A single deck is 85 × 20 cm — a ratio of roughly 4.25:1, far narrower than most images are composed for. Whatever you print — a photo, your own artwork, a logo — the single biggest factor in how it turns out is whether the composition survives that tall, narrow crop.
What custom printing means here
Instead of choosing a pre-made design, you supply your own image — a photo, an illustration, a logo, a pattern — and it's printed directly onto a real skateboard deck through the design-your-own-deck service. The image is yours; the maple, the printing and the shipping are ours.
How the printing works
The image is printed directly onto the deck's sealed maple surface using UV-cured inks — the ink is applied and hardened by UV light on the spot, so it bonds to the wood rather than sitting on a separate sheet of paper laid over the top. That gives a crisp, full-colour result with no visible print layer between the image and the deck.
Does your image fit the shape
Test it in ten seconds. Crop your image to a tall narrow strip about four times taller than it is wide and see what survives. A portrait photo, a vertical illustration, or a stacked logo all read naturally; a wide landscape, a horizontal logo lockup, or a group photo spread out sideways does not — it either gets cut off at the edges or shrinks until the detail that matters is unreadable.
If your image is naturally wide, that's not the end of it — see formats below.
The file you send
Send the original file, not a copy resized for a website, forwarded through a messaging app, or saved from social media. Each of those compresses the image and throws away resolution permanently, and the print is roughly 85 cm tall — about five times a phone screen — so anything soft or compressed becomes obvious at that size. If it's a logo, vector artwork (.ai, .eps, .svg) prints sharper than a raster file at any resolution.
Single, diptych and triptych
A single deck is 85 × 20 cm (~$140) and suits a tall, narrow, single-subject image. A diptych is two upright decks hung side by side with a 5 cm gap between them, 45 × 85 cm total (~$230), and a triptych is three decks the same way, 70 × 85 cm total (~$310) — both spread one image across the boards, which suits an upright or near-square photo or design. A wide, panoramic image suits a single deck hung horizontally, or a row of horizontally hung singles.
Why a deck rather than a framed print
Two honest reasons, and one that does not apply.
It's a real object, not paper behind glass. The image is part of a solid maple board rather than a print mounted in a frame.
It suits an active room. There's no glass to crack from a knock, and the sealed surface wipes clean of dust and fingerprints with a dry cloth — a framed print is the more fragile option in a busy space.
What it is not: a piece guaranteed to outlast a framed print. All printed colour fades under sustained ultraviolet exposure — posters, canvases, framed prints and decks alike — and we haven't had our inks independently tested to a lightfastness standard, so we don't quote a number of years. Out of direct all-day sun, a printed piece holds its colour well for a long time, regardless of what it's printed on.
Specific subjects, covered separately
The shape and file advice above applies to any custom order, but a few situations have their own specifics worth reading if they apply to you: pet portraits, family photos, weddings and anniversaries, and logos and brand marks each cover file quality and composition details specific to that subject.
For wall-ready pieces, take a look at our triptych skateboard wall art sets and diptych skateboard wall art sets.
FAQ
Can you print your own photo or design onto a skateboard deck?
Yes — upload it through the design-your-own-deck service and it's UV-printed directly onto sealed Grade-A Canadian maple, shipped ready to hang. What decides whether the result looks good is mostly the shape of your image relative to the deck's 85 × 20 cm proportions, and the resolution of the file you send.
What's the difference between a single deck, a diptych and a triptych?
A single deck is one 85 × 20 cm board (~$140). A diptych is two upright boards hung side by side with a small gap, 45 × 85 cm total (~$230), and a triptych is three boards the same way, 70 × 85 cm total (~$310) — both spread one image across multiple boards, which suits an upright or near-square photo or design; a wide, panoramic image suits a single deck hung horizontally.
Will my custom print fade over time?
All printed colour fades under sustained direct sunlight — that's true of any printed material, not something specific to a skateboard deck. We haven't had our inks independently tested to a lightfastness standard, so we don't quote a number of years. Kept out of direct all-day sun, a printed piece holds its colour well for a long time.
What resolution should my image be for a custom deck print?
Aim for 150–300 pixels per inch at the final size. A single deck is about 85 cm (33.5 inches) long, so roughly 5,000–10,000 pixels on the long side.
Can I print a logo or artwork I found online?
Only if you own the rights or have permission. Logos, brand names and other people's artwork are usually protected by copyright or trademark; your own photos and designs, or works in the public domain, are safe.
Article summary
Custom deck printing takes an image you supply — a photo, artwork, a logo — and UV-prints it directly onto a real Grade-A Canadian maple skateboard deck. What determines the result is mostly whether your image survives an 85 × 20 cm crop (roughly 4.25:1): a tall, single-subject composition works naturally on an upright deck, while a wide one suits a deck hung horizontally or needs recomposing; a diptych (45 × 85 cm, ~$230) or triptych (70 × 85 cm, ~$310) suits upright or near-square images. Send the original file rather than a compressed copy. A deck suits an active room because there's no glass to crack and the surface wipes clean, but it isn't guaranteed to outlast a framed print — all printed colour fades under sustained sunlight, and placement matters more than the material. Singles from ~$140.
About the author
Stanislav Arnautov is the founder of deckarts, a graphic designer and print specialist originally from Ukraine, now based in Berlin, where he personally designs and prepares every deck.
Related guides
- Design your own deck — upload your image and order
- How to design your own — files, crops and rights in full
- Sizes and formats — measuring before you order
- Skateboard Deck vs. Canvas Print
0 comments