Restore & Reprint Damaged Wallpaper
Water, mold, fading, tears or soot: we repair the pattern and reprint the wall.
Damage Is Where We Start
Stains, tears, flaking and decades of fading are exactly what we work from.
Digital Restoration
Repaired on Screen, Reprinted on the Wall
Whether you're repairing after a roof leak or renovating a room, we rebuild the pattern from whatever survives, correct the damage digitally, and reprint it so the wall reads as one continuous, original surface.
You see a printed proof on your chosen material before a single roll is produced, and the restored design keeps the character of the original: its scale, its repeat, its color.
The Damage We Repair
Water & Mold
Leaks, Floods and Black Spots
Water lines, bubbling and mold are erased from the artwork, and the new wallpaper can go onto a moisture-resistant vinyl. Fix the leak or the humidity first, so the new wall stays clean.
Sun Exposure
Faded or Burned Color
We rebuild the original color from the least-faded parts of the sample, against our 20,000+ color library, and reprint with UV-cured inks on a fade-resistant stock for bright rooms.
Wear & Tear
Rips, Scratches and Pet Damage
Tears, scuffs and claw marks are retouched out of the pattern by hand. For high-traffic halls and pet-height walls, a durable, scrubbable material keeps the new wall looking new.
Smoke & Fire
Soot, Smoke and Scorching
Discoloration and soot are corrected digitally, and charred or missing areas are redrawn. If more than half the pattern is lost, it becomes a full reconstruction.
Restore or Rebuild?
It Depends on How Much Survives
It isn't the kind of damage that decides the job, it's how much of the pattern is still visible. If less than about half is damaged, we restore it from what's there. Beyond that, our illustrators redraw the lost parts by hand as a pattern reconstruction.
A sharp, well-lit photo of a full repeat is usually enough for a quote. A physical sample is better still: a UHD scan catches texture and faint color a photo can't.
Patch or Wall?
Reprint the Wall, Don't Patch It
A small patch sounds cheaper, but the restoration work is nearly the same whether we print six inches or ten feet, so a patch carries the full cost of the artwork with very little wall to show for it. And beside an aged original, even a close match can show.
A full wall spreads that work across far more surface, and it blends seamlessly, because there's nothing old next to it to compare.
Damaged Wallpaper Restoration: Starting Prices
Priced by the number of colors in the pattern, with a printed proof in your hands before anything is printed.
Studio Express
3–6 week turnaround
A scan-and-print restoration to a close visual match: the damage repaired, the pattern rebuilt, the wall reprinted. Includes up to three rounds of proofs.
- UHD scanning & digital repair
- Close visual color match
Precision Archival
6–8 week turnaround
Our highest-precision service, with color matched to within 1–2% and physical color-chip matching against Pantone, Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore. Includes up to five rounds of proofs.
- Everything in Studio Express
- Physical color-chip matching
Restoration and printing are two separate stages: we repair the pattern and match its color first, and print only once you've approved the proof.
Most damaged-wallpaper projects are a fit for Studio Express. Precision Archival is for the most demanding color work, such as a landmark interior or a sensitive palette.
How It Works
From Damaged Sample to New Rolls
Four steps, and nothing is printed until you've approved the proof.
Send a Sample or Photo
We tell you up front what's possible and what it will cost.
Scan & Repair
A UHD scan, then the damage is retouched out and the pattern rebuilt.
Approve a Printed Proof
On your chosen material, adjusted round by round until it's right.
Print the Wall
Reprinted on durable, code-compliant wallcoverings and shipped to you.
Damaged Wallpaper, Restored
From homeowners and restorers who sent us a damaged original
I had a wall of out-of-print wallpaper damaged by a storm-felled tree and water damage. I contacted Joseph at Fine Print NY.
Joseph and Fine Print NYC were wonderful to work with! They were able to create an exact match to some damaged wallpaper that we sent them.
Joseph and his team went above and beyond for a project in which we had to recreate a historic wallpaper that had experienced water damage.
Damaged Wallpaper, Answered
Assessing the damage
Can my damaged wallpaper be digitally repaired? ▾
Almost always. Water stains, mold, fading, tears and soot are all corrected digitally, so what matters is not the kind of damage but how much of the pattern is still visible. Send a sample or a clear photo and we'll tell you what's possible before you commit to anything.
When does a repair become a full reconstruction? ▾
Roughly at half. If less than about 50% of the pattern is damaged, we restore it from what's there. Beyond that, our illustrators redraw the lost parts by hand, which we treat as a pattern reconstruction. Either way the result is a complete, seamless design.
Can you quote from a photo, or do you need a sample? ▾
A sharp, well-lit photo showing a full repeat and the damage is usually enough for a quote. If a photo is blurry or crops the pattern, we'll say so and ask for a sample. We recommend sending one regardless: a scan captures texture and faint color a photo can't.
What's the smallest piece you can work from? ▾
Size matters less than coverage. A scrap no bigger than a postage stamp can be enough if it shows most of a motif; less than that and our illustrators fill in more by hand. Send what you have and we'll tell you whether it's enough to start.
The restoration
How do you bring back faded or discolored color? ▾
Our artists find the cleanest surviving areas of the sample and rebuild the original color from those against our 20,000+ color library. See color matching for how close a match can get.
Will the repair blend with the undamaged wallpaper? ▾
On a full wall, yes: the whole surface is reprinted, so there's nothing old beside it to compare. A small patch next to an aged original is harder, and even a close match can show. That's why we usually recommend reprinting the wall rather than patching it.
Can you change the pattern's scale or repeat to fit my wall? ▾
Yes. Once the pattern is rebuilt, it can be scaled or its repeat adjusted to suit your wall's dimensions, and the proof shows you the change before anything is printed.
How do I approve the restoration before it's printed? ▾
We mail you a printed proof on the material your rolls will be printed on. You tell us what to adjust, a color a touch dark, a repeat slightly off, and we send another round until it's right. Studio Express includes up to 3 rounds of proofs and Precision Archival up to 5. Nothing is printed without your sign-off.
Cost & materials
What drives the cost of restoring damaged wallpaper? ▾
Mostly the artwork, not the printing: how much of the pattern survives, how many colors it has, and how intricate it is. A two-color stripe with most of the design intact is quick; a nine-color scene that's half lost takes far longer. Starting prices are on recreation pricing.
Is a small patch cheaper than a full wall? ▾
Not per square foot. The restoration work is nearly the same whether you print six inches or ten feet, so a small patch carries the full cost of the artwork with very little wall to show for it. A full wall spreads that work across far more surface, and it blends seamlessly.
Can the new wallpaper stand up better to moisture or sun? ▾
It can. We print on durable, code-compliant wallcovering materials with UV-cured inks, and can recommend a moisture-resistant vinyl for a bathroom or kitchen and a fade-resistant stock for a bright room. Fixing the cause, the leak, the humidity, the window, matters as much as the material.
More on Restoration
Getting your sample to us safely, what's possible with an old pattern, and caring for the new wall.
How to Send Wallpaper Samples for Restoration
Packing and shipping a sample so it arrives intact and ready to restore.
Read more→
Is It Possible to Reproduce Old Wallpaper?
How a print shop evaluates a vintage pattern for faithful reproduction.
Read more→
How to Clean and Maintain Modern Wallpaper
Keeping your new wallcovering clean, with basic supplies.
Read more→Have a damaged wallpaper?
Send a photo and we'll tell you what we can restore before you commit to anything.