Where are on the globe it’s manufactured counts. The labour and shipping and delivery expenses have a serious impact on the final cost and quality of the product. Literature Racks produced inside of the Far East have reduced labour and operating cost expenses while those developed in North American or European cities tend to be more expensive. The consequence on quality is decided on the engineering, supplies and basic development management. A few stands have western designs constructed in far east factories, some utilizing the designer’s management guidance. You tend to find that Literature Stands made in the western world will be more pricey but will generally have improved guarantees. Nonetheless, Far Eastern created items have come a long way and also the quality has improved.

What the literature holder is constructed of may also affect the cost. Lighter weight options including material and/or unfinished racks, metal as opposed to aluminium, shorter versions and narrower units will minimize the costs..

Additionally remember that additional capabilities of the stand increase the production expenses therefore the price tag. These consist of wider storage areas to hold landscape as opposed to portrait leaflets. Depth of the pockets controls the total quantity of literature you’ll be able to exhibit. A 10 pocket screen with half inch deep pockets can only maintain half the number of publications containable inside a 5 pocket rack with two inch deep pockets. Take note – you need to think about how the storage compartments are made, can you see the whole of the products / services brochure?

I really do think however the better looking the stand the more expensive it tends to be. If nevertheless the holder suits your needs or you simply like the look of it the costs is probably justified!

Firstly we offer a whole host of free guides, handbooks and E-Courses via the Show Store. They include –

20 Ways to Save You Money E-Course – essential money and time saving tips plus free check lists and guides.

The Ultimate Exhibitors Handbook – strategies, tips and check lists, everything you need to know before your show.

The Beginners Guide to Sales – jam packed with everything you need to know to sell

The Pop Up Stand Guide – everything you need to know before you purchase

The Banner Stand Guide – the difference between the stand and lots more need to knows

The Guides and courses are unbiased so no matter where you ultimately buy from the information is relevant.

We offer free delivery service on all orders over £250 to one address in the UK.

We offer a free printed proof with relevant product orders over £100. Giving you the chance to check for colour consistency, copy, colour and picture placement.

Ok I am probably stretching it a bit with the next one …………….we offer a triple guarantee. We cover the hardware, print and your general happiness with the product. We want you to be completely happy with our products and services – you can’t say fairer than that! For full details of each guarantee visit the Show Store.

Lastly we have our You Tube Channel which contains loads of free videos all about pop up stands and another focusing just on banner stands. More and more videos are been added weekly so please keep looking.

Ok, I think I have covered the main ones and we are adding more and more free stuff to the site over the coming months (I’ll keep you posted). I hope you take advantage, no reason not to, its FREE!

The Beginners Guide to Sales is jam packed with everything you need to know to successfully sell. This information is particularly important when you are using face-to-face marketing techniques on the road at a show, event, seminar or conference.

The Ultimate Exhibitors Handbook is a mighty 55 page handbook full of strategies, tips, tricks and checklists that you’ll be able to use to ensure that your show set-up, organization, planning, purchasing and marketing is carried out in a way that ensures your stand will stand out at the show.

Both guides are easy to use and not too technical so ideal for the first time exhibitor. We know as we have been there ourselves how overwhelming exhibiting can be.  A lot of experienced exhibitors however, have received them and they have all told me that even they have picked up a few new ideas. So don’t think just because you have been doing this for years you know everything, anyway what have you got to loose – they are FREE!

Both Guides are only available when an order is placed so can’t be downloaded and used willy nilly. As soon as the order has completed then the guides will be emailed directly to you and you can get cracking.

Also as a last thought don’t forget to view our You Tube channel which is packed with useful banner stands videos and is updated and added to regularly.

I hope you find them useful – happy reading(viewing)!

This a quick post to let you know about a Large (Grand) Format Solvent Inkjet Printer for sale. It has been owned from new, minimal use and is in great working order.

