When adding borders to an image for an art print, the size of the borders will depend on your personal preference and the aesthetic you are trying to achieve. However, think about the mood or tone you want to set. Wide, bold borders can create a sense of drama, while thin borders can be more subtle and understated and contemporary.

As an approximate guide:

  1. For contemporary borders take the side that is the shorter, either the width or the height. For portrait images this will be the width, for landscape images this will be the height. Add a border that is 4 or 5% of the total width or height to each side. Then add the same sized border on the other sides of the images, so the border is the same all around.
  2. For traditional borders, take the height and add 7% of the height as a border to the top, and 13% at the bottom. Add 5% to each side.
Contemporary
Traditional

Please note that there are not hard and fast rules, the above is a guide but you will want to judge it by eye yourself to get what feels right, and then keep a note of that so you always make it consistent across all of your work. Also worth noting that when you order prints with us, and when you setup print products to dropship you can add borders in our software.

Updated on 31 January 2023

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