How to Print 4x6 Photos on an HP Printer From an iPhone

To print 4x6 photos on an HP printer from an iPhone, load 4x6 photo paper and print from Photos (Share, then Print); no HP app is needed. On letter paper, iOS enlarges the photo to fill most of the page, so for real 4x6s use Apple’s Pages or iPrint Printer on an AirPrint printer.

HP’s own app, which the App Store now lists simply as HP (it used to be HP Smart), prints photos too, and its listing says it needs an HP account for full functionality. Which route suits you comes down to one thing: the paper in your printer.

In this guide9 sections

Which route to use, by the paper in your HP printer

Paper in the printer	Photos (AirPrint)	HP’s app (formerly HP Smart)	iPrint Printer
4 x 6 photo paper	Prints a 4x6	Prints a 4x6	Prints one 4 x 6 per sheet
Letter paper	Enlarges it to fill most of the page	Fit or fill the page; owners report an original-size option and pinch-to-resize, with no size in inches	Up to two prints, each exactly 4 x 6
Account	None	HP account for full functionality	None
Cost	Built into iOS	Free download	Test page and test photo free; your own photos need Unlimited Printing

On 4 x 6 photo paper, all three get you a 4x6, and Photos needs no extra app and no account. On letter paper, Pages and iPrint Printer are the routes where you set the size in inches.

With 4x6 photo paper: print from Photos

This route needs no HP software at all. HP’s own AirPrint page describes AirPrint as a print driver built into the iPhone that prints to most HP printers, and points to HP’s app for extra settings and scanning.

Load the 4 x 6 photo paper. HP’s photo-printing guide says to use the photo tray for small photo paper if your printer has one, and that front-loading trays take photo paper print side down while rear-loading trays take it print side up. The label on the tray, or your model’s page on HP’s support site, shows which kind you have.
If the printer’s screen asks what you loaded, choose the 4 x 6 size and photo paper.
In Photos, open the photo, tap the Share button, then tap Print.
Choose your HP printer. If the print options show a paper size, check that it reads 4 x 6.
Tap Print.

HP’s AirPrint page notes that the options you see, such as paper size and copies, depend on the app you print from, the kind of job and the printer, so a short list of options is normal. The iPhone camera shoots 4:3, 16:9 or square, and a 4x6 print is 2:3, so a strip gets trimmed either way; if the edges matter, crop it in Photos first, as the guide to 4x6 photos on letter paper shows.

On an HP LaserJet, don’t load inkjet photo paper. HP’s photo-printing guide warns that it can damage a laser printer. Print on letter paper instead, as below.

With HP’s app (formerly HP Smart)

HP’s app has a photo route of its own. HP’s support page describes it: tap your printer, tap Print Photos and choose the photo, then set the paper size and the paper type, and the tray if your printer has more than one, before the preview and Print. With 4 x 6 photo paper loaded, that gives you a 4x6, and you set the paper type yourself, which HP says lets the printer apply its ink properly to the paper you loaded.

Three things to know before you rely on it:

An HP account. HP’s App Store listing says the app needs internet access, and an HP account for full functionality.
It sizes to the sheet. HP’s guides describe layout choices that fit the photo to the paper you picked or fill it. On 4 x 6 paper that is the 4x6; on letter paper, fitting or filling gives a page-sized photo.
Resizing by hand, not by inches. Owners on HP’s community forum describe a pinch-to-resize with no size in inches, and one reported it missing after an update, so check your version before counting on it.

Where HP’s app earns its place is everything around the print: setting up a new HP printer, checking ink levels, scanning and HP’s support.

On letter paper, the 4x6 comes out full-page

With plain letter paper in the tray, Photos has no print-size setting (Apple’s steps go from Share straight to Print), and iOS sizes the photo to the paper the printer reports, so a 4x6 photo prints as large as the sheet allows. Resizing the photo first doesn’t change that. Two ways put a true 4x6 on the sheet:

Pages, at no cost. Apple’s word processor places a photo at an exact width and height and prints the page as laid out. The Pages walkthrough takes a few taps per photo; measure the first print.
A printing app with a size setting. iPrint Printer, below, sends each photo at the size you pick and fits up to two 4x6s on a letter sheet.

How to print 4x6 photos on an HP printer with iPrint Printer

iPrint Printer adds the size setting iOS leaves out. It works with HP printers that support AirPrint, on the same Wi-Fi as your iPhone or iPad, and its test page and test photo are free, so you can check your HP and the size before paying.

