How to Print Nursery Wall Art at Home

So you found the perfect set of prints, and then you saw the words digital download. If your next thought was something like, wait, do I have to print this myself, and will it look cheap, then this is for you. Printing nursery art at home is easier than it sounds, and done right, nobody who walks into the room will ever guess it didn't arrive in a box.

Here is exactly how to do it.

First, why printables are worth it

A digital download is the same high-resolution file the artist created. You are not getting a smaller or lower-quality version of the real print. You are getting the real thing, minus the shipping cost and the wait, for a fraction of the price. That is the whole trade. You do a little of the work, and you save real money and get the art on the wall the same day.

The one thing standing between you and a framed-looking wall is a few small choices about paper and size. Let us make them easy.

Option one: print at home

If you have an inkjet or laser printer, you can do this yourself.

• Set the file to 300 DPI. Every Fawnling print is made at 300 DPI, which is the resolution that prints clean lines and smooth color instead of looking soft or pixelated. You do not need to change anything, just do not let a program shrink it.
• Use good paper, not copy paper. This is the single biggest difference between homemade and framed. Reach for matte photo paper or a heavy matte cardstock, at least 200gsm. Matte hides fingerprints and glare, which suits a soft nursery better than glossy.
• Print borderless or with a small margin, whichever your frame needs. If you are matting the print, a white border is fine because the mat covers it.
• Turn off fit to page and print at 100 percent or actual size so your 8x10 stays an 8x10.
• Do a test print first, even on plain paper. It saves ink and catches color surprises before you commit the nice paper.

Option two: use a print shop (the easy button)

No printer, or you want a bigger size than your printer handles? Send the file out. This is what most people do for anything larger than A4, and it costs very little.

• Local: pharmacy photo counters, office supply stores, and copy shops all print from a file in an hour or two. Ask for matte, and ask for cardstock or photo paper rather than standard poster stock.
• Online: any photo printing service will do larger sizes and ship them. Order one size up if you are torn, because bigger art above a crib almost always looks better than smaller.

Either way, hand them the original file. Do not screenshot it, do not email it to yourself and re-download a compressed copy. Use the file you purchased.

Choosing your size

Nursery prints are usually designed to fit standard frame sizes so you can buy a frame off the shelf. The most common are 8x10 and 11x14 inches, with 12x16 and 16x20 for a bigger statement. The international A-sizes (A4, A3, A2) work the same way if that is what your frames use.

For the wall above a crib, lean larger. A set of three at 11x14 or 16x20 fills the space the way it is meant to. If you want the full sizing logic, our complete guide to nursery wall art covers how big to go above the crib.

Framing so it looks finished

The frame does a lot of quiet work. A simple frame with a white mat around the print instantly makes it look gallery-bought. Thin wood or matte black or natural oak all suit a nursery. Match the three frames in a set so the eye reads them as one piece, and you are done.

The five-second checklist

Before you hit print, run through this:

1. File is the original, at 300 DPI.
2. Paper is matte, 200gsm or heavier.
3. Scale is set to 100 percent, not fit to page.
4. You ran a test print.
5. Frame size matches the print size you chose.

That is it. Printable nursery art gives you the exact look you fell for, on your wall, today, for a lot less. Once you have the hang of it, you can pick any theme you love and have it framed above the crib by the weekend.