What Is Borderless Printing? How to Enable It on HP, Epson, Canon & Brother Printers

What Borderless Printing Actually Means

Most home printers, by default, leave a small unprinted margin around the edge of every page — usually about a quarter inch. Borderless printing tells the printer to push ink all the way to the paper's edge, so photos and cards print edge-to-edge with no white frame. It's most useful for photo printing, greeting cards, and labels that need to fill the entire sheet.

Not every printer supports it, and not every paper size supports it either — borderless mode is usually limited to specific photo sizes like 4x6, 5x7, and letter, rather than legal or custom sizes. If you're setting up photo prints in general, our guide to photo papers pairs well with this one.

How to Enable Borderless Printing by Brand

HP Printers

1. Open the Print dialog and click Printer Properties or Preferences
2. On the Paper/Quality or Layout tab, choose your photo paper size (e.g., 4x6)
3. Look for a Borderless Printing checkbox and enable it — it only appears for compatible sizes

Epson Printers

1. In the print driver, go to the Main tab
2. Under Paper Size, select a size labeled with (Borderless) next to it
3. Select your paper type to match the photo paper you're using for best results

Canon Printers

1. Open the print driver and select the Main tab
2. Choose a paper size that includes a borderless option, such as 4x6
3. Check the Borderless Printing box and adjust the "Amount of Extension" slider if colors are getting cropped too much

Brother Printers

Fewer Brother inkjets support true borderless printing since many are optimized for document printing. Check your printer's spec sheet for "borderless" or "full bleed" support before assuming it's available — if it isn't listed, the printer likely can't do it at the driver level.

Common Borderless Printing Problems

The edges still have a thin white border

This usually means the paper size selected in the driver doesn't exactly match your physical paper, or the "extension" setting is too low. Try increasing the extension/overscan slightly so the printer bleeds a hair past the edge.

Colors look cropped or important parts of the photo are cut off

Borderless printing works by slightly enlarging the image so it overflows the page edge, which can crop up to a few millimeters on each side. When framing a shot for borderless printing, keep important subjects away from the very edge of the frame.

Recommended Paper for Borderless Photo Printing

Borderless mode shows every flaw in cheap paper, so it's worth pairing it with proper photo stock. Good options include glossy 4x6 photo paper for prints and premium matte or luster photo paper for larger borderless prints. If your borderless prints are also coming out faded, it's worth checking your ink cartridge levels before troubleshooting driver settings further.

Borderless printing is a small setting, but the right combination of paper size, driver setting, and paper stock makes the difference between a professional-looking print and a photo with a stray white edge.