The sale includes -

• The Printer
• Take up roll and additional tray
• Quality Wasatch RIP
• 2.8ghz Print Server
• Dedicated  computer
• Spares and rolls of media

This package is ideal for a start up business or just to complement existing print services you may offer.

For more information and contact details please view the video.

Transporting Exhibition Display Equipment

Incorrect transportation and storage of the stand can take a eye-catching, professional display and turn it into expensive scrap in seconds. Firstly, pack all of your equipment tight enough that they won’t shift and move around during transportation. This is exceptionally important for rigid graphics, large panels, and other objects that can be dented or bent easily.

Construction of the Stand at the Show

If you will be managing your own stand construction, make sure you allot enough time before the event to get everything set up and exactly how you want it. If time is at a premium the set up the perimeter, tables and main stand essentials first.

Next put in place your smaller items, decorations, and marketing material in and around the stand as the early exhibition attendees enter the exhibition hall. Depending on the distance and sizing rules, some exhibitors find it easier to build smaller items before arrival.

If you require contractors to put up your exhibition stand at the venue, take extra time to research the company. Ensure the company you hire has experience in the industry, as well as satisfied customers based on available testimonials.

Ensure you give the contractor as much information about the logistics and details in advance to help avoid potential damage or delays during the assembly. This includes information such as the number of pallets and stand pieces; a description of what’s in each box/case, which should also be labeled clearly and lastly diagrams and detail about which components go with which exhibition display piece.

Taking Down your Exhibition Stand

Taking down your stand needs the same care and attention as construction. Make sure everything goes back into the container it came in. Check to see if any of the items could be rubbing against each other, and if so, wrap them with a soft cloth, foam to protect the finish.

As you preparing items for transportation, make sure the fragile items such as graphics or lighting are protected. If you used paper graphics or marketing literature then it may also be sensible to place them in plastic to help protect against moisture.

Storage of Exhibition Stands for Future Use

When storing your display materials take care of your graphics and fabrics. They need to be carefully packed and stored out of direct sunlight, which could cause them to fade or become brittle. Refrain from using cheap cardboard boxes to store your display. Special cases provide far better protection and they are also more durable and transport more easily.

Most importantly it is beneficial to use a secure, dry and undisturbed storage facility to keep your stand in pristine condition. This will help to make sure it doesn’t get inadvertently bumped or knocked over.

For full some examples of special transportation cases please click the link, if you can’t see what you need we can supply a full range so call and we will forward the detail.

Lightboxes are proven to be an extremely effective advertising tool, particularly in window features and store outlets. They are also utilised in floorstanding media strategies and wall mounted display campaigns. Research has shown that lightboxes and illuminated point of sale features used in a store environment can drastically increase revenue. The attention catching mixture of colour and light often is the effective collaboration that will attract prospective consumers to your items, services or details.

There are a huge range of illuminated signage displays to select from like backlit or edge lit, front loading or slide in, internal or external, standard poster size or bespoke, aluminium or acrylic, ultra slim or standard widths, wall fitted or freestanding and lastly curved or flat.

Illuminated displays and light boxes can also be quite useful in areas just like airports, train stations, night clubs, pubs, bars, coffee shops, banks, places to eat, show rooms, supermarkets, cinemas, media channels, ferries, office buildings, industry events and exhibitions. All light boxes is usually supplied with printed back lit films using your design on them. You must make sure your light boxes illuminate your graphic image with the most even light distribution feasible, bringing your images to life and creating powerful appealing displays. Changing the artwork in these great items is quick and easy to do, making them perfect for use in shops.

Freestanding light towers and illuminated pillars are one of the ideal platforms to make your graphics, branding, logos and marketing stand out. A dual sided illuminated light tower will ensure that your message is never overlooked. Extra options may be incorporated into your light box to improve your exhibit. These range from shelving units and literature racks or brochure holders.

