Trade show printing checklist and timeline

Start from the booth space, not the brochure

Get the exhibitor manual before anything else. It tells you the booth size (10 x 10 feet and 10 x 20 feet are common inline sizes), the height limits, whether the show provides a back wall or pipe and drape, what you can hang, and when freight has to arrive. Half the trade show printing mistakes come from designing for a booth nobody measured.

The print checklist

• Backdrop or back wall graphic sized to the booth and the frame or stand that holds it.
• One or two retractable banner stands (33 or 47 inches wide are common) for the front corners or the aisle.
• Table throw or table cover with your logo on the front panel.
• Hanging or tabletop signs for pricing, product names or a show special.
• Sell sheets, one per product line, 8.5 x 11 single or double sided.
• A short brochure or capabilities piece.
• Business cards for every person working the booth, with spares.
• Presentation folders for serious prospects, so the sell sheets stay together.
• Lead cards or forms if you collect contact details on paper.
• Giveaways and branded promotional items, if you use them.
• Shipping labels and box labels for the return trip.

Design for the aisle

People decide whether to stop in a couple of seconds while walking past. The back wall should say what you do in a few large words, high enough to be seen over the heads of people standing in front of it. Put the logo and the one-line description above table height. Anything below about three feet will be hidden by your own table and visitors.

Leave the detail for the sell sheets. A banner with a paragraph on it does not get read.

Timeline working back from the show

This is a planning schedule, not a production promise. Confirm actual production and shipping time with the printer when you order, and earlier if the show is in a busy season.

• 8 to 10 weeks out: book the booth, read the exhibitor manual, decide what hardware you need.
• 6 to 8 weeks out: write the copy and get the design started. Measure the space the graphics go in.
• 5 to 6 weeks out: request quotes with sizes, quantities and the date things must arrive.
• 4 to 5 weeks out: final files and proofs approved for large graphics and stands.
• 3 to 4 weeks out: handouts, sell sheets and cards approved.
• 2 to 3 weeks out: print in hand, or shipped to the show's advance warehouse by its deadline.
• Final week: pack a kit with spare zip ties, tape, scissors and extra cards.

Shipping to the show

Most large shows use a general contractor and offer an advance warehouse with a cutoff date, plus direct-to-show delivery on set-up days. Each has its own rules and handling charges, and they are in the exhibitor manual. Decide early whether print ships to you, to the warehouse or with you in the car, so the deadline you give the printer is the right one.

How many handouts to bring

There is no honest formula, so use your own numbers. If you went last year, count what came home. If it is your first show, ask the organizer for expected attendance and decide what fraction of visitors you can realistically talk to. Fewer, better pieces handed to qualified visitors beat a stack picked up by everyone grabbing free pens.

Reuse what you can

Banner stands and hardware last for several shows. Keep the back wall and stands generic enough to reuse: company name, what you do, website. Put dates, booth numbers and show specials on smaller pieces that are cheap to reprint. Store fabric and vinyl graphics rolled, not folded, unless they were made to fold.