Custom Inflatable Product Replicas
Your product, built as an inflatable — from a 12-inch desktop piece to a 15-foot centerpiece. Sealed construction, so there's no blower, no cord and no noise. Set it out and it stays inflated.
We produce bottles, cans, balls, characters and custom shapes. PVC anchor points can be welded in if you want to hang the piece rather than stand it.
Bottles and cans
The most requested category, and the one that shows off print accuracy best. A label wrapping a curved surface is where cheap printing gives itself away — colors shift across the curve and type distorts at the edges.
Production samples from our manufacturing partner, photographed in house. Shown to demonstrate construction, seam quality and print accuracy.
What "sealed" actually means
Most large inflatables you've seen run on a constant-duty blower. A cord runs to an outlet, a fan runs the whole time, and the shape holds because air keeps moving through it. That's how the big rooftop characters and arch entrances work.
Sealed inflatables are built differently. The seams are radio-frequency welded into an airtight shell, the piece is inflated once, and it stays up on its own. No power, no fan, no cord to hide, nothing to fail during the event.
That makes them suited to places a blower doesn't belong: retail shelves and end caps, trade show tabletops, distributor incentives, event giveaways, and anywhere a piece has to ship flat and be set up by someone who isn't an installer.
Size range
These run from 12 inches to about 15 feet.
The small end covers countertop pieces, shelf displays and distributor giveaways. Most product replicas land somewhere between one and six feet, which is the size that works on a trade show table or a retail end cap.
At the large end, the constraint is the welding equipment rather than the design — the bigger the piece, the bigger the welder it has to pass through. Around 15 feet is the practical ceiling. Tell us the size you want and we'll tell you straight whether it can be welded at that scale or whether a different construction serves you better.
Balls and spheres
Spheres are the most forgiving shape to weld and the least forgiving to print, because artwork has to be built in panels that meet cleanly at the seams.
Production samples from our manufacturing partner, photographed in house. Shown to demonstrate construction, seam quality and print accuracy.
What determines your price
We don't publish a price list for these, because there isn't an honest one to publish. Four things move the number:
- Quantity. These are production runs, not one-offs. Minimum order is 50 to 100 units depending on size and complexity. Below that the setup cost per piece stops making sense for anyone.
- How many vinyl colors the shape uses. A single-color shell is the least expensive. Every additional color of material adds cutting and welding steps.
- Material gauge. The thickness of the unsupported vinyl. Heavier material costs more and holds up longer — the right choice depends on whether this is a one-weekend promotion or a display that lives in 400 stores for a year.
- Number of silkscreen colors in the artwork. Graphics are silkscreened onto the material. Each ink color is a separate screen and a separate pass. A two-color logo and a full-color photographic label are very different jobs.
Every replica is priced against your actual shape, artwork and quantity — there is no shelf price to quote from. Send us the five things below and we'll come back with a real number rather than a range that moves later.
Production is overseas, so freight is quoted separately and can ship by ocean or air depending on how fast you need them.
Characters and figures
Character work is where welding skill shows. Limbs, facial features and undercuts all have to hold their shape with nothing inside but air.
Production samples from our manufacturing partner, photographed in house. Shown to demonstrate construction, seam quality and print accuracy.
Nothing goes into production until you approve a real one
Before the full run starts, the factory builds a single pre-production sample — your shape, your artwork, your material. Nothing else is made until you sign off on it. It is the step that catches a color that shifted, a logo that distorted over a curve, or a seam in the wrong place, while fixing it still costs nothing.
You approve it one of two ways, and the choice costs you days or doesn't.
By photo. The factory shoots the sample from every angle and sends the images over. Approve them and production starts immediately — this adds nothing to your delivery date.
In your hands. We ship the sample to you, which takes 3 to 5 days in transit, and production starts once you have looked at it and approved. You get to check the material in your hand and see the print under your own lighting. For a large run, a retail program that has to hold up for a year, or the first piece you have ordered from us, that is usually worth the days.
Tell us which you want when you order. If your date is tight, photo approval is how you protect it.
