The three kinds of wall printing jobs, and what each one sells for

Most wall printing work falls into three kinds of jobs: quick ones, mid-range ones and larger ones. Each sells in a different range, takes a different amount of time and comes from a different kind of client. Knowing which is which helps you quote, plan your week and see where the work is heading.

Quick jobs: $500 to $1,500

Two to three hours. Accent walls, a small commercial logo, a kid’s room, a home office. These are often done the same day you show up.

Quick jobs keep the printer working while bigger work builds. Most owners set $500 as the minimum for any job, so even the smallest one covers the trip and the 30 minutes of setup and breakdown.

I don’t want to take the machine out and print something for less than $500.

Do your research in your area on what painted murals and vinyl wall coverings are going for, and land on your price point. Introduce it as a premium product, not an optional one.

Mid-range: $1,500 to $5,000

Half a day to a full day. Restaurant feature walls, office branding, retail stores, gyms.

This is the steady work. One good restaurant wall tends to lead to the next one, because the people who see it own or manage places like it.

Larger jobs: $5,000 to $25,000

One to three days. Multi-wall installs, exteriors, hotel lobbies, corporate headquarters.

These come once you have proof. A client spending that much wants to see walls you’ve already done, which is why the quick and mid-range jobs matter so much early on.

The wall gets you in the door

The building is where the bigger job is. The printer works on glass, tile, brick, concrete, canvas, aluminum panels, wood and metal, so a client who called about one wall often has more surfaces than they’ve thought about. Printing straight onto tile follows the grout lines, which vinyl can’t do. A glass partition can get a stained glass look without the cost of stained glass.

Every time you mention the glass, the floor or the wall around the corner, you open a job the client hadn’t considered.

Quote the wall. Walk the building.

That habit is worth more than any single job on this page. When you’re on site for a quick job, walk the rest of the building and point out what else could be printed. Some of the best mid-range and larger work starts that way.

Prices depend on your market, the surface and the artwork. Most printed jobs land between $20 and $40 a square foot. For how long a job takes at the printer, see how fast a wall printer prints.

Questions people ask

What does a small wall printing job sell for?

Quick jobs like accent walls, small logos and home offices usually sell for $500 to $1,500, and most owners set a $500 minimum.

How long does a typical restaurant or office wall take?

Mid-range jobs like restaurant feature walls and office branding usually take half a day to a full day and sell for $1,500 to $5,000.

When do the larger jobs come?

Multi-wall installs, exteriors and lobbies, usually $5,000 to $25,000, tend to come once you have finished walls to show.