How To Reproduce Existing Wallpaper Designs

Reproducing an existing wallpaper design is not a simple print job. It’s a combination of forensic scanning, digital restoration, color science, material selection, and proofing discipline — and we do it every week.

At Fine Print NYC, we’ve been reproducing vintage wallpaper patterns for over 20 years. Discontinued, damaged, incomplete, historic — we’ve guided homeowners, designers, architects, and preservation specialists through this process hundreds of times.

This guide explains how wallpaper reproduction actually works — from evaluating your sample to choosing materials to final production — so you can understand the process and decide whether working with a specialist makes sense for your project.

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Step One: Identify the Core Pattern

To ensure an accurate wallpaper reproduction, we start every project the same way: identifying the core pattern of the design.

Is your wallpaper a repeated pattern? If so, replicating the roll requires a full scan of the “core motif” or “design repeat”. Choose any part of the design as a starting point, but aim to provide enough visual content for a seamless copy.

Repeated Pattern Wallpaper

For a precise evaluation, we need to see a clear and complete image of the core pattern. This means finding elements that repeat both vertically and horizontally, and framing a square or rectangle around the repeatable area.

Capturing the entire design is crucial for two reasons: (A) getting an accurate price quote and (B) creating a faithful reproduction. When dealing with severely damaged or missing patterns, an artist may need to recreate parts of the design from scratch — which directly affects timeline and cost.

Note: Be aware of patterns with a “drop” feature. This refers to a design where each consecutive horizontal repeat is slightly offset vertically, resulting in a step-repeat or staggered checkerboard effect. Identifying this pattern early saves significant time and cost associated with scanning your wallpaper.

Panoramic Wall Murals

For murals without a repeated pattern, the “core pattern” is basically the entire wall. Scanning a sample is impractical; instead, the wall must be professionally photographed, accounting for angle, camera quality, and lighting to ensure crisp details and uniformity of color and contrast.

Not sure if your wallpaper can be reproduced? Send us a few photos of what you have — even if it’s damaged or incomplete. We’ll tell you what’s realistic before you invest time or money. Send Photos for a Feasibility Review →

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Step Two: Digitize Your Wallpaper

Once we’ve identified the core pattern, the next step is capturing it at print-ready quality. There are two primary methods, and the right one depends on the wallpaper itself.

Method #1: High-Resolution Scanning

This is our most recommended method for reproducing wallpaper. Professional-grade scanners capture images at the highest resolution, eliminating concerns about lighting and angles associated with digital photography.

Professional scanning captures fine details and textures that cameras often miss — including fabric textures and embossing that add character to the design. You’ll need to provide an actual wallpaper sample, or if incomplete, a high-resolution photograph of the remaining panels.

Method #2: Digital Photography

This method requires the highest resolution possible. Smartphones are useful for initial assessment — we use them ourselves for quick evaluations — but they are not advisable for producing print-ready artwork.

We recommend using a professional-grade DSLR camera with maximum resolution settings, mounted on a tripod for maximum clarity. Hiring a professional photographer can address issues like lighting and angle, but a DIY approach can also work with careful attention to setup.

The Importance of Lighting in Replicating Wallpaper

When capturing wallpaper with a camera, lighting is the primary concern. Loss of detail and contrast often occurs in shaded areas. Diffused and uniform lighting is most effective, and is one of the top reasons it may be worth hiring a professional with their own lighting equipment.

For DIY photography, you can achieve great results if your room has sufficient windows and there is no direct sunlight.

PRO TIP: A cloudy day at high noon provides the most ideal lighting conditions. Avoid taking any pictures with direct sunlight hitting your pattern.

Avoiding Distortions with Good Camera Placement

Ensure the camera is parallel to the wall and facing directly ahead. This helps avoid both perspective warping and the blur that often occurs based on the camera’s distance from the target.

PRO TIP: For interior shots, a 16–35mm lens is recommended; for smaller sections, 35–200mm lenses are suitable.

Choosing the Right Capture Method

We recommend high-resolution scanning for most cases, however the best method depends on several variables: your budget (both time and monetary cost), whether the design is a repeat pattern or panoramic mural, the complexity and intricacy of the design, your photography skills or access to a professional, and the physical condition of the existing wallpaper.

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Step Three: Digital Restoration & Pattern Reconstruction

Once captured, the artwork is rebuilt digitally. This can include cleaning stains and discoloration, rebuilding missing pattern sections, re-establishing symmetry and repeat accuracy, and correcting distortion from old installations.

Note: Many people mistakenly believe we can “xerox” their wallpaper at the push of a button, which could not be further from the truth. This is not automated work. It’s manual, detail-heavy, and requires expertise that most print shops will avoid. This is why it is billed as a separate service from printing.

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Step Four: Color Matching

Color matching is the hardest part — and it’s always iterative.