Custom shapes
If you can draw it, it can usually be welded. These started as a sketch and a conversation about what the piece had to survive.
Production samples from our manufacturing partner, photographed in house. Shown to demonstrate construction, seam quality and print accuracy.
Plan your timeline backwards from your date
These are made to order overseas, so the honest answer is that this takes longer than most people expect. Here is what to count on.
| Stage | Time |
|---|---|
| Quote back to you | 2–3 business days |
| Sample approved by photo | No added time — production starts on your approval |
| Sample shipped to you instead | 3–5 days in transit, plus your review |
| Production | 30–45 days |
| Freight by air | 1–2 weeks including customs |
| Freight by ocean | 6–8 weeks including customs |
Freight is the big fork. Air puts you at roughly six to eight weeks from approval to delivery. Ocean puts you at roughly eleven to fifteen weeks and costs considerably less. If your date allows for ocean, take it — the savings on a full container are real.
Two things stretch production beyond 45 days: a custom color of material that has to be made rather than pulled from stock, and a very large run. We will tell you which applies when we quote, not after you have ordered.
If you are inside eight weeks, call before you do anything else. Some shapes move faster than others and air freight can occasionally be expedited. We would rather tell you honestly that your date does not work than take an order we cannot land in time.
What to send us
- The shape, or a photo of the product being replicated
- Rough size — a range is fine
- Quantity you're considering
- Your artwork, or a description of it
- When you need them in hand
If you only have two of those five, send those two. We'll tell you what the others need to be.
Common questions
Do sealed inflatables need a blower or an outlet?
No. The seams are radio-frequency welded into an airtight shell, the piece is inflated once, and it holds its shape on its own. There is no fan, no cord and nothing to fail during an event. Blower-driven advertising inflatables are a different construction and run on constant air.
What is the minimum order for custom inflatable product replicas?
50 to 100 units, depending on the size and complexity of the shape. These are production runs rather than one-offs, and below that quantity the setup cost per piece stops making sense.
How large can a sealed inflatable be made?
From 12 inches up to about 15 feet. The ceiling is the welding equipment rather than the design — the piece has to pass through the welder, so roughly 15 feet is the practical limit. Tell us the size you need and we will say whether it can be welded at that scale.
How long does a custom inflatable replica take?
A quote comes back in 2 to 3 business days. Production runs 30 to 45 days after sample approval. Freight by air adds 1 to 2 weeks including customs, which puts you at roughly six to eight weeks from approval to delivery; freight by ocean adds 6 to 8 weeks, or roughly eleven to fifteen weeks in total, and costs considerably less. If your date is inside eight weeks, call before ordering.
What determines the price of an inflatable product replica?
Four things: the quantity ordered, how many colors of vinyl the shape uses, the gauge of the material, and the number of silkscreen ink colors in the artwork. There is no published price list because every piece is priced against the actual shape, artwork and quantity.
Do I see a sample before the full run is made?
Yes. The factory builds one pre-production sample in your shape, artwork and material, and nothing else is made until you approve it. Approving from photographs adds no time to the schedule. Having the sample shipped to you adds 3 to 5 days in transit plus your review time, and is usually worth it on a large run or a first order.
Can a sealed inflatable be hung instead of standing on the floor?
Yes. PVC anchor points are welded into the shell during production, so the piece can be suspended. Tell us before the sample is built, because the anchor positions are part of the pattern.
Can you replicate my own product as an inflatable?
Yes. Bottles, cans, balls, characters and fully custom shapes are all produced this way, worked from the product itself, a photograph of it, or a drawing. Artwork is silkscreened onto the material, and the pre-production sample is where you check how the label reads once the piece is inflated.
Why buy this from us
We have produced this category for national beverage and consumer brands, in quantities that go to distributors and retail accounts nationwide. We know which shapes weld cleanly, which ones fight you, and where the artwork will distort once the piece is inflated — which is the part that surprises people who are ordering their first one.
We also do the rest of the program. If the replica is going into a trade show booth, a retail set or an event, the same team handles the display, the graphics and the installation. One quote, one contact, one delivery date.
Request a quote → or call 330.968.0678.