Picture hanging template
Enter the frame size and how it's wired, and this works out where the nail goes and how high off the floor to put it. Print the strip below at true size to mark the spot instead of eyeballing it — a hair of error is invisible in a single hook and obvious the moment two D-rings sit uneven.
57" to the center is the usual gallery eye-level height
One nail, at the point the wire pulls taut to.
Measured on the back, top edge down to the hanger
The full length strung between the two rings, not the straight-line distance
Nail height, from the floor
56"
The hang in numbers
- Frame top edgeFrom the floor, once hung
- 67"
- Frame bottom edge
- 47"
- Wire dropBelow the D-rings, at the taut point
- 8"
Marking strip, at true size
Wider than one sheet, so it prints across 3 pieces you butt together. Print at 100%, check the ruler, then hold it against the wall or the back of the frame, level, centered where you want the picture.
Put a tape on the printed ruler. If it does not read exactly 6 inches, the print was scaled — set the print dialog to 100% or “Actual size” and print it again. Do not cut wood from a template that failed this.
Hold this level against the wall, centered on 16", and mark the tick. Then measure 56" up from the floor at that mark. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Hold this level against the wall, centered on 16", and mark the tick. Then measure 56" up from the floor at that mark. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Hold this level against the wall, centered on 16", and mark the tick. Then measure 56" up from the floor at that mark. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Printing this properly
In the print dialog, set the scale to 100% or “Actual size” and turn off “Fit to page”. Measure the printed ruler with a tape before you trust the spacing — a driver that quietly scaled to 96% still looks fine on paper and gives you two hooks that are an eighth of an inch closer together than the wire actually needs.
To get a PDF, choose Save as PDF as the printer — the page is vector all the way through, so it stays true at any size, printed from anywhere.
About hanging pictures
- How high should a picture hang on the wall?
- 57" to the center is the standard museum and gallery convention — roughly eye level for someone of average height standing back from the piece. It's a convention, not a rule: a picture over a low dresser or hung to be seen from a seated spot at a dining table wants its own center height, which is why the field is editable rather than fixed.
- Where does the nail go for a wire-hung picture?
- Below the D-rings by the amount the taut wire drops — a right-triangle relationship between how far apart the rings are and how much wire is strung between them. A 16" by 20" frame with rings 12" apart and 20" of wire drops the nail 8" below the rings, a clean 6-8-10 triangle. More wire (for the same ring spread) drops the nail further; less wire drops it less.
- Why does the spacing matter if I'm just eyeballing one nail?
- It doesn't, much — a single point is forgiving because there's nothing for it to be uneven relative to. Two D-rings without wire are the case that punishes a sixteenth of error: hang them a hair off level or off their true spread and the frame sits visibly crooked, because now there are two fixed points fighting each other instead of one that can be nudged.
- Do I need to find a stud?
- For most framed art, no — a picture hook rated for the frame's weight, driven into drywall at an angle, holds tens of pounds. Anything heavy enough to worry about — a large mirror, a substantial framed piece — is worth landing on a stud or a rated drywall anchor instead of trusting the wire alone.