Large DIY Wall Decor Ideas Using Inexpensive Engineer Prints

Kennith Bogan

What is an engineer print? Learn more about making large black and white prints for pennies and 22 ideas to use these affordable posters to make large DIY wall decor. 

For more large wall decor ideas, check out 60 Affordable DIY Wall Decor Ideas for Large Walls, How to Decorate Tall Walls, and 30 Ideas for Functional Wall Decor Shelves and More.

Engineer prints are the next big thing around the DIYing world (ha, see what I did there? 😉 At under $10 for a huuuge print, they’re a budget-friendly way to have large DIY wall art in classic black and white prints and photos in your home — and they come in color too! (See those at the bottom of the post.)

Large Wall Decor Gallery Wall Using Engineer Prints, Home Stories A To Z

Large Wall Art Gallery Using Engineer Prints, Home Stories A to Z

DIY Engineer Prints for Large Wall Decor

What are engineer prints?

Engineer prints are large, low quality black and white posters that are usually used to print blueprints and other designs. Some thrifty DIYers have discovered that office stores like Staples and Office Max are a great place to print these for large wall decor options, too! (Be sure to check with your local store, as some stores may not offer these prints or may not allow photos to be printed on the large format printer.)

Print An Engineer Print For Large Black And White Photo DIY Wall Decor, Alice And Lois

Engineer Print as Large DIY Photo Art, Alice and Lois

What size are engineer prints?

Sizes may vary by store, but standard engineer print sizes are 18×24, 24×36, and 36×48. They can be trimmed as needed to make whatever size large wall art you need!

What can I print as an engineer print?

If you’re wondering what to print as an engineering print, we have lots of options here, for printables and for vintage images, plus more ideas below. Use Brynne’s instructions to prep an image for large-scale printing, and then use one of these ideas below for hanging and displaying your new poster!

See 50 more large wall decor ideas here

How to Use Inexpensive Engineer Prints for Large Wall Decor

Keep it simple: hang your large wall art engineer print with clips on the wall. (via DesignSponge)

easily hang large wall art, an engineering print with binder clips (via Design Sponge)

Mount an engineer print photo on foam insulation board (Trendy Thrifting)

Large DIY Wall Decor: diy photo canvases using engineer print and foam insulation board (Trendy Thrifting)

Or on inexpensive hardboard (Joy’s Hope)

how to mount an engineer print on hardboard for large wall art (Joy's Hope)

Print and frame your favorite quote for easy personalized large wall art (Classic Play)

DIY Wall Decor: large quote art (engineer print with DIY frame) via classic-play

Related Reading: 27 Quick and Easy DIY Wall Decor Ideas

Make a dramatic DIY wall decor display by splitting the engineer print photo between two canvases (House By Hoff)

Large DIY Wall Decor: split photo engineer print (House By Hoff)

Follow these tips from Chris Loves Julia for making engineer prints look their best.

DIY Large Wall Decor Ideas: extra large engineer prints for kids photos (Chris Loves Julia)

Frame your engineer prints in simple wood frames (Five Marigolds)

DIY Large Wall Decor Ideas: group of engineer prints with wood frames, diy wall art (Five Marigolds)

Print your own large wall art set and frame it (The Creative Mom).

How To Frame Engineer Prints For Large DIY Wall Decor, The Creative Mom

Related Reading: 50 DIY Wall Decor Ideas and Tips

Easy large wall decor! Make your own large monogram to print (Chris Loves Julia).

Large Wall Decor: monogram engineer print DIY (Chris Loves Julia)

A nature image a la Ansel Adams looks lovely as a large wall art engineer print, especially when printed hung from a simple wood piece! (Lay Baby Lay)

Large DIY wall decor ideas: easy way to hang an engineer print (Lay Baby Lay)

Isn’t this framed map lovely? (Life Made Lovely) Find the perfect large wall art print in our collection of printable maps or blueprints, and follow this tutorial for creating a rustic frame like this one.

