4×6 vs 2×6 photo booth prints: which should you offer?
Photo booth prints come in two standard sizes: the 4×6 postcard and the 2×6 strip. Both are printed on the same paper, but they suit different events, crowds and budgets. Here’s how to choose.
The two sizes
4×6 (postcard). The same size as a standard photo print. It holds one big photo or a collage of two to four, landscape or portrait, with room for a logo, names and a date.
2×6 (strip). The classic photo booth strip: usually three or four photos stacked top to bottom, with a small design at the bottom.
How strips are printed
Event booths use dye-sublimation printers, which print on rolls of 4×6 paper. To make strips, the booth software lays out two identical strips side by side on one 4×6 sheet, and the printer cuts the sheet down the middle as it comes out.
So one sheet always gives two strips. Most booths hand one to each person in a pair, or one to the guest and one to the guestbook. Check your printer’s settings: the cut is usually an option in the printer driver.
Because strips come in pairs, they cost the same per sheet as a 4×6 but half as much per strip. With paper at about 14 cents a sheet, that’s about 7 cents a strip. More on costs in what a photo booth costs.
Side by side
| 4×6 print | 2×6 strip | |
|---|---|---|
| Photos per print | 1 – 4 | 3 – 4 |
| Copies per sheet | 1 | 2 (cut in half) |
| Paper cost (about) | 14¢ each | 7¢ each |
| Group photos | Great: lots of width | Tight: narrow frames |
| Fits standard frames | Yes | Needs a strip frame |
| Room for branding | Plenty | A small footer |
| Feel | Keepsake, clean | Classic, playful |
Which suits which event
- Weddings: strips if the couple wants a guestbook (the second copy goes in the book); 4×6 if they expect big family groups.
- Corporate events and brand activations: 4×6, for space for the logo and a bigger hero photo.
- Birthdays, proms and school events: strips. They’re fun, nostalgic and easy to share between friends.
- Large groups and families: 4×6, ideally a single large photo so nobody is cut off.
Not sure? Ask the client how many people will crowd in at once. If the answer is “the whole table,” go 4×6.
Designing your layout
Pixel sizes
Most event printers print at 300 dots per inch, so design at:
- 4×6: 1200 × 1800 pixels (portrait) or 1800 × 1200 (landscape)
- 2×6 strip: 600 × 1800 pixels per strip, two of them side by side on a 1200 × 1800 sheet
Keep important things away from the edges
Printers trim a hair off the edges, and strips are cut through the middle. Keep faces, names and logos a little way in from every edge, including the center line on a strip sheet.
Make faces big
On a strip, each photo is small. Fewer people per frame, filling more of the frame, looks better than a distant group.
Do a test print
Screens lie about color and size. Print one before every new layout goes to an event.
Boothzite comes with a ready-made 4×6 layout and a 2×6 strip layout, you can import your own template folders (a background, an overlay and photo positions), and each saved event remembers its layout. If you’re lighting your booth too, read our lighting and flash guide.
Questions
How are 2×6 photo strips printed?
Dye-sub photo printers print a 4×6 sheet with two strips side by side, then cut it down the middle. So every sheet gives two identical 2×6 strips.
What size are photo booth prints?
The two standard sizes are 4×6 inches (postcard size) and 2×6 inches (the classic strip). Both come from the same 4×6 paper; strips are a 4×6 sheet cut in half.
What resolution should a photo booth template be?
Most event printers print at 300 dots per inch, so a 4×6 template is 1200 × 1800 pixels and each 2×6 strip is 600 × 1800 pixels.
Which is better for weddings, strips or 4×6?
Both work. Strips feel classic and give two copies per sheet, one for the guest and one for the guestbook. A 4×6 shows bigger faces, suits large groups and fits standard frames.