Service · Custom Design
Custom Tiles in Dubai
Matrix Tile Print makes custom tiles for Dubai homes and businesses. You choose the design, colours, tile size and layout, and we hand screen-print it onto ceramic or porcelain, then fire it in our own kiln at 800 to 900°C. The colour fuses into the glaze, so it holds on walls, floors and wet areas.
We make one customized tile for a Jumeirah villa kitchen or a full branded floor for a café in Business Bay. Tile customization starts with your idea and ends with fired tiles ready for your tiler. We print every order ourselves, and a single tile is a normal order for us.
Overview
What tile customization means at Matrix.
When you customize tiles with us, you control three things.
- The design. A logo, a photo, Arabic calligraphy, an Islamic geometric pattern, a hand sketch, or a colour matched to your brand or paint swatch.
- The base tile. Ceramic or porcelain, the tile size, and a matt or gloss surface, picked for where the tile will go. Most of our projects use 60 × 60 cm tiles, and we print sizes up to 60 × 120 cm.
- The layout. One feature tile, a pattern that repeats on every tile, a border, or a single image split across a grid of tiles to form a mural.
That is what separates custom made tiles from the stock ranges in an Al Quoz or Sheikh Zayed Road showroom. A showroom sells patterns a factory already made. Here, the tile starts from your file.
It is also different from most printed tiles in Dubai. Many print studios cure UV ink on top of a finished glaze. We push powder colour through a screen by hand and fire it, so the design becomes part of the glaze instead of sitting on it. You can read more about the method on our ceramic tile printing page.
What's included
- Design check and advice.
We review your artwork and tell you honestly if a file is too low in resolution or a colour will not reproduce well.
- Base tile advice.
We tell you which tile suits the job: ceramic for most walls, porcelain for floors and heavy-use areas.
- Layout proof.
You see where grout lines and cuts fall before anything is printed.
- One screen per colour.
Each colour in your design gets its own printing screen.
- Hand printing and kiln firing.
Every tile is printed by hand and fired at 800 to 900°C.
- Sample tile on request.
Recommended for larger orders, so you can approve colour and finish in person.
- Numbered layout map.
Murals and multi-tile designs come with a numbered map showing exactly which tile goes where.
Options
Tile customization for every surface.
Customize tiles for wall
Walls are where most custom tile projects start. Homeowners order printed kitchen backsplashes, bathroom feature walls and majlis panels. Restaurants and offices order reception walls with a logo or a mural that runs across many tiles. Because a wall takes no foot traffic, ceramic is usually the right base, and it gives the widest choice of sizes and glazes. For family photos and keepsakes, see print pictures on tiles.
Custom tiles for floor
Floors take the hardest wear, so we recommend porcelain for most custom floor tiles. Porcelain is denser than ceramic. Under the ISO 13006 tile standard, it must absorb 0.5% water or less, so it resists stains and moisture. If the floor will get wet, like a bathroom, pool deck or café entrance, ask for a matt base. The ANSI A326.3 standard asks for a wet DCOF (a slip resistance score) of 0.42 or more on indoor floors that people walk on when wet. Ask us for the slip rating of the base tile before you order. More detail is on our floor tile printing page.
Customize decorative tiles
Decorative tiles are the small pieces that make a room look finished. Common requests include:
- Printed borders around a floor, a pool edge or a hallway
- Single accent tiles set into a plain wall
- Stair riser tiles with a repeating pattern
- Tabletop tiles for cafés and outdoor seating
- Heritage-style patterns for courtyards and Al Fahidi-inspired interiors
For multi-piece designs on small formats, see mosaic tile printing.
Custom decorative porcelain slabs
Some projects need one large printed panel instead of many small tiles. Think of a hotel lobby feature wall, or a shower wall with almost no grout lines. We print and fire large-format porcelain up to 60 × 120 cm, the biggest single panel our kiln takes. For a wall bigger than one panel, we split the artwork across several 60 × 120 cm tiles and plan the joints so the image still reads as one piece. Our porcelain tile printing page covers the material in more depth.
How it compares
Kiln-fired vs. UV-printed tiles.
Both methods count as custom tile printing. They behave very differently once the tile is on your wall or floor.
| Kiln-fired (Matrix) | UV-printed onto glaze | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the colour sits | Fused into the glaze at 800 to 900°C | A cured ink layer on top of the glaze |
| Floors | Suitable, on a porcelain base | Usually not advised for foot traffic |
| Showers and pool areas | Suitable | Needs testing; steam and standing water are hard on surface ink |
| Outdoor walls in Dubai sun | Built to hold colour | More exposed to fading and wear |
| Speed and upfront cost | Slower, costs more upfront | Faster, often cheaper for walls only |
Several Dubai studios that UV-print tiles say themselves that their printed tiles belong on walls and splashbacks, not floors. If your project includes a floor, a wet area or an outdoor wall, a fired tile is the safer choice.
Process
Custom tiles made by hand, step by step.
Every order follows the same five steps, from a single tile to a full hotel floor.
Send your idea.
