There are many reasons to add or not to add a border. While we offer no border, a quarter-inch, and a one-inch border, there are other ways to add a custom border if needed. Feel free to reach out to us if your prints require this level of customization. 

What is a Borderless Print?

Borderless printing typically means that the printing area will be flush with the edge of the surface.

At The Stackhouse Printery, we only use the printing size as the printed area, so we do not include borders in the purchased or selected image size. All the borders will be in addition to the chosen print size.

Depending on the print shop, a border might be included in the selected size, or a border may be necessary for the product, like our mini prints and matting packages.

Some top uses for borderless prints include:

  • Retail Ready prints.
  • Art prints that are meant for standard-sized frames.
  • Standard-sized poster prints.
  • Art compositions with borders already included in the file.

Benefits of White Borders

If the art print needs extra space and you do not want to change the original artwork's aspect ratio or edit the file, then getting an additional white border will be beneficial. 

Top uses for prints with borders:

  • Room for signing and numbering prints (one-inch or more recommended).
  • Matting a print (quarter-inch or more recommended).
  • At home, gallery wrapping (two inches or more recommended).
  • Compositions that need extra white space and might not need to be a standard size.

ProTip: When thinking about borders, it can be helpful to work from the end result. If you want to frame prints in an 11 x 14 frame, set up the print to be borderless at 11 x 14 or order a cropped 9 x 12 and add a one-inch border. Both options yield an 11 x 14 print but have different looks because of the border.

 Framing Implications

Standard framing sizes are available at different department stores. Keeping prints borderless or at standard sizes can help you or your customer find frames.

Style and presentation are important for your work, so if borders or uncommon sizes are necessary for your prints, then custom framers can create frames or matting to fit standard frames instead.

Design Considerations

8 x 10 print (custom border already added)

8 x 10 borderless print (cropped)

 6 x 8 print with one-inch border (final size 8 x 10)


As shown above, one artwork can be printed in various ways. Determining the original art's size ratio, finding the reproduction size wanted, and seeing if borders are needed can help decide the final print size.

Compare Border Options

Upload an image and explore our border options to see the differences. Our products focus on the ease of standard sizing for our customers.

We found that not all things work well with borders, so prints like mounts, individually bagged, and retail-ready packaging prints will not have borders available due to bags and production limitations. However, we can either advise or add a custom border if needed.