Trade Show Checklist: Everything to Order (and When to Order It)

The difference between a smooth trade show and a stressful one is almost always the calendar. The booths that look effortless ordered early. The ones taping banners to folding tables ordered last week. Here is the order-by timeline we walk our customers through, based on what actually has to be produced, printed, and shipped.

About 4 weeks out: the big pieces and the hats

• Canopy tent: your custom-printed tent is the single most visible thing in an outdoor booth. Order it first, so the proof can go back and forth without pressure.
• Backdrops and large banners: the wall behind you does the talking in every photo taken at your booth.

About 3 weeks out: the workhorses

• Table covers: a fitted, printed cover turns a rental table into a branded fixture.
• Retractable banner stands: the fastest setup-to-impact ratio in the booth, and they travel to every future event.
• Feather flags: visible from across the venue, they pull walk-up traffic your booth position alone cannot.

Printed displays ship within 2 business days after you approve the proof, and most arrive within 10 business days. Three weeks out leaves room for the proof on top.

With the big pieces: the giveaways

Lock your promo items early too, the things attendees carry away: drinkware, totes, apparel. Custom hats take the longest: they arrive within 3 to 4 weeks of proof approval, depending on the style. Order enough for the realistic crowd, not the fantasy one, and spend the savings on better quality. One hundred items people keep beat five hundred they toss.

The week of: the small saves

Zip ties, tape, a printed price sheet, phone chargers, and a bag for cash and leads. Nobody remembers the booth that had them. Everyone remembers the booth that did not.

Planning an event? Send us your date and we will work the timeline backward with you, so everything arrives calm and on time.