All print guides

Borderless printing cuts off edges—even when the photo ratio matches

By Torides · Published October 4, 2026 · Source-checked desk research and original calculations

Your file is 1800×1200 pixels, the paper is 6×4 inches, and both have a 3:2 ratio. Yet the print loses the text near the edge. In this situation, changing the aspect ratio is unlikely to fix the underlying problem. A borderless setting may enlarge the image beyond the paper, or the output may be trimmed or covered after printing.

Start by identifying when the edge disappears. A missing edge in the order preview calls for a different investigation from a correct preview followed by a cropped physical print. Save your original and change one setting per proof; otherwise you cannot tell which change helped.

Four places an edge can disappear

These are diagnostic hypotheses, not a way to certify a printer remotely. More than one can apply. For instance, a 3:2 photo can first be cropped to 5:4, then enlarged for borderless output, then partly covered by a frame.

What expansion does to a correctly shaped file

Here is a deliberately hypothetical example, not an Epson default or a measured lab setting. Suppose a 6×4 image is enlarged to 103% around its center. It then occupies 6.18×4.12 inches. The sheet still measures 6×4, so the image extends 0.09 inches beyond each long-axis edge and 0.06 inches beyond each short-axis edge.

Only 1/1.03, or about 97.09%, of each image dimension remains visible. For an 1800×1200 source, roughly 26 source pixels per left/right edge and 17 per top/bottom edge disappear. About 5.74% of the original image area is outside the paper. A small enlargement therefore matters for a caption close to the edge even though the overall photo still looks normal.

This calculation is a model of centered scaling. Actual driver choices may use different amounts or behavior. Do not add a “3% safety border” to every image on the assumption that it compensates for every printer.

Check the driver before editing the photograph

Epson’s borderless troubleshooting instructions tell users to check compatible paper sizes and types, select the appropriate borderless option, and adjust the Expansion setting. These instructions support checking expansion as a cause; they do not establish one expansion percentage for all Epson models. Source checked October 4, 2026.

On your own printer, confirm the exact loaded paper and orientation first. Then find the model-specific borderless settings. If the driver lets you reduce expansion, make one test at the lower setting. Less expansion can expose an unwanted thin white edge; the choice may be between guaranteed coverage and preserving more of the boundary.

At a lab, inspect the final order preview after selecting the product and size. Ask whether the preview includes production trim and whether a border is part of the file or an added product option. Sending an image with white pixels around it does not instruct every ordering system to preserve those pixels.

Make a proof that answers one question

For a home-printer diagnosis, prepare a test image at the correct ratio with clearly labeled marks a known distance inside each edge. A 0.25-inch inset on a 300-pixels-per-inch test corresponds to 75 pixels. Keep the test separate from an irreplaceable photo.

Print once using the current settings. Record the selected size, borderless setting, expansion setting and any application scaling. Print a second copy changing only the suspect setting. Measure the position of the marks and the paper itself. If you change the image crop, page scaling and expansion simultaneously, the result will not identify the cause.

For artwork that must have an exact outer measurement, consider a larger sheet, normal margins and trimming after printing. That is a different task from making a photo cover a pre-cut sheet. The exact-size PDF guide explains how to check scaling without assuming that “Fit” means 100%.

What our tool can verify

Print Fit models the rectangular image-to-paper fit and an optional white border. It can tell you when a 3:2 source fills 6×4 without ratio cropping. It cannot read your printer driver, determine a lab’s cutting tolerance, or measure a frame opening. Treat a zero-crop result as zero mathematical ratio crop, not a guarantee that every source pixel will appear in the physical print.

These calculations model geometry, not a physical print test. Printer behavior and lab order previews take precedence over this preview. Method, limitations & corrections