Should You Choose 6 × 4, Square or Retro Prints at Photobox?

A 6 × 4 inch print makes sense for a family album with 6 × 4 pockets. For a row of pictures above a desk, a square print might suit the space better. If you want to put a date or place underneath each picture, Photobox also offers retro prints with room for text. The useful question before you order is whether the paper fits its destination and the people in the picture fit the paper.

Measure the pocket or frame first

Take a print that fits your album and measure its outside edges. For a frame, measure both the space that holds the paper and the opening in the mount. A 6 × 4 print can fit the backing while the mount still hides part of a face close to the edge. A paper template cut to size lets you check both measurements before uploading a batch.

Photobox lists 6 × 4 inch standard prints and 4 × 4 inch square prints. Its retro print measures 4.8 × 4 inches overall. Part of that sheet is the border, so the full paper dimensions do not describe the visible picture. In a 6 × 4 landscape pocket, a retro sheet with its four-inch side aligned to the pocket height leaves space at one end. Decide whether the presentation or a close fit matters more.

Try one group photo in two crops

A 6 × 4 print has a 3:2 shape. Suppose your landscape phone photograph is 4,000 pixels wide and 3,000 high. Filling the standard print edge to edge while retaining the whole width gives a crop about 2,667 pixels high. Around 333 pixels disappear from the top and bottom combined. If someone’s hair is close to the top, moving the crop down would cut away even more of it.

Now try that same file in a square. Keeping its full height leaves a 3,000 × 3,000 pixel picture, taking 1,000 pixels from the two sides combined. On a group shot, the friends at opposite ends may no longer fit together. A centred close-up of a flower could use the same square well. Choose the crop for each picture, even if the whole order will go in one album.

If the group needs its full width and height, Photobox’s 5.4 × 4 inch option is closer to the shape of this file. Check a preview against your intended pocket. Keeping the whole group may be worth a little unused space on the page.

Reserve the retro format for pictures that need a caption

A place and a year beneath a print can turn a holiday picture into a small gift. Photobox’s retro option lets you add text in the editor. Pick a short caption, inspect the spelling and check that the border will remain visible in your display. If a frame mount covers the line of text, a standard print with the date written on the back may work better.

Work out the delivered cost per usable print

On 3 November 2026, Photobox’s UK price overview listed a 6 × 4 premium print at 22p. Its product page showed standard delivery at £3.99. For a worked example using those figures, twenty borderless prints at the listed base price cost £4.40. With that delivery charge, the total would be £8.39, or about 42p per print. Use the figures in your own basket for the actual price, including any quantity pricing or extras.

If four of those twenty prints would crop someone out and only sixteen would go in the album, the same £8.39 works out at about 52p per usable picture. Fixing those four crops before ordering gives the original spend more value. Once the sizes and quantities are right, check whether a Photobox discount code applies to that order and compare the final total including delivery.

Compare the same twenty prints at Snapfish

Snapfish UK also offers 6 × 4 and 4 × 4 prints, so you can price the same album or wall display there. Use the same twenty files, print sizes, finish and quantities. Snapfish says its delivery charges depend on the number and size of prints. Check the Snapfish discount code page for an applicable offer and enter the delivery cost from its basket alongside the Photobox total.

Before paying, open the preview of the widest group shot, the closest portrait and any captioned print. If those three fit their spaces, apply the same check to the rest. A few minutes spent on the edges of each picture can save a second order and another delivery charge.