Photo wallpaper: non-woven, vinyl or fabric – which to choose for a venue

Four materials compared

Film is the cheapest in the table, but we do not treat it as a full replacement for wallpaper. On a matt, rough wall film holds less well, and when removed it can take the paint with it. Pasted wallpaper is predictable: we know how it will behave on plaster and how to remove it.

We print all these materials in-house on UV printers – the ink cures instantly, the print has no solvent smell and can be hung the same day. That matters in venues that stay open during a refit.

Traffic in the venue decides the material

Clients usually choose wallpaper from a photo and the material last of all. We start with the question: who will stand by this wall and what will happen to it.

• A wall to look at – behind the reception, above a sofa, in a meeting room above chair-back height. Non-woven is quite enough here and the easiest to hang.
• A wall to touch – next to restaurant tables, in a narrow corridor, by the entrance, in a nursery at children's hand height. Go for washable vinyl. With frequent touching, non-woven picks up marks that cannot be cleaned off without trace.
• A wall in a damp or greasy area – by a bar, an open kitchen, near a coffee machine. Vinyl, and in really exposed spots a laminate on top.
• A wall that should absorb sound – in an open-plan office, training room, restaurant with echo. Printed fabric stretched over panels instead of wallpaper – we describe this under printed acoustic panels.

If the graphic is meant to imitate a texture – canvas, concrete, sand – a textured laminate can be applied (approx. €10 net/m²). It also gives the surface extra protection.

Fire rating: when to ask for a certificate

In public buildings – hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants, office blocks – wall coverings are subject to fire safety rules. Requirements depend on the country, the type of building and the escape route, so we do not guess: ask the building manager or a fire safety consultant which material class is required before ordering.

Our smooth non-woven photo wallpaper is classified B-s1,d0 according to its material data sheet and is odourless, so it works well in buildings in use. For vinyl and fabrics we check, on request, the availability of versions with the relevant document. Important: the document applies to a specific material – ask for it when getting a quote, not after installation when the premises are being inspected.

How to measure the wall and split the graphic into drops

Photo wallpaper arrives in vertical strips (drops), numbered in hanging order. For everything to line up, we need good measurements.

1. Measure the wall width in three places: at the ceiling, at mid-height and at the floor. Walls are rarely straight – we use the largest figure for the design.
2. Do the same with the height: at the left corner, in the middle and at the right corner.
3. Mark sockets, switches, windows, doors and radiators on a sketch. A face or a logo should not land on a socket.
4. We add a trimming allowance to each dimension – usually a few centimetres on each side. You pay for this allowance, but without it a crooked wall leaves a gap at the ceiling.
5. Split the graphic into drops of a width that is comfortable to hang – most often about 50–100 cm. A wider drop means fewer seams but is harder to align on your own.

In the design we make sure that important elements – text, faces, logos – do not fall on a seam. The file must have sufficient resolution at final scale; what that means in practice is explained in our guide on large format print resolution. If you only have a phone photo, we will tell you honestly how it will look at 3 metres.

Hanging and removal

Non-woven is the simplest: paste goes on the wall and the dry drop is butted up against the previous one. It does not stretch or shrink, so the seams stay even. When removed, it usually comes off dry in whole strips.

Vinyl is heavier and needs stronger paste. It is less forgiving – a badly placed drop cannot be slid around indefinitely. On removal the vinyl layer often separates from the backing, which then has to be soaked and scraped off.

Fabric needs experience: it is easy to soil with paste and to stretch. With fabric we more often recommend mounting on battens or panels rather than pasting directly to the wall.

Self-adhesive film is applied dry; the version with air channels lets you push air out without bubbles. We describe the technique in how to apply vinyl without bubbles.

The substrate matters more than the material: the wall must be dry, even, primed and dust-free. Fresh plaster and paint need time. Most complaints that the wallpaper is coming away are really about dust or damp in the wall.

Our crew can hang it for you – we charge approx. €42 net per crew-hour for a two-person team (minimum 4 hours per visit) plus travel at approx. €1 net/km both ways. Details on the advertising installation in Poland and Europe page.

How much it costs and how long it takes

Example: a 4 × 2.7 m wall in a restaurant. With the trimming allowance we calculate about 4.1 × 2.8 m, i.e. about 11.5 m², so at the 5–15 m² rate:

• non-woven: 11.5 m² × approx. €20 = approx. €230 net,
• washable vinyl: 11.5 m² × approx. €24 = approx. €280 net,
• decorative fabric: 11.5 m² × approx. €25 = approx. €290 net.

The difference between non-woven and vinyl is about €50. In a restaurant that is cheap insurance – after a year the wall by the tables still looks new. For smaller orders (1–4 m²) the rate per metre is higher, and above 15 m² lower.

We normally print in about 3 working days, and if the deadline is tight it can often be done faster – give the venue opening date in your enquiry. Our studio can prepare the graphic design. The full offer is on the custom photo wallpaper and printed paper and textile wallpaper pages, and wallpapers and posters from ready-made designs are in our shop tapetownia.com. Prices in the text are indicative; we confirm the final amount once you contact us.