How much does wall art cost for UK schools?

Are you thinking of getting some wall art (or wall graphic) installed in your school?

Not sure what’s involved or where to pitch your budget?

In this article, we’ll break down the cost of a typical wall graphic solution for a school and explain what you need to know before you get started.

How much does a wall graphic cost?

The average cost of a fully installed wall graphic in your school will depend on several factors such as material options, access to you and the wall and the creative time required to create your design. For an average-sized floor-to-ceiling wall vinyl graphic (5m long by 2.5m high) you can expect to pay between £750 and £1300 fully installed (ex VAT) depending on your design requirements. Typical costs would be:

• 5m x 2.5m wall graphic in vinyl:        £750 – £1300

• 5m x 2.5m wall graphic in wallpaper:        £850 – £1400

• 5m x 2.5m wall graphic in printed panels:        £1150 – £1750

What affects the price of a wall graphic?

There are three elements to a wall graphic; the design, the production method and installation. The total price you pay is a combination of all three. Some companies may show these as separate costs while others prefer to charge a single combined cost, usually per square or linear metre covered. For a combined rate expect to pay on average between £75 and £130 per square metre for a vinyl product and more if you need printed panels, a specialist material or if your wall is difficult to access.

1. Wall graphic design

Design costs can vary from company to company depending on the creative ability and the company objectives. Large format printing companies usually offer a basic design service between £50 and £300 depending on the complexity. You will tend to find that their focus is on selling the print, so check before starting whether the design process they offer will suit what you are trying to create.

At the other end of the creative spectrum are design and creative agencies. Here, expect to pay £75 – £150 per hour for the creation of your design. If you need high levels of creative input then a dedicated design agency will usually deliver excellent results; costs can be high though so check things like hourly rate versus fixed price, and whether they have experience working with large designs. Also, they will usually outsource your design to a print company to produce, so ask about the cost of this early on.

 To keep your costs low consider how much of your design needs to be unique. You will pay more to start from scratch on a truly bespoke design than if they can create a design from existing royalty-free assets.

2. Production methods and costs

There is a myriad of actual materials available when it comes to applying graphics to your wall. Here we will only focus on the most common three types: vinyl, wallpaper, and printed panels.

Vinyl

Self-adhesive vinyl is the most common, and cheapest type of wall art production. It is stuck directly onto your wall in sections called ‘drops’. There are many different vinyl products available, each with varying degrees of success in sticking to a painted wall. You can save money using cheaper vinyl (expect to pay £25 – £30 per square metre). Still, it may not last very long as the adhesive is not designed to stick to painted surfaces, which have a lower surface tension than other sign-making materials. The more expensive vinyl products designed specifically for walls should last for at least ten years or more when installed correctly.  

Speciality vinyls are available that can be applied directly to brick and block walls, which might suit your needs. Cost-wise, expect to pay somewhere between a vinyl graphic and a printed panel but check the installation costs as they can take much longer to install than panels. Also, as they don’t hide the wall texture, you should consider the final viewing distance available to allow your design to be seen as you want it to.

Wallpaper

Another common method is to use a wallpaper product. Good quality commercial wallpaper products are more expensive than vinyl, but they do offer a superior finish. Expect to pay £38 - £65 per square metre for a custom printed commercial-grade wallpaper but be aware that wallpaper products are not laminated in the same way the vinyl is, so the surface is more liable to being scratched or torn. So you should consider the location of any wallpaper product in your school carefully.

Because it is applied with paste wallpaper can be installed in a single piece in some instances. The maximum size for this will depend on your supplier’s printer size, the maximum width of the roll available (approx 3.2m currently), and how brave they feel when it comes to the installation!

A single-piece wallpaper graphic can be a good solution for busy graphics.

Printed panels

For walls with considerable texture such as brick, stucco or poorly maintained plastered walls, then printed panels can be used. Panels can be laminated and will usually be printed on foamex, which offers excellent fire-resistant properties. Expect to pay between £45 and £70 per square metre for this. Although more expensive than vinyl, printed panels can be significantly cheaper once you calculate the cost of plastering and painting your wall, which can add around £27 – £50 per square metre to the final price.

3. Installation

 The final part of your wall graphic price is getting it onto your wall. Installation costs vary based on how far your school is from your chosen supplier, how well the surface is prepared and the production method you have gone for. Installation is usually charged per hour or day, and you can expect to pay between £425 and £600 for a two-person team per day or £27 – £40 per person-hour. Travel or overnight accommodation is usually charged extra, but it’s worth checking as some companies include this in the daily rate.

 Other things that can affect your installation price are additional site visits to prepare walls, removal of existing graphics, additional HSE requirements, access equipment and site survey charges. These vary from company to company, so it’s always worth checking before you proceed if these are required for your job and if they are chargeable or not.