What is a tattoo flash sheet?
Flash is a set of ready-made tattoo designs that a client can pick from, as opposed to a custom piece drawn for one person. A flash sheet puts several of them on one page, usually at the size the artist would tattoo them, so you can see the line weight and the proportions as they will be on skin. The word comes from the traditional wall of designs in a tattoo shop, and the sheet is the printable, portable version of it.
A sheet is not a finished tattoo. It is an offer: this design, about this size, often at this price. The artist still adapts it to the body part, the client and their own technique.
How artists use flash sheets
- On the wall or in a binder in the shop, so walk-in clients can point at a number instead of describing a design.
- For flash days, when an artist tattoos from a fixed set of designs at set prices, usually without changes, which keeps appointments short.
- Online: a clean sheet photographs well and shows a style at a glance. Numbered designs make booking by message simple.
- As a starting point for a client who wants something in the same spirit but not the same drawing.
If you are a client rather than an artist, a flash sheet is a handy way to collect the designs you like on one page and show them at the right size. Treat it as a brief and ask the artist what they will and will not do.
How flash is priced
There is no standard, and it differs by artist, shop and city. A few patterns are common: a fixed price per design, prices by size tier (small, medium, large), or a shop minimum under which nothing is tattooed. Some artists tattoo a flash design only once, some repeat it. Changes to the drawing, the colour or the placement can move the price, and deposits are usual for larger pieces.
For that reason the maker lets you number each design and add a short price under it, both optional and both yours to fill in. It never suggests a price: the figures on your sheet are the ones you type.
How to make a flash sheet here
- Pick the designs. Tick up to 9 from the gallery (22 public-domain stencils), add lettering in one of 9 open-licence fonts, or add a drawing of your own. Use the arrows to put them in the order you want.
- Choose the paper and the grid. A 3 × 3 grid on A4 is a good first try; use landscape for a 4 × 3 and portrait for a 3 × 4.
- Add a title, numbers and prices if the sheet is for clients, or leave them off for a clean image.
- Print the PDF at 100% and check the 5 cm bar, or save the PNG for a screen.
How big is each design?
The page is printed at the real paper size, and each design is scaled to fit its cell without being stretched. These are the largest design boxes with the default 12 mm margin and nothing else on the sheet; a title, numbers, prices and the credit footer make them a little smaller, and the preview shows the exact figure for your sheet.
| Paper | Grid | Portrait (mm) | Landscape (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | 2 × 2 | 85 × 129 | 129 × 85 |
| A4 | 3 × 3 | 53 × 82 | 82 × 53 |
| A4 | 4 × 3 | 38 × 82 | 59 × 53 |
| US Letter | 2 × 2 | 88 × 120 | 120 × 88 |
| US Letter | 3 × 3 | 55 × 76 | 76 × 55 |
| US Letter | 4 × 3 | 39 × 76 | 55 × 55 |
| Tabloid (11 × 17 in) | 2 × 2 | 120 × 196 | 196 × 120 |
| Tabloid (11 × 17 in) | 3 × 3 | 76 × 127 | 127 × 76 |
| Tabloid (11 × 17 in) | 4 × 3 | 55 × 127 | 93 × 76 |
Small lettering is the limit. As a rule of thumb (ours, not an industry standard) text under about 6 mm tall tends to blur in skin, so the maker warns when a line of lettering comes out smaller than that. A bigger paper size or fewer cells fixes it.
Printing tips
- Print at 100% or Actual size with “Fit to page” off. The 5 cm bar at the bottom of the PDF should measure 5 cm; if it does not, the printer rescaled the page.
- Use black and white at the highest quality. The sheet is line art, so a laser printer gives the crispest lines.
- Matte paper of about 90–120 g/m² (24–32 lb) or light card handles a wall or a binder better than thin office paper. A clear sleeve or lamination protects a sheet that gets handled.
- Tabloid (11 × 17 in) is a standard copy-shop size. Take the PDF to a print shop if you do not own a large printer; A3 shops will usually scale 11 × 17 to fit, so ask them not to.
- The thin grey frame round each cell is for the preview and for cutting out; turn it off for a clean sheet. To transfer one design to skin, open it in the stencil maker and follow the printing guide.
