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23/12/2015

Exhibition Graphics – An Essential Guide


Exhibition Graphics are probably one of the most important elements of your exhibition stand, they display your key messages, and help communicate your organisations spirit and culture.  Exhibition graphics and the messages they display should be considered at the start of your exhibition stand design and not an afterthought. If you are unsure about artwork or which print media is best for the job then our handy guide should help steer you in the right direction.

ELM Exhibition Graphics

Artwork 

Before any exhibition graphics can be considered you will need to look at your messages and artwork.  Unless you have experience with graphic design and profficent with graphic design software it is probably best to employ the services of a creative agency or freelancer, give them a decent brief as this will save time and money going back and forth with artwork amends. Make sure they fully understand what you are trying to achieve from the exhibition and the timescales involved, its a good idea to give them a time line in terms of when the large format print company will require artwork in order to hit their deadline for your exhibition. Whoever is doing your creative ensure they have all the print artwork guidelines such as transfer methods and artwork checklist to make certain the files arrive in the correct format, again this will save time and money.

Large Format Print

Many exhibition stand builders will have in house print so you need to decide whether you will go in house or use an external large format print company. Check if the exhibition stand builder truly has in-house large format print or whether they use an external print company, if they do you may save some money by going direct. However you are probably less likely to encounter problems with the graphics not fitting if you let the exhibition stand builder supply graphics. Talk through the print media options with your printer/stand builder, make sure they understand your expectations in terms of longevity for the exhibition stand graphics. Will you be recycling the graphics after the exhibition or will you need to reuse them for several other exhibitions? The choice of print media and lamination is important, especially if you expect your exhibition graphics to last.

Installation/Breakdown

If you have opted for a full service build from an exhibition stand builder, they will take care of the graphic installation. If you intend on self building your exhibition stand, here are a few graphic installation golden rules.

1. Make sure the graphics are packed properly and stowed securely for transport, damaged graphics will ruin your exhibiton stand

2. Un-package and handle the graphics with care. If the graphics aren’t laminated use gloves (we use anti-static gloves)

3. Store the graphics on your exhibition stand until you are ready to start installing, don’t leave them on the floor

4. Fix any magnetic or application tape to the graphics before the event, this will save valuable time with exhibition stand build up

5. When the exhibition has finished remove the graphics first, package them up securely and stow ready for transport

The exception to some of the rules above are stretch fabric graphics. which can be folded and are easier to transport.

Storage

After the exhibition dust has settled you will need to store your exhibition equipment and graphics ready for the next show. Some exhibition stand builders will offer storage services otherwise you will need to store graphics flat in a clean and dry environment where the temperature is fairly stable as some print media is temperature sensitive.

If you need any help with exhibition graphics please call us on 01536 265823

Article written by:

Admin

Tags: Artwork, Large Format Print

Posted in: Exhibition Tips,

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