First Time Exhibitor Checklist: Booth, Table and Shipping

What Should You Confirm With the Organizer First?

Confirm the booth size, the display rules, the furniture they supply and the receiving process before you approve artwork or book shipping. The organizer's current exhibitor manual is the working reference; a photo of last year's booth is not.

Name one person to own the whole checklist. Tasks can be shared, but one coordinator should know whether the display, the travel plan and the shipment line up. Keep the organizer's answers with the booth plan so the people ordering and packing use the same facts.

How Do You Choose the Main Booth Display?

Choose the display that fills the back of the booth and says what you do in one line. For a 10 ft wide booth, three options cover the back edge, and each complete kit includes the hardware and a travel bag.

Two 33 in retractable stands side by side cover more than half of a 10 ft back edge for less than a full wall, at the per stand price above. Write one main message for the wall. A visitor should understand what you help with in the time it takes to walk past. Put the business name and that message in the top two thirds, where tables and people will not cover them. If you reorder the graphic later, order Graphic Only for the same size and shape of frame.

How Do You Match a Table Cover to the Table?

Match the cover to the exact table the organizer supplies. Show tables are commonly 6 ft or 8 ft long, and each cover is made for one length.

Pick a 3-sided open back cover when staff sit behind the table and reach for stock, and a 4-sided closed back cover when the table is seen from every side. Keep the logo high on the front drop, since knees, chairs and bags hide the bottom. Leave the tabletop clear enough to talk across.

When Should You Add a Retractable Banner?

Add a retractable banner when it has a job the backwall cannot do, such as naming one service at the aisle corner or pointing to a demo. The Standard Retractable starts at $213.99 for the stand, graphic and travel bag.

Do not add a stand only to fill a corner. Its base takes floor, and a second headline competes with the wall. Give it a different job: if the wall says what you do, the stand says how to book or what to try. For a single line at eye level on the table, a table top banner stand starts at $106.99 and uses no floor at all.

What Should the Team Say When a Visitor Arrives?

Prepare one opening question and one next step before the show. The printed booth starts the conversation; the team has to finish it.

Pick a single goal for the event, such as booking a call or collecting a specific request. Decide who follows up and by when, so every contact you collect gets an answer. Keep notes on what visitors actually ask; those questions tell you whether the wall's message is clear and what to change before the next show.

What Small Items Should Travel With the Booth?

A small kit of tools and supplies saves the setup when something is missing at the hall. Pack it in its own labeled box so it is the first thing opened.

• A tape measure, to check the booth lines and the table before anything goes up
• Scissors and packing tape, for opening boxes and resealing them for the trip home
• Cable ties and a small extension cord, if the organizer confirms power at your booth
• Cleaning cloths, for fingerprints on fabric and the table surface
• Printed copies of the order, the setup photos and the organizer's contact sheet
• Handouts, business cards and a pen for every person working the booth

Write the return address and the teardown deadline on the inside lid of that box, so the person packing up at the end of the show does not have to look for them.

What to Check on Proofs for First Booths

Check whether the phone number and web address sit along the bottom of the backwall. On the screen it looks tidy. In the booth, the table and two staff members stand in front of that strip all day. Move contact details into the top half or onto the table throw.

Next, check for too many words. A first wall often lists every service in small type, the way a brochure would. Read from the aisle, it turns into texture. One headline, one image, the name and a short web address are enough.

Then check for a file that is too small. A logo copied from a website or a phone screenshot blurs at 10 ft wide. If that is what you have, AI image to print makes it print ready for $14.99 per item, and Design it for me builds the layout for $29.99, free on items $499 and up. Nothing prints until you approve the free digital proof.

How Do You Test and Pack the Booth?

Set up the whole booth once before it ships, with the real graphics, hardware and table cover, and with the people who will run it. A practice setup finds a missing part while there is still time to replace it.

Photograph the finished booth and write a packing list for each bag or box in plain words. Pack graphics clean and dry and apart from metal parts, and keep the order details and setup photos where the team can reach them without unpacking. Our guide to packing and shipping a trade show display covers the details.

How Do You Order and Schedule Your Booth Prints?

Order once the organizer's rules and table size are confirmed and the artwork is final. Work back from the receiving date: shipping transit, then one business day of production after proof approval, then a few days for your own review and the practice setup.

Every display and table throw in this guide is printed in the USA the next business day after approval and ships with flat $10 shipping per product to any US address. Start with the 10 ft fabric pop up, add the 8 ft table throw for the supplied table, and keep the first booth simple enough to set up in one try.