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Fatheads and Custom Wall Clings

I'm sure you've seen advertisements on television for Fatheads - they are those life-size wall clings of sports heroes and other notable individuals that you can stick right on your living room wall. Since they initially appeared, the number of available Fatheads has increased significantly. Fathead has also introduced several other vinyl cling products, including Tradeables (5"x7" trading stickers) and Skins (vinyl cling decals for your laptop or game console). If you're a fan, Fathead provides a variety of ways for you to declare your undying faith and devotion to the cause.

But what if your significant other would be - how do I say it - 'under impressed' with a larger-than-life likeness of Maria Sharapova hanging on the wall of your den? Perhaps a life-size photo of your son or daughter would be more conducive to marital harmony? If so, consider creating a custom wall cling from a variety of specialty printers such as Wallhogs or FotoStick. You'll score big points when your kid sees a life-size image of themselves playing soccer, baseball, or swimming hanging on the wall of their bedroom.

For a list of specialty printers who offer custom wall clings, check out my blog post on this topic over at Photo Freedom.

[Full disclosure: when you buy from Wallhogs or FotoStick using one of the links above, you help support this blog and my growing photography habit because I have an affiliate relationship with them. So please - click away! And thanks!]

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Dec 04, 2008
Brant Nyberg said...
It's clear to see that the popularity of Fatheads has created a unique market. It's great to finally see some competition.
Dec 04, 2008
Tim Leonhardt said...
I'm not sure I'd say that the custom wall cling printers are competing with Fathead, per se. Instead, I'd say they are building on the success of Fathead because - as you point out - Fathead has created a unique market. But until Fathead begins also creating custom Fatheads, I don't really see the two camps in direct competition.

Thanks for your comment!
Feb 12, 2009
Mike said...
I sent a few e-mails to Fathead asking if they were going to offer "custom" cut-outs, but they said they haven't perfected the process. I did some searching and went with a company called www.stickyfan.com. The site was pretty cool and they didn't charge me shipping. These guys and WallHogs definitely have the 2 most "legit" looking websites.
Feb 12, 2009
Tim Leonhardt said...
Mike - I don't entirely understand why Fathead doesn't start doing custom cut-outs. For now, it seems like they've left the custom market to others. That said, a few months ago Fathead started actively protecting their trademark - I received a cease and desist (in a comment posted on my blog, no less) from their legal counsel informing me that I could not use the term 'Fathead' in my blog post. I had titled that post, "Make Your Own Fathead." Free speech issues aside, I decided to just go ahead and change the title of the post to "Make Your Own Wall Cling." Makes me wonder if they don't intend to do the custom thing some day in the future...
Apr 14, 2009
jim halligan said...
I think Fathead wants to be able to control the quality and by printing amateur pictures the results could be mediocre. As for making "custom Fatheads" I love http://www.ipixxl.com they do a fantastic job and have the best prices I have seen.
Apr 16, 2009
Tim Leonhardt said...
Jim - that's a good point. If Fathead allows their name to be associated with amateur photos, they may risk diluting their brand. That said, I'm sure Fathead has tremendous output capacity that could be utilized to print photos uploaded by proud parents.

Not saying that they should do this - their decision to leave this market alone has created opportunity for the multitude of smaller print shops who have popped up to offer this service.

 
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