4 × 6 photo measures 101.6 × 152.4 mm. Its pixel dimensions change with PPI; the physical trim size does not.
A 4 × 6 inch photo measures 101.6 × 152.4 mm. It needs 1200 × 1800 pixels at 300 PPI, and its 2:3 aspect ratio matches many camera files.
300 PPI: 1200 × 1800 px · aspect ratio 2:3Portrait values are rounded to the nearest whole pixel after converting the native physical dimensions.
| PPI | Width | Height | Use context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 288 px | 432 px | Layout or screen reference |
| 96 | 384 px | 576 px | Layout or screen reference |
| 150 | 600 px | 900 px | Print / distance dependent |
| 240 | 960 px | 1440 px | Print / distance dependent |
| 300 | 1200 px | 1800 px | Detailed print target |
| 600 | 2400 px | 3600 px | Detailed print target |
A landscape 3:2 image fills a 6 × 4 print without ratio crop. Portrait uses the same pixel values in reverse order.
Preview your framingThe same 4 × 6 trim is 600 × 900 px at 150 PPI, 960 × 1440 px at 240 PPI and 1200 × 1800 px at 300 PPI.
Check an actual imageA lab may slightly crop for edge-to-edge output. Keep faces and text away from the edge and confirm whether the product includes a border.
The 4 × 6 is the standard small photo-lab print for snapshots, albums, postcards and inexpensive proofs. Its 2:3 ratio matches many 3:2 camera sensors, so orientation-aligned photographs often fill the paper without a deliberate ratio crop.
A ratio match does not eliminate every edge risk. Borderless lab equipment may enlarge slightly to avoid white slivers, so faces, captions and dates should stay away from the edge. Ask whether the product is borderless, bordered or supplied with an automatic crop preview.
At 300 PPI, 1200 × 1800 pixels is the trim target. A phone image often exceeds that count, but focus, noise reduction, messaging-app compression and screenshots can still limit visible quality. Inspect the actual file rather than its source device alone.
For this 4 × 6 example, the printer requests 3 mm bleed on every edge and a 5 mm safe margin inside trim. The artwork canvas becomes 107.6 × 158.4 mm, or 1271 × 1871 pixels at 300 PPI. The protected region is 91.6 × 142.4 mm. These are example production requirements, not part of the paper standard.
Set the trim before placing the layout, extend the real background into bleed, and keep faces, lettering and other essential content inside the provider’s safe margin. A raster canvas and a PDF with page boxes describe the same physical job differently; do not scale all artwork simply to include an export border.
Recalculate with your printer’s exact margins4 × 6 identifies the final physical format. Bleed expands the artwork beyond that edge; a safe margin moves important content inward. Those extra values depend on the print provider.
Calculate bleed and safe areaUse the source pixels, final orientation and intended crop for standard photo-lab prints and postcards; then confirm the required PPI with the provider.