Designing Collages and Cards for Print with Canva and PicCollage

Created by: PrintForFun. Reviewed and updated by the KT Colour team, October 2026.

The short answer: both apps print well if you start the design at the real print size. In Canva, create a custom size in centimetres or inches (for example 30 x 40 cm for an IKEA frame) and download it as PDF Print. PicCollage is quick for phone collages, but the free version adds a watermark, and you should check the pixel size of the saved file before printing it large. Whatever you design, match the shape of the print you will order or the edges will be cropped.

Canva

Canva is a website and app with thousands of templates for collages, posters, cards and invitations, and it is free for almost everything you need for printing. The three settings that matter:

1. Start at the print size. Click Create a design, then Custom size, and type the exact size in cm or inches. Designing at the right size from the start means the fonts, margins and photos are in proportion. A4 is 21 x 29.7 cm, 4R is 4 x 6 inches, and every other size is on our photo sizes guide.
2. Use big enough photos. Canva will happily stretch a small photo across a poster. Each photo in a collage still needs roughly 300 pixels for every inch it covers on paper, so a photo filling a 4 inch wide space needs 1200 pixels across. Upload originals from the camera roll, not WhatsApp copies.
3. Export for print. Share, then Download. Choose PDF Print for cards and posters, and tick Crop marks and bleed if the design runs to the edge. PDF Print is saved at 300 dpi. PNG and JPG downloads follow the pixel size of the design, and the size and quality sliders are a Canva Pro feature. If you need a PNG or JPG on the free plan, set the design up in pixels at 300 per inch from the start: 1200 x 1800 px for a 4R, 1500 x 2100 px for a 5R, 2400 x 3000 px for an 8R.

PicCollage

PicCollage is a phone app built for quick grid and freestyle collages, with stickers, backgrounds and text. It is the faster of the two for a birthday card or a nine-photo grid. Two limits to know:

• Check the size of the saved file. The free version saves a smaller image than the paid one, and the exact size depends on the app version and your phone. Open the saved collage, look at its pixel size, and divide by 300 to get the largest sharp print in inches. A 1920 x 1920 pixel collage, for example, is sharp up to about 6 x 6 inches. For anything larger, build it in Canva.
• The free version adds a small watermark. Crop it off or leave a margin for it.

Match the shape to the print

A print is a fixed shape. If the design is a different shape, something is cut off. Set the design's aspect ratio to the print you will order:

Our Photo Crop Calculator shows exactly what gets trimmed if the shapes do not match.

Three things worth designing

• Collage poster. Twelve to twenty photos from a trip or a year, with a title. Print as an A2 or A1 poster, or at 50 x 70 cm for an IKEA RIBBA.
• Birthday and thank-you cards. Design the front in Canva at A6 and we print it as a flat or folded card on 260 gsm stock, from one piece.
• Quote or typographic art. A short line of text on a plain or textured background, printed on fine art paper and framed. The simplest piece of wall art there is.