Licences and credits
Every piece in the gallery is public domain according to the Wikimedia Commons API; this site re-reads each licence in its own tests before a change goes live. The PDF and PNG carry the title, creator, licence and source link of every gallery design on the sheet, and the licence and source of each font used: as small print in the footer, in the PDF’s document properties and in the PNG’s text chunks. The gallery shows the same details next to each stencil. The fonts, each under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows free use including commercial work:
- UnifrakturMaguntia (Blackletter (Old English)): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Pirata One (Gothic): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Great Vibes (Elegant script): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Pinyon Script (Copperplate script): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Sacramento (Fine-line script): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Dancing Script (Casual script): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Cinzel (Roman capitals): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Rye (Old-school western): OFL 1.1 licence file
- Bebas Neue (Bold block capitals): OFL 1.1 licence file
Your own drawings carry no credit line. Check the rights to anything you add before you share or sell a sheet.
Privacy
The sheet is laid out and drawn on your device. An image you add is read and traced locally, and a network check in this site’s own tests confirms that no image data is sent. The page sends one small usage event when you export (file type, paper size, grid, number of designs), never your title, text, prices or pixels. See the privacy page.
More tattoo design tools
Want one design with lettering and a ribbon? Use the tattoo design generator. Need a name in script? Try the tattoo name generator. Want more art for the sheet? Browse the free stencil gallery, or trace a drawing with the stencil maker.
Frequently asked questions
What is a tattoo flash sheet?
A flash sheet is a page of ready-to-tattoo designs, usually drawn to be done at a stated size and often at a stated price, that a client can pick from. Artists pin them on the shop wall, keep them in a binder, post them online and print them for flash days. This maker lays out a sheet of up to nine designs on A4, US Letter or tabloid paper at true size.
Is the flash sheet maker free, and is there a watermark?
It is free, needs no account and puts no watermark on the sheet. A free sheet holds up to 9 designs, in a 2 × 2, 3 × 3, 4 × 3 or 3 × 4 grid, on A4, US Letter or tabloid paper in portrait or landscape. The sheet is built in your browser; an image you add yourself is read and traced on your device and is never uploaded.
Where do the designs come from, and do I have to credit them?
The picker holds stencils traced from public-domain images on Wikimedia Commons, plus lettering in nine fonts under the SIL Open Font License. Public-domain art needs no credit, but every PDF and PNG carries the title, creator, licence and source link of each piece, and of each font used, in its footer and in the file properties, so you can always trace a design back to its source. Check the licence yourself before you sell prints of a sheet.
Can I put my own drawings on a flash sheet?
Yes. Add an image and it is traced to line art on your device with the same engine as the stencil maker; if the drawing is already clean black line art, tick the box to use it as it is. Your own images count towards the nine designs and carry no credit line. Drawings with a plain light background and dark lines work best.
What size will each design print?
The sheet is printed at the real paper size and each design is scaled to fit its cell, so the size on paper is exact. With the default 12 mm margin, one cell holds a design up to about 53 × 82 mm on A4 in a 3 × 3 grid, 85 × 129 mm in a 2 × 2 grid, and 76 × 127 mm on tabloid in a 3 × 3 grid. A title, numbers, prices and the credit footer take a little room, so the real figure is slightly smaller. Print at 100% (Actual size) and check the 5 cm bar.
How do tattoo artists price flash?
There is no standard. Many artists set a fixed price per design, others price by size tiers or by hours, and most have a shop minimum. Some tattoo a flash design once and retire it; some repeat it. Numbering the designs and adding a price under each (both are options here) makes it easy for a client to say "number 4, as drawn". Ask the artist what their flash rules are before you book.
How do I print a flash sheet well?
Print the PDF at 100% or Actual size with "Fit to page" switched off, in black and white at the highest quality, and check that the 5 cm bar measures 5 cm. Matte paper of about 90–120 g/m² (24–32 lb) or light card works well for a wall or binder. Tabloid (11 × 17 in) is a standard copy-shop size, so take the PDF to a print shop if you do not own a large printer.
Can I get more than nine designs or save my sheets?
Not on the free sheet: it is one sheet of up to nine designs, built and forgotten in your browser, and nothing is saved on our side. You can export as often as you like and keep the PDF and PNG. Make a second sheet for more designs, or use a different grid and paper size.
Want one design with lettering instead of a whole sheet?
Compose a single design