Is there demand for wall printing services?

Yes, there is real demand for wall printing services because businesses and homeowners increasingly want custom, visual interiors without using wallpaper or hand painting. Wall printing works especially well for offices, cafés, restaurants, hotels, schools, gyms, retail spaces, showrooms, children’s rooms and feature walls. The opportunity is strongest where the service is still new locally. Many clients have never seen direct-to-wall printing before, so strong photos, sample projects and simple local marketing can quickly create interest. It is not automatic income, but it is a practical service business with clear B2B and B2C use cases.

Do I need startup capital?

Yes, you need startup capital because this is an equipment-based service business, but the entry cost is relatively low compared with many repeatable physical service businesses. In selected markets, financing may also be available. For example, in the UK: Finance-wise, we can introduce you to a UK asset finance partner (leasing / hire purchase) – subject to approval. It is also worth checking local business support, grants, innovation funding or regional startup programmes, as these can vary by country and city. Even when investing your own funds, wall printing can be one of the lower investment thresholds for starting your own repeatable service business. You are buying a tool that can be used across many types of paid projects, from private interiors to commercial spaces.

What if the business doesn’t work out?

If the business does not grow as expected, the biggest issue is usually sales activity, not the printing technology itself. Wall printing is a local service business, so results depend on how consistently you market, follow up with leads, build a portfolio and create relationships with businesses such as interior designers, agencies, contractors and venue owners. The printer can still remain a useful business asset. You can keep it as an additional service, use it for occasional projects, combine it with an existing creative or renovation business, or adjust your offer toward the customer segments that respond best in your area. As a final option, you can also sell the printer and recover part of the investment. It is still a professional piece of equipment, so it may have resale value for someone who wants to enter the wall printing market.

How long does it take to grow?

You can learn the basics quickly, but building a stable wall printing business takes consistent local sales and marketing. The first stage is usually learning the machine, preparing sample work, creating simple offers and showing potential clients what wall printing looks like in real spaces. Growth usually comes from visible proof: before-and-after photos, short videos, testimonials and completed projects in offices, homes or commercial spaces. The wall printers⁺ package is designed to support that start with training, business materials, a course on making money with wall printing, project portfolio materials and, depending on package, a dedicated website.

What are the ongoing costs?

The main ongoing costs are ink, consumable parts, print head maintenance or replacement, travel, marketing and your own working time. Wall printing is usually a very high-margin service, because the ink cost per m² is often around 8% of the selling price, depending on the final rate, wall type and whether white underprint is needed. The starter set includes UV ink for approximately 150 m² of printing and consumable parts for the first year, which helps reduce the early operating burden. A dark or coloured wall may require white underprint, which increases ink use and printing time. When preparing a business plan, you should also include the cost of a new print head. Depending on the print head model, usage intensity and maintenance habits, this may be needed around once a year or once every 1.5-2 years. You should also budget for normal business expenses such as transport, insurance, local advertising, sample prints and replacing consumable parts according to the maintenance schedule.

Your earnings depend on how many square metres you sell, your local pricing, your travel costs and how efficiently you schedule jobs. As a practical average benchmark, many operators can use €100-€150 per m² to estimate potential revenue before costs. For example, a 10 m² wall at that benchmark would mean €1,000-€1,500 in sales before costs. This is not guaranteed income – results vary between markets because of local demand, energy prices, installation costs, usage patterns, incentives, regulations and the operator’s ability to generate regular orders.

What are typical market rates?

Typical wall printing rates are usually calculated per square metre, with the final price adjusted for size, wall colour, design complexity, travel, access, urgency and whether white underprint is needed. A useful average benchmark for planning is €100-€150 per m². Small projects may also need a minimum order value because setup, travel and preparation take time even when the printed area is small. Dark surfaces, difficult access, outdoor work or highly detailed files can justify higher pricing because they usually require more preparation, more ink or longer printing time.

When does the investment pay back?

The investment pays back when your profit from completed jobs covers the cost of the printer, setup and operating expenses. A simple way to estimate this is to divide your total investment by your expected profit per m², not just the selling price. Payback varies between markets because of local energy prices, installation costs, usage patterns, incentives, taxes, import rules and local pricing levels. As a realistic planning benchmark, use €100-€150 per m² in revenue before costs, then subtract ink, travel, marketing, maintenance and your time to estimate your real recovery speed.

Do I need technical skills?

No, you do not need to be an engineer to start, but you do need to follow the process carefully. Wall printing requires practical skills such as assembling the machine, checking the wall, preparing the file, calibrating the printer and monitoring the job while it prints. The wall printers⁺ onboarding includes technical training, video tutorials, practical checklists and support, so beginners can learn the workflow step by step. The best operators are usually organised, patient and willing to practise, rather than people with advanced technical backgrounds.