Load letter paper: plain, or letter-size photo paper.
Open the app (called Printer on your Home Screen), tap Print Photos and pick your photos.
Tap Size and choose 4 × 6 in. Set the copies, then set Paper in Your Printer to Letter.
Check the sheet on screen. Two prints fit on a letter sheet, turned sideways one above the other; with two, the line under the sheet reads “2 prints on 1 sheet of Letter.”
Tap Print a Free Test Photo. It prints a sample picture the app draws, at 4 × 6 in the middle of your letter paper, so you can check the size on your HP before you pay. Then tap Print; the first time, choose your printer.

Each print goes to the printer at exactly 4 x 6 inches, with a 3 mm gap between the two to cut along; a third photo starts a second sheet. The app fills each print from the middle of the photo and dims the parts that won’t print; tap the crop button next to a photo to move or zoom it. The cutting tips in the letter-paper guide apply as they are.

Once the app has reached your HP printer, it shows the plans: Unlimited Printing is $4.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, after a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. If it never finds the printer, you aren’t asked to pay.

Paper on an HP. Plain letter paper is fine. On an inkjet, glossy or matte letter-size photo paper usually looks better, and in the app it’s still Letter. On a LaserJet, stay with paper made for laser printers.

On 4 x 6 photo paper, the app prints one 4 x 6 per sheet, but Photos already does that at no cost. The app’s 4 x 6 photo paper setting earns its keep with smaller sizes, such as two wallet photos on one 4 x 6 sheet.

If your HP printer doesn’t show up on the iPhone

Every route above goes through AirPrint, so the iPhone has to find the printer first. HP’s AirPrint page suggests checking that the printer’s wireless light is on, that it’s on the same network as the iPhone, and that AirPrint is turned on in the printer’s settings page, the Embedded Web Server, which you open by typing the printer’s IP address into a browser.

iPrint Printer finds printers the same way iOS does, so it can’t reach one the iPhone can’t see; if yours never appears, you won’t be asked to pay. Connecting a new HP printer to Wi-Fi is a job for HP’s app or the printer itself.

On iPad

An iPad on the same Wi-Fi as the HP printer goes through the same AirPrint routes. Apple’s iPad User Guide gives the same Share, then Print steps in Photos, so 4 x 6 photo paper still gives you a 4x6 and letter paper a page-sized print. HP’s app is listed for iPad as well as iPhone, and iPrint Printer runs on iPadOS 26 or later with the same Size and Paper in Your Printer rows, two 4 x 6 prints to a letter sheet.

What iPrint Printer can’t do on an HP printer

Print without AirPrint and Wi-Fi. It prints only to HP printers that support AirPrint and share your iPhone’s Wi-Fi network, with no USB, Bluetooth or cloud printing.
Replace HP’s app. It doesn’t set up printers, show ink levels or scan. It prints.
Print edge to edge on letter paper. Each 4x6 sits inside the printer’s margins, with white paper around it to trim.
Print your own photos at no cost. The test page and the test photo are free; your own photos need Unlimited Printing.

Printing other sizes on the same HP? The steps don’t change: 3.5 x 5 photos fit up to four on a letter sheet, and 5x7 photos two.

FAQ

Do I need the HP Smart app to print photos from my iPhone?

No. HP says AirPrint, which is built into the iPhone, prints to most HP printers: open the photo in Photos, tap Share, then Print. HP’s app, now listed on the App Store as HP, adds its own photo options, and its listing says it needs an HP account for full functionality.

Why does my HP printer print my 4x6 photo on the whole page?

Because the printer reports letter paper. Photos has no print-size setting, and iOS sizes the photo to the paper the printer reports. Load 4 x 6 photo paper (and set it on the printer if it asks), or place the photo at 4 x 6 inches on the letter sheet with Pages or iPrint Printer.

How do I print 4x6 photos with the HP app?

HP’s steps: tap your printer, tap Print Photos and choose the photo, then set the paper size to 4 x 6 and the paper type to the photo paper you loaded, and print. That makes a 4x6 on 4 x 6 photo paper. On letter paper, use Pages or iPrint Printer instead.

Can I print two 4x6 photos on one letter sheet with an HP printer?

Yes, if the printer supports AirPrint. In iPrint Printer, choose 4 × 6 in and Letter: two prints fit, turned sideways, 3 mm apart for cutting. Its free test photo, a sample picture the app draws at your size and on your paper, checks the size on your printer before you subscribe.