Vinyl or painted wall
For a plain colour, use paint. For photographs, detailed logos or a design that has to look identical in three branches, use printed vinyl.
Paint is for colour, vinyl is for images.
Most of the time the artwork makes this decision for you. A painter with a roller will cover a wall in one flat colour faster than any printer can, and at less cost. But nobody is rolling a photograph onto a wall. Once a design has fine detail, gradients or brand-exact logos, print has the advantage, and hand-painting becomes a specialist commission.
Where the choice gets harder
| Question | Printed vinyl | Paint |
|---|---|---|
| Photographs and fine detail | Excellent | Only by a skilled mural artist |
| Flat colour across a large wall | Possible but unnecessary | The natural choice |
| Rough brick or textured plaster | Poor bond, texture shows | Copes well |
| Same design in several locations | Identical every time | Varies by hand |
| Disruption on site | Prepared off site, fitted quickly | Coats, drying time and smell |
| Changing it next year | Peel off, then repair if needed | Paint over, usually simple |
| Rented premises | Ask the landlord | Ask the landlord |
Think about what happens at the end
Vinyl sounds like the easy thing to remove, and on a sound wall with the right film it often is. It is not automatic, though. Poor paint can come away with the adhesive, and a wall will then need making good. Paint never has that problem, although a dark colour can take a few coats to cover. For a short let or a pop-up, ask about removable wall vinyl, which is designed for the job.
Four wall checks before you order vinyl
- Age of the paint. New emulsion needs to cure before anything sticks to it. Ask your decorator how long to leave it.
- Type of paint. Silk and eggshell finishes are generally friendlier than very matt or wipe-resistant coatings, some of which resist adhesive. Test with an offcut.
- Damp. Vinyl traps moisture, so a damp wall will blister it. Treat the cause first.
- Texture. Run your palm over it. If you can feel the roughness, so can the vinyl.
Some numbers for a single panel
A full wall is priced from your measurements, but the list below gives a feel for the material.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| A1 | £25 |
| A0 | £35 |
| 40in x 30in | £33 |
| 60in x 40in | £48 |
Guide prices from our price list. They exclude VAT and delivery and assume print-ready artwork.
You can combine them
Some of the best interiors use both. Paint the wall in a colour taken from the artwork, then apply a vinyl graphic over part of it. You get a large effect from a smaller print, and the join between paint and graphic disappears. Our wall graphics page shows where that kind of thinking can take you. Fitting arrangements are agreed in your quote, and we would want to know about the wall surface first.
Walls that carry an image.
Your questions.
Is vinyl or paint more hard-wearing?
It depends on the location and the products. A good laminated vinyl wipes down well, and quality scrubbable paint does too. Repairs differ: paint can be touched in, but vinyl usually means a replacement section.
Can you print a colour to match my paint?
We can get close. Give us a sample or the paint reference, and expect a slight difference, as ink and paint behave differently under light.
Can vinyl go over a wall with old wallpaper?
It is not a good base. Wallpaper can lift with the adhesive or come away from the wall, so it is safer to strip and paint first.