital photo.
  1. The photo MUST be in JPEG (.jpg) – “Joint Photographic Experts Group” file format consuming no more than 240 kB (kilobytes) of file size in any way. The photo size MUST be less than or equal to 240 kB.
  2. The image pixel dimensions of the photo MUST be in square aspect ratio i.e. in general terms; the HEIGHT of the photo MUST be equal to the WIDTH.
  3. Stating the earlier requirement more precisely, the digital photo to be submitted MUST be exactly 600 x 600 pixels in image resolution and dimension.
  4. For the digitally scanned photo produced by using the digital scanner, two additional requirements to the previous three mentioned above consist that the existing photo must be 2 x 2 inches ( 51 x 51 mm ) and scanned at a resolution of 300 pixels per inch ( 12 pixels per mm ).
  5. Last but the most important and a basic requirement is that the photo MUST be in color. The black and white, gray scale and monochrome images or photos are NOT accepted. The image color depth MUST be 24 bits per pixel.

Photo requirement after EDV Results

If you are selected for the EDV program as a selectee for an interview then there are three important things to keep in mind and they are:
  1. You must take two identical photos during the interview process. The photos submitted through online EDV application program must not be different in appearance from the photos that you take to the interview process.
  2. The technical requirements include that these two identical photos must be printed in a quality photo paper.
  3. The size of the identical photos must be 2 x 2 inches ( 51 x 51 mm ). 
You can also process these photos via the passport photo android app available in Google Play Store and remain on the safe side. This cool app called Passport ID Photo Maker automatically sets everything to the required dimensions and size and creates a ready digital format of your photograph to be printed in any digital photo studio or pharmacy nearby.

Print your EDV Photos yourself

Or if you intend to print in your home printer and you are confused with the simple steps, then you can read: 5 steps procedure to print your photos from an android phone using your home printer.Any sort of failure to comply with any of the above mentioned photo’s technical requirements directly leads to the disqualification of the EDV entrant’s application. The EDV online application photo technical requirements goes through a lot of technicalities and photo editing hassles. In the process it can surely tire someone with little or no technical and photo editing knowledge. So, the best recommended smartphone app till the date for the mobile users is the “Passport ID Photo Maker Studio" that’s available for free for all your basic photo editing tools’ requirements and other printing troubles. And surely the app eases most of your photo editing along with the photo preparation task with its pro-tools that does all of your hard work for the pixel perfect photo.

Compositional requirements of EDV Photo

The compositional requirements of the EDV photo adhere to placement and arrangement of the entrant’s visage. Some of the requirements that must conform to the compositional specifications for the EDV entrant’s photo are as follows:
  1. The entrant’s full-face view with a neutral facial expression and both eyes open directly facing the camera must be photographed.
  2. The vertical distance of entrant’s hairline or clean shaved head to chin must be sized or placed in the photo between 22 mm and 35 mm i.e. 50% to 69% of the total image’s height.
  3. The complete view of the photo must not show any body parts below the entrant’s shoulder or any other objects or person.
  4. The entrant must be in a formal dress worn daily or any religious clothing provided that his/her daily lifestyle represents the clothing. Otherwise no any uniforms or special attire is accepted for the photo. The hairline and the head must be clearly visible in the photo except any religious clothing worn daily.

EDV Photo with spectacles and ornaments 

Read our article for information on this topic in detail. In short, for the people wearing glasses, hearing devices and similar items in the head part of the body, the display of these items in the photo is acceptable. However, anything other than these normal daily items like ornaments and apparels is totally unacceptable.
To understand these requirements more clearly, see some of the best sample photographs for an EDV online application and compare your photos.Read 10 places to get your passport photos printed in the US, for information that is useful after you reach US. 


USA Passport Photo Requirements - Expression, Apparels, Ornaments And Other Objects

This can be read as the Part 2 guide for the US passport photo requirements as it contains the specifications that especially concerns about...