Walking into a half-empty booth on day one is every exhibitor's nightmare, and it is almost always a planning failure rather than a printing one. The fix is unglamorous: a checklist, and enough lead time to print everything on it. This guide is the print-by-print packing list for a complete exhibition booth — what to order, how to brief each item, and when. It sits under our exhibition marketing guide; start there for the strategy, and use this as the build list.
Start three weeks out
Print has a lead time, and the biggest pieces have the longest. Lock your artwork three weeks before the show, order the backdrop and any booth system first, then work down to the smaller items. Leaving everything to the final week is how exhibitors end up paying rush fees for banners that still arrive late.
1. The backdrop wall
Your backdrop is the photograph people remember and the surface behind every conversation. A tension-fabric pop-up backdrop gives a seamless, wrinkle-free wall that packs into a wheeled case and sets up in minutes. Put your logo and one clear value proposition at eye level — roughly 1.2 to 1.8 metres from the floor — so it reads in photos and over visitors' heads. Avoid burying the message in a busy background; from the aisle you have about two seconds.
2. Roll-up banners for the aisle
Roll-up banners are the workhorse of any stand. Place one at each open edge of the booth to pull foot traffic from the aisle, and keep the top third bold — that is the part visible from a distance. One message per banner: a banner that tries to say three things says nothing. If you exhibit often, a premium roll-up with an anti-curl film survives repeated trips.
3. A full booth system (for corners and islands)
If you have a corner, peninsula or island space, a structured booth system ties the backdrop, counter and lighting into one branded environment that reads from several angles. Plan the graphics around the frame seams early, because artwork that ignores the joins looks broken under show lighting. Confirm the exact dimensions first — the standard formats are covered in exhibition booth sizes & layouts, and the backdrop-versus-banners decision in pop-up vs pull-up displays.
4. The counter or table
A printed promotional counter turns a bare trestle into branded furniture, gives your staff a base, and hides boxes and bags underneath. Match its colours to the backdrop so the whole booth reads as one piece. A cluttered, unbranded table undoes an otherwise polished stand.
5. Overhead and directional signage
An advertising flag or hanging sign carries your name above the heads of the hall, helping people find you in a crowded room. Small directional signs and even a floor sticker guide visitors to a demo or sampling station. Signage is what turns a booth people walk past into one they walk into.
6. Handouts and takeaways
Most of your booth stays behind; what leaves keeps working. Print enough leaflets, cards or one-pagers that you never run out on a busy afternoon, and lead each with the single thing you want remembered plus a way back to you — a QR code or short URL. Order more than you expect to use; a missed handout is a missed conversation.
7. Sampling consumables (if you serve food)
If you are sampling, your consumables are part of the kit: tasting cups, spoons, napkins and a bin. Plan portions and quantities with the food-sampling booth guide so the queue keeps moving and you do not run dry mid-show.
8. The little things that get forgotten
The items that derail a setup are always the small ones: cable ties, double-sided tape, scissors, a marker, spare bulbs, an extension lead and a roll of bin liners. Pack a small repair kit and you can fix a drooping banner or a dead light without hunting the hall for help.
Artwork and file setup
Every printed item is only as good as the file behind it. Set up bleed, safe area, resolution and CMYK colour correctly the first time — the per-product detail is in print-ready file setup and on our output specs page. Getting the files right once means the same artwork re-prints for every future show.
A printable pre-show checklist
- Backdrop ordered and artwork approved.
- Roll-up banners — one per open edge, plus a spare.
- Booth system (if corner/island), dimensions confirmed.
- Branded counter or table cover.
- Overhead flag or hanging sign.
- Directional and floor signage.
- Handouts and business cards — more than you think.
- Sampling consumables, if serving food.
- Lead-capture method ready (QR, scanner, forms).
- Repair kit packed.
Packing and the on-site repair kit
Pack the booth so it sets up in order: structure first, then graphics, then the small items. Label cases, keep the repair kit on top, and bring spares of anything cheap and critical — a second roll-up and extra handouts always earn their space. Arrive early enough to set up unhurried and fix surprises before the doors open.
Common checklist mistakes
- Ordering late. The backdrop has the longest lead time; order it first.
- No spares. One torn banner with no backup leaves a hole in your stand.
- Mismatched colours. Order from one supplier so reds and blues match across pieces.
- Forgetting the capture method. A booth with no way to take leads wastes the footfall.
- Skipping the repair kit. A dead bulb or drooping banner with no fix looks careless all day.
Lighting your booth
A booth in shadow disappears, however good the print. Most halls light the aisles but not the inside of a stand, so plan your own: clip spotlights on the backdrop frame, an LED bar over the counter, and nothing that throws harsh glare back at visitors. Warm, even light makes graphics pop and faces approachable; a dim corner reads as "closed". Check what power the venue provides and bring an extension lead and adaptors, because the socket is never where you need it.
Setting a print budget
Print is usually the smallest line in an exhibition budget and the one that decides whether the rest works. As a rough split, expect most of your spend on space and stand, a modest slice on graphics, and a little on handouts and consumables. The smart move is to buy reusable pieces — a fabric backdrop, premium roll-ups — once, then reprint only the parts that change between shows. Cheap, single-use graphics that get binned after one event cost more over a season than quality reused across several.
A checklist for different show types
- Trade fair (B2B): backdrop, roll-ups, counter, plenty of one-pagers and a strong lead-capture method.
- Consumer expo: add sampling consumables, a prize-draw sign and more handouts; footfall is higher and faster.
- Pop-up or roadshow: prioritise portable, quick-setup pieces — roll-ups, a feather flag and floor stickers that lift cleanly.
- Conference booth: a compact backdrop and a single clear offer; delegates pass quickly between sessions.
Match the kit to the audience and you avoid both over- and under-printing for the room you are actually in.
Order from one supplier
Reds drift, blues shift, and two "white" backgrounds from two printers rarely match. Ordering your whole kit from a single supplier keeps colour consistent across the backdrop, roll-ups and counter, so the booth reads as one brand rather than a collection of near-misses. It also simplifies the timeline — one order, one delivery, one point of contact if something needs fixing — which matters most in the final week when there is no time to chase mismatched reprints.
After the show
The kit you packed carefully is worth unpacking carefully too. Check graphics for damage, clean and dry everything before storage, and note what you ran out of or wished you had brought. Store the reusable pieces flat or rolled, label the cases, and keep your print-ready files so the next show is a quick reorder rather than a rebuild. A tidy pack-down is the first task of your next, better booth.
Frequently asked questions
How early should I order everything? Three weeks for the backdrop and booth system, two for the rest, and sooner in peak exhibition season.
Can I reuse the kit at the next show? Yes — fabric backdrops and premium roll-ups are built for it; design with a rebrand in mind and one kit serves several shows.
What is the one thing people forget most? Spares and the repair kit — the cheap items whose absence is most visible on the day.
Do I really need a backdrop? For a shell-scheme wall, yes — it is the single piece that makes the booth look finished and gives you a branded photo background. Roll-ups alone leave a bare wall behind every conversation.
Work through this list with the exhibition marketing guide for strategy, and browse the full Exhibition & Booth range to build your kit.