Screens lie. Old wallpaper lies even more. Pigments fade unevenly, lighting changes perception, and different materials absorb ink differently.

That’s why we never go straight to production. We print real press samples on the actual wallpaper material so you can see color under your lighting, feel the texture, and confirm scale and repeat accuracy.

Most projects approve in 1–2 rounds. Some take more, especially historic wallpaper replicas where color fidelity is critical. If color matching is essential for your project, there’s a strong possibility that multiple rounds of samples may be needed.

Iteration is not a flaw. It is the process.

NOTE: Digital printers using CMYK inks might not perfectly match certain colors, especially metallic/solid inks or exotic pigments. Deeply saturated hues, metallics, and fluorescents can only be approximated through the digital process.

This is exactly why we print real samples before production. You’ll see your artwork on the actual wallpaper material, under your lighting, and approve it in hand before anything goes to press. See How Our Sample Process Works →

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Step Five: Choosing the Right Wallpaper Material

Material choice affects color saturation, surface reflectivity, installation method, and long-term durability. Printable wallcoverings come in various finishes, textures, and materials — and the finish and quality can vary greatly depending on the manufacturer.

We work with 40+ commercial-grade options, including removable peel-and-stick (great for rentals and quick installs), unpasted vinyls (durable, permanent), and textured and specialty finishes. Most clients start overwhelmed by the options; we narrow it down to 2–3 that actually make sense for your unique wallpaper.

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About Pricing

The cost of duplicating wallpaper is assessed based on characteristics unique to each project. There are two distinct cost components worth understanding:

1. The Bespoke Digital Reproduction — This is the skilled, technical work: scanning or photographing, retouching, illustrating, color isolating, and rebuilding the artwork into a print-ready file.

Note: Due to the specialized nature of this work we don’t ofer standard pricing tiers. All projects are assessed and priced according to:

• The state of the original wallpaper: Does it need heavy retouching?
• The completeness of the sample: Are there missing areas an artist needs to render by hand?
• Color accuracy requirements: Matching an existing wall is more time-consuming than printing from scratch
• The number of colors in the design: each must be traced and isolated
• The complexity of the core pattern: Larger or more detailed patterns require higher resolution work.

2. The Physical Wallpaper — Most reproduction projects fall in the $5–$9 per square foot range for the final printed wallpaper, depending on material selection and quantity. In our experience, 100–150 square feet is about the average requested size.

If you don’t know your area, simply multiply the width of a wall (in feet) by its height, or use our free Wallpaper Calculator to get a total measurement of all your walls. Large installations qualify for volume pricing.

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Advantages of Digital Reproduction & Printing

Digital layout allows replicated wallpaper rolls to be tailored for each space, ensuring a perfect fit, easier installation, and reduced waste and cost. For step-repeat patterns, your installer will no longer need to measure each vertical drop since these panels are designed for easy, side-by-side installation.

Digital printing is also far more time and cost effective for replication compared to traditional methods like custom block printing, which are elaborate and time-consuming processes demanding very specialized expertise.

Another major advantage is the longevity of digital artwork. Store your file in a backup service like Dropbox or Google Drive, and it’s easy to send out if you ever need a reprint. We’ve had instances of homeowners breaking down walls or expanding the footprint of their home — in those scenarios, being able to order more rolls makes life a lot easier.

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Limitations of Digital Printing

As mentioned, matching of certain inks and colors may not be possible with the digital CMYK process and inks. Traditional wallpaper printing methods often leave thick layers of paint which provide additional texture; since digital printing relies on the paper absorbing the ink rather than sitting on top in a thick layer, this effect is not achievable.

There are also limitations on the types of materials available. Wallcoverings for digital printing must be specially manufactured for this purpose, whereas traditional screen or block printing can be applied to almost any material, including paper.

These cases are rare, but worth mentioning if you find yourself in the market for reproducing old specialty wallpapers for a historic renovation project. For full technical details on our printing capabilities and material specifications, see our technical specifications page.

Ready to move forward with a wallpaper reproduction? Send us what you have — photos, samples, or files — and we’ll walk you through next steps: feasibility, pricing, and timelines, before anything is finalized. Browse Our Restoration Services →

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Our Experience

Built on decades of printing knowledge and a love of history and conservation, wallpaper reproduction has become our most popular service by far. When eBay, Craigslist, and all the fruitless internet searches have exhausted the hope of the people, Fine Print NYC is the place they turn to for reprinting wallpapers which are discontinued, out-of-print, or damaged beyond repair.

This is what we do all day, every day. And we love it. If you have any questions or would like to send us some samples, feel free to contact one of our project managers at inquiries@fineprintnyc.com. We are also available to take your call from 9:30AM–5:30PM EST at (212) 619-5446.