What surfaces can I print on?

You can print on many vertical surfaces, including plaster, brick, concrete, wood, glass, tiles, wallpaper, metal, acrylic, plastic and similar materials. The wall printer⁺ pro uses UV-cured ink and distance sensors that help keep the print head at a constant distance from the surface, even when the wall is not perfectly flat. The surface should still be clean, stable and free from dust or grease. Outdoor printing is possible in many cases, but exposure to sun, rain, temperature changes and local climate can affect durability, so extra protection such as varnish may be recommended depending on the project. The main limitations are ceilings and strongly curved surfaces. A wall printer is designed for vertical printing, so ceilings are limited by basic physics. Round pillars, heavily arched walls or very curved surfaces can also be difficult or impossible to print on accurately, because the print head needs a stable, controlled distance from the surface.

How do I transport the printer?

The printer is designed to be transported between jobs as separate components. It can usually be carried in a passenger car with a large boot, such as an estate car, although a compact van or mini van such as a VW Caddy or Ford Tourneo is more convenient for regular commercial work. One person can assemble, disassemble and operate the printer. For frequent jobs, the best setup is to keep the components organised in dedicated bags or cases, protect the print head carefully, and build a repeatable loading routine so transport becomes part of the normal workflow.

What file formats are needed? Where to get designs?

Most common graphic formats can be used, but the exact list depends on the RIP software. FlexiPrint supports formats such as JPG, PNG, PDF, PSD, AI, EPS and BMP, while other supported formats may be available depending on the software setup. Designs can come from the client, a graphic designer, licensed stock libraries, brand assets or custom artwork. For commercial work, always check image resolution and usage rights before printing – a beautiful design still needs to be sharp enough at the final wall size and legally licensed for the client’s use. With the right package, you can also get access to the wall printers⁺ customer community, where some members are professional graphic designers. This gives you the option to outsource design work and add a higher-value creative service to your own offer, instead of only selling the print itself.

How to Prepare a Graphic for Wall Printing in Photoshop – 5 Simple Steps for Anyone

Scroll down below to learn more

Guide
25.09.2026
Reading time: 8 min
Author: Rafał Wierzbicki

Are you worried that preparing a graphic for wall printing in Photoshop is complicated? Does opening the program make you feel slightly uneasy?

We have good news: preparing a file for a wall printer is a simple, repeatable process that takes no more than 10 minutes. In this guide, we will walk you through each step and show you that you can handle it—even if you have never used Photoshop before.

Why you do not need to be a graphic designer to run a wall printing business

First, let us clear up one important issue that causes stress for many beginners.

When you run a wall printing business, you do not have to design every project from scratch.

Where can you get graphics for wall printing?

Your clients will often provide their own photos or designs.
You can use ready-made graphics from stock libraries.
For more complex projects, you can outsource the design to a freelance graphic designer.

As the operator, your main responsibility is to technically prepare the print file.

Read on and see how straightforward the process really is.

How to Prepare a Print File for Wall Printing in Photoshop: 5 Simple Steps

Let us go through the process we use every day at our wall tattoo™ service company—and teach during our in-person training.

There are five practical steps ahead.

Step 1: Crop the Graphic to Its Edges

A wall printer treats empty white space around the graphic as part of the file dimensions. If you leave those margins in place, the final print on the wall will be smaller than planned.

The solution takes just a moment. The Trim Transparent Pixels function automatically detects the edges of your graphic and crops the canvas to match them.

One click and you are done – no need to outline the edges manually.

Step 2: Change the Color Mode to CMYK

As you may already know from our previous article, Which Specifications and Parameters Matter in Wall Printing? We Explain the Technical Terms, your monitor displays colors in RGB, while a printer mixes ink using CMYK.

Your file needs to contain color data in a format the printer can read.

In Photoshop, you can do this by selecting:

Image → Mode → CMYK Color

That is it.

Step 3: Apply the Coated FOGRA 39 Color Profile

The CMYK color mode alone does not tell the printer exactly how the colors should look.

This is where the Coated FOGRA 39 profile comes in. Think of it as a translation guide that tells the machine how to mix the ink droplets so the colors on the wall are as close as possible to what you see on the screen.

To apply the profile, select:

Edit → Convert to Profile

Then choose Coated FOGRA 39 from the list and confirm.

After a moment, your file will have the correct color settings for printing.

Step 4: Adjust Brightness and Contrast

Now it is time for the second-to-last step.

An image on a monitor will always look brighter and more saturated than the final print. A matte wall absorbs some of the color and contrast.

That is why Krzysiek, head of the technical department at wall printers⁺, recommends slightly increasing the brightness and contrast before printing.

Use the following tool:

Image → Adjustments → Brightness/Contrast

This gives you full control over the final appearance of the graphic.