Share your artwork, the space and the measurements. Vector files (AI, PDF or SVG) work best for logos and patterns. For photos, send the largest file you have, ideally 300 DPI at the final tile size.
Approve the proof.
We recommend a base tile and send a layout proof showing grout lines and cuts. Large orders can request a physical sample first.
Screen preparation.
We make one screen for each colour in your design. Fewer colours means fewer screens, which keeps the price down.
Hand printing and firing.
Powder colour is pushed through each screen by hand, tile by tile, then fired in our kiln at 800 to 900°C.
Quality check and handover.
Each batch is inspected for colour accuracy, alignment and finish, then packed and handed over ready for your tiler.
How long does it take? Turnaround depends on order size and whether you want a physical sample first. It is typically 3 to 7 business days.
Pricing
How much do custom tiles cost in Dubai?
The price depends on five things: how many colours your design uses, the tile size, how many tiles you need, how complex the layout is, and whether you want a sample first. As general UAE market context, not a fixed Matrix quote, personalised printed tiles typically range from around AED 50 to AED 220 per tile depending on size and finish, with larger quantities priced lower per tile. We quote every project individually after we see the design.
| Cost factor | Why it changes the price | How to save |
|---|---|---|
| Number of colours | Each colour needs its own screen | Simplify to fewer colours where you can |
| Tile size | Larger tiles need bigger screens and more kiln space | Start with 60 × 60 cm, our most common size, unless the space needs something else |
| Sample | A physical sample adds a short production run | Skip it for simple repeats; keep it for colour-critical work |
| Quantity | Screens are made once, then reused | Print spares in the same batch |
| Layout | A mural split across many tiles takes more setup than a repeat | Use a repeat pattern for large areas |
Because we design, print and fire in one place, you pay one factory-direct price, not a design agency, a printer and a kiln operator each adding a margin. Get a quote.
Who it's for
Who orders custom tile design from us.
Homeowners
in villas and apartments across Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills Estate, Al Barsha and Mirdif, for kitchens, bathrooms and majlis walls.
Interior designers and fit-out contractors
who need a tile that does not exist in any catalogue, with a sample for client sign-off.
Restaurants and cafés
in Jumeirah, City Walk and Business Bay that want a branded wall or counter front that survives daily cleaning.
Hotels and serviced apartments
on Palm Jumeirah, in Downtown Dubai and along Dubai Marina, for lobby murals, spa walls and pool tiling.
Selected work
Tiles we have customized.
Why Matrix
Why Dubai clients choose Matrix.
Our own factory and kiln.
Every tile is designed, printed and fired at our facility in Sajja Industrial Area, Sharjah, about an hour's drive from Al Quoz along the Emirates Road (E611). Nothing goes to a third-party printer, so we control quality and dates ourselves.
Tile printing is all we do.
We do not print mugs, signs or T-shirts alongside tiles. Our whole team works on one craft.
Honest advice before you pay.
If your photo is too small, your design has too many colours for the budget, or a gloss tile is wrong for a wet floor, we tell you before production.
Lifetime Guarantee.
Every order is backed by our Lifetime Guarantee, because fired colour is fused into the tile rather than sitting on top.
Over 5 years of tile printing for homes, hotels, restaurants and contractors across the UAE.
Areas we serve
Custom tiles for clients across Dubai.
We print for clients in every part of Dubai, including Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Al Quoz, Jumeirah, Umm Suqeim, Dubai Marina, JLT, Palm Jumeirah, Al Barsha, Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills Estate, Deira, Bur Dubai and Mirdif.
Dubai is hard on decorative surfaces. Summer afternoons regularly pass 40°C, coastal areas like Dubai Marina, JBR and Palm Jumeirah carry humid, salty air, and bathrooms run steamy all year. Printed vinyl and surface-printed tiles often fade or peel in these conditions. A fired tile keeps its colour because the colour is part of the glaze.
We also work with clients in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain and Al Ain.
FAQ
Custom tile questions.
Yes. Send us a logo, photo, pattern, sketch or colour reference. We check the file, suggest a base tile and layout, and send a proof before we print.
Not always. A printed tile is any tile with an image applied. A custom tile is made to your design, size and layout. Ours are also fired, so the design is fused into the glaze and does not sit on top of it.
Yes, on a porcelain base. The colour is fired into the glaze, so normal foot traffic and cleaning will not wear it away. For wet floors, choose a matt finish and check the base tile's slip rating.
Yes. Fired colour handles steam, chlorinated water and strong sun far better than ink cured on the surface. For pools and outdoor floors, we recommend porcelain with a textured or matt finish.
Typically 3 to 7 business days, depending on order size and whether you want a physical sample first. Tell us your installation date and we will plan back from it.
No. One custom tile is a normal order. Larger quantities lower the price per tile, because the screens are made once.
Usually, yes. Send a Pantone or RAL reference, or a physical sample. Fired colours shift slightly in the kiln, so for exact matches we recommend approving a sample tile first.
No. We focus only on printing and firing. Your tiler or fit-out contractor installs them, and multi-tile designs come with a numbered layout map so every tile goes in the right place.