DIY Wall Decor: large engineer printed map with diy wood frame (via Life Made Lovely)

A simple chalkboard style large wall art print (like this non-seasonal one) looks lovely hung with a dowel and some ribbon over the mantel! (Evolution of Style)

DIY Large Wall Art: large chalkboard style engineer print hung over the mantel with ribbon (Evolution of Style)

Wrap an engineer print around a canvas frame for easy large wall decor — and I Should Be Mopping The Floor added spray glitter, too, for a special holiday art glimmer!

How To Make A Canvas With An Engineer Print, Large DIY Wall Art Idea, I Should Be Mopping The Floor

Mount a large poster print on wood for a simple but rustic look, and easy to change if you just use tacks/nails! (Because I Like To Decorate)

diy large wall art, engineer print on wood (Because I Like To Decorate)

Related Reading: Easy DIY Wall Decor Kids Can Make

This aged book page print wasn’t actually an engineer print, but I would guess you can get the same yellowed paper look by using a cheaper engineering poster and some tea to dye the paper. (Delightfully Noted)

diy oversized book page large wall art tutorial (Delightfully Noted)

Feeling ambitious? Wallpaper with engineer prints! (via Apartment Therapy)

Large Wall Decor DIY: engineer print wallpaper via Apartment Therapy

Mount the engineer print on fabric like burlap for a fun textured DIY wall decor look. (My Sister’s Suitcase)

attach an engineer print to fabric for a hanging wall tapestry, large wall art DIY (My Sister's Suitcase)

Color Engineer Prints for Inexpensive Large DIY Wall Decor

Remember how I mentioned about being able to print colored engineer prints? They aren’t quite as inexpensive as the black and white ones, but they’re still a pretty cheap investment for large wall decor you can make yourself and customize!

See how Upcycled Treasures created her own watercolor from a photo and then printed and framed it, here on Remodelaholic.

DIY Large Scale Watercolor Wall Art by Upcycled Treasures for Remodelaholic

This printable from Lemon Thistle (here on Remodelaholic) would make a great candidate for a colored engineer print!

Free Printable Watercolor Wall Art- large sizes!

Monochrome color engineer prints of classic story book pages look great as playroom DIY wall decor at Blesser House‘s house.

Color Engineer Print Story Book Page, Large Wall Decor For Playroom, Blesser House

Young House Love used discarded retail display art, but this could be a fun idea for a colored engineer print wall art installation, too!

DIY Wall Art Idea: extra large art prints and DIY frames (Young House Love)

And when you want to frame an engineer print, Hi Sugarplum has the details for hacking an IKEA Ribba frame to look great and fit the mat.

DIY Large Wall Art Ideas: how to adjust the mat on an IKEA ribba frame to fit an engineer print (Hi SugarPlum)

This DIY wall decor set of large botanical prints is a stunning idea for a large wall art idea! (Blesser House)

Large Wall Decor Botanical Plant Color Engineer Prints, Blesser House

How to Add Color to An Engineer Print

For a vintage look, you can also add color to your black and white oversized engineer print — try these 3 ideas from Parabo Press (yes, those are real flowers!):

add color to a cheap black and white engineer print, 3 ways for DIY large wall art

Add some color for a large wall art installment, using this embroidered engineer print tutorial (Brit + Co)

Embroidered Engineer Print Wall Hanging For Large DIY Wall Decor, Brit And Co

Paint the edges of the engineer print mounting board or foam core for a pop of colorful DIY wall decor (Bower Power).

Large Wall Decor DIY: engineer printed photo with contrast color edge (Bower Power Blog)

Use a large colored frame for your engineer print photo (Sugar Bee Crafts).

DIY Wall Art: extra large family photo engineer print and DIY frame (Sugar Bee Crafts)

Or print a large coloring page as a tablecloth, photo backdrop, or wall decor for a party! Just add a banner, streamers, or balloons for color. These are from Caravan Shoppe  and I imagine you could get creative with other coloring pages online and Brynne’s instructions linked above.

DIY Wall Decor for Parties and Photos: use engineer print as a photo background or large coloring page (Caravan Shoppe)

More large DIY wall decor ideas:

Please pin this to save it and share with your friends!

22 ways to decorate with inexpensive engineer prints. Cheap large black and white prints (though they come in color, too)

27 Ways To Use Affordable Engineer Prints As DIY Large Wall Decor, Remodelaholic

First published 02 July 2015 // Updated 20 March 2020

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