Step 5: Save the File as a TIFF

Finally, save the file in TIFF format with LZW compression.

TIFF is a lossless format that preserves the quality of the graphic. LZW compression reduces the file size without reducing image quality.

When naming the file, avoid Polish characters and other special characters.

For example, use:

zolty_mural.tif

instead of:

żółty_mural.tif

Your print file is now ready.

The Five Steps at a Glance

Step	Action in Photoshop	Menu path	Why it matters
1. Cropping	Remove empty margins	Image → Trim Transparent Pixels	Ensures the graphic prints at the correct size
2. Color mode	Change the file to CMYK	Image → Mode → CMYK Color	The printer reads CMYK color data
3. Color profile	Apply Coated FOGRA 39	Edit → Convert to Profile → Coated FOGRA 39	Helps the printed colors match the design
4. Correction	Increase brightness and contrast	Image → Adjustments → Brightness/Contrast	Walls absorb some brightness and contrast
5. Export	Save as TIFF with LZW compression	File → Save As	Preserves quality and supports color profiles

How to Prepare a White Underbase for Wall Printing

Printing on a white wall is the easiest scenario. The wall already provides a bright background, so the five steps above are usually enough.

But what happens when your client wants to print on a dark wall—for example, navy blue, dark gray or black?

If you print directly onto a dark surface, the colors will appear muted and less vibrant.

The solution is a white underbase: a layer of white ink applied first, followed by the colored graphic.

Although this may sound complicated, in Photoshop it only requires three additional actions.

Select the pixels that make up your graphic using Select Pixels in the Layers panel.
Contract the selection by 5 pixels using Select → Modify → Contract. This helps prevent a visible white outline around the design.
Create a new spot color channel in the Channels panel and name it according to your printer software:
- I1 for MainTop
- Spot_1 for FlexiPrint

That is all.

The red mask you see on the screen after completing these steps is an instruction for the printer: apply white ink here first.

Why You Are Not Left on Your Own with wall printers⁺

Getting comfortable with this process takes only a little practice.

And if you have any questions along the way, you receive full support as a member of the wall printers⁺ community.

Practical, In-Person Training in Szczecin. We teach the entire process from scratch during a full-day, hands-on training session led by the head of our technical department.

You will learn how to prepare print files and operate the printer in real-world scenarios.
Technical Support in Less Than 3 Minutes. If you are at a client’s site, preparing a file and unsure what to do, message us through the community Slack channel.

Our technical team responds in under 3 minutes on average and is available from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week.
Expert Knowledge at Your Fingertips. You also receive an interactive PDF handbook with direct links to short video tutorials, as well as ready-to-use checklists.

You can keep everything on your phone and access it whenever you need it.

Summary: Is Preparing a Graphic for Wall Printing Difficult?

Preparing a graphic for wall printing is a clear, repeatable process.

You do not need to be a graphic designer or know every Photoshop function to run a successful wall printing business.

You only need to follow a few specific steps:

Crop the graphic.
Change the color mode to CMYK.
Apply the Coated FOGRA 39 profile.
Adjust the brightness and contrast.
Save the file as a TIFF.

As you can see, there is no magic involved. A few steps and a few minutes are enough to get your print file ready.

Would you like to find uut whether wall printing is the right business for you?

Fill out the short form below and let’s talk.

We will answer your questions, clear up any doubts and help you decide how to get started.

FAQ

Do I need to know Photoshop well to make money with wall printing?

No.

Preparing a file for wall printing is a repeatable, technical process that involves just a few specific steps.

You will learn the complete workflow and all the necessary Photoshop functions from scratch during our one-day, in-person training.

Do I need to know how to design graphics from scratch?

No.

You do not have to be an artist or a graphic designer to run a wall printing business.

Clients often provide their own photos and designs. You can also use ready-made stock graphics or outsource more complex projects to freelance designers.

Your role is to technically prepare the file before printing. With the right process, this usually takes around five minutes.

What is the best format for saving a wall printing file?

TIFF is the best format for saving wall printing files.

It is lossless and preserves color profiles as well as special channels used for the white underbase.

When saving the file, choose LZW compression. This reduces the file size without affecting image quality.

What is the Coated FOGRA 39 color profile and why does it matter?

Coated FOGRA 39 is a standard CMYK color profile used in the printing industry.

It helps ensure that the colors printed on the wall are as close as possible to the colors displayed on your computer screen.

Applying the profile in Photoshop reduces the risk of the printer interpreting the colors incorrectly.

Why should I increase the brightness and contrast before printing?

An image on a monitor always appears brighter than the final print.

A wall—especially a matte wall—absorbs some of the light and color. Slightly increasing the brightness and contrast in Photoshop helps the finished print look clearer and more vibrant.

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