Over the years we have had tons of requests to reproduce wallpaper. While this is possible there are a few points of note that need to be considered. First is copy right. Technically we are only allowed to reproduce up to 80% the same. This is a bit icky - we certainly don't want to 'copy' other works of art. We advise our customers to choose something similar or look to shutterstock to see if similar designs exist. If the work of art is a few hundred years old then we are good to go.
However as we print digitally now the method of printing is different, the paper stocks and inks are completely different. there is no way we can ever print 1000% the same. So if the customer is trying to replace a few drops on an existing wall - we do try to forewarn them that the differences will be visible. If the product is for another room then the differences may not matter,
The first step for reproducing old wallpapers is to get the customer to send us a piece or a high res photo of the original piece. If the customer chooses to send us a photo it must be photographed straight on - no angled - as this will affect the final result. We would also prefer to have a full pattern repeat if possible.
After it is photographed we select one of our artists to reproduce it. The customer must then decide if they wish to print with or with out sampling. Our minimum print order is 1 x square metre as the set up time for one of prints is lengthy. So sampling is fairly pricey. Sampling of course can also vary in shading from final print - so it is often difficult to use any sampling in final project.
Also interesting to note that at this stage (2025) we can not reproduce textured wallpapers.
Below is a frieze we did recently. The top is the original and the bottom one the reproduction. You can see in the photo that the the original (despite the age) has a much deeper tonal range. This is because they used to layer prints so often the end product was also tactile with the amount of ink used. Digital printing is just one layer - but we have tried within the art work to get the same amount of depth. I was pretty impressed with how this one turned out - what do you think?
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