Full details on all of our Lightboxes are available on our Show Store Site, please click the link – Lightboxes

It works just the same as the normal aluminium stands but looks amazing and trust me gets people talking. The stand is extremely lightweight and easy to use, the only downside if you could call it one is the pole comes in 3 parts. This as far as I can see is not a problem and doesn’t take any longer to put together and everything comes in a padded bag anyway.

I have used this stand twice for a client and they used it to complement an exhibition stand they already had, positioned next to foliage and a fab graphic it looked stunning. They informed me that they had more people coming to the stand to look at the banner than they have ever had and this led nicely lots of leads!!

The Logik Banner Stand is available from the Show Store at an extremely competitive price. Click here for more detail.

The idea of freebies are that when the potential customer has gone home he will look/use your gift regularly so when they need your product they automatically think to call you instead of your competitors. So what you give them is important, you don’t want them binning it or shoving it to the back of the draw.

Ok, back to my article………..

A survey has been carried out and a new Top 10 has been revealed and I thought I would share it with you.

1. Sweat Shirts
2. Drawstring Backpacks
3. Pocket Calculator
4. Clocks
5. Computer Accessories
6. Umbrella
7. Flashlights
8. Packaged Candy
9. Lip Balm
10. Coffee Mugs

Controversially the good old pen has been missed off this list….I have read many reports which say the pen is the  “king” freebie as it is cheap to mass produce and people always need a pen! Make your own mind up on this one.

One item that is a new comer and is fast becoming the numero uno item to give away is hand sanitiser – since the outbreak of swine flu some genius came up with idea to add company details to the bottles and it is taking the freebie market by storm.

Moral of the story – think before you exhibit, give something away that people will use and remember you by!

I have in the past had a client (who will remain nameless) take 3 sets of graphics with him to a show and each day had a swap around to test which concept worked the best with potential clients. As he pointed out it worked out much cheaper buying the extra sets of pop up stand graphics than paying to attend 2 more exhibitions to test his theory – good point well made!!

Most people though have a change of logo, or the images are looking tired and out dated or they want to promote a different product………these guys can just replace the graphic easily and save money!

When looking around for people to replace the graphic make sure they are able to do so.  Sounds daft but some companies will only produce a graphic for the systems they have in stock. Also if you are looking to replace a graphic on a banner stand my advice is to send the whole unit back and get them to do it for you. Most banner stands work on a tension basis and if you don’t do it properly then you can get into all sorts of bother.

The Showstore, although always offered the service, have put a new catergory on their on-line store for replacement graphics.  They will produce graphics for any type of stand (pop up stand, pop up banner stand, roll up banner stand etc), whether they stock it or not. You must be aware though if it is a stand they don’t normally stock there may be a small extra charge if they need to source special materials in order to complete the job (this will be in a minority of cases!!).

Click the link to view their prices – Replacement Graphics.

The Cobra is a versatile but misunderstood stand.  It affords great graphic space, adjustable height so it could be used as a table top stand if required and it is extremely lightweight. Customers are mainly put off the Cobra because they are used to the traditional roller banner stand where the graphic rolls into the base for storage. However when they come face to face with the Cobra Banner Stand they are pleasantly surprised and opinions are changed.

From the front you wouldn’t know the difference between the two however from the side you can see  it does not have the bulk of the aluminium base. The stand because of not having a base unit is extremely lightweight and ideal if you are carting it around the globe. It is also ideal for use in locations as a more semi-permanent stand, I know of a Cobras used in a car showroom promoting the latest models.

How it is constructed – the graphic is attached to both a top and bottom rail. The bottom rail has a foot that clips into place. The pole as with all banner stands is inserted onto the foot and clipped into place on the top rail and the pole is extended to produce the tension in the graphic. All of this is done in a matter of minutes.

The main benefit and what most people are surprised about is the cost. As mentioned before, because you don’t have a large aluminium base it cuts the cost considerably, making it an ideal choice if you are on an economy drive or allows you purchase two instead of the budgeted one!!

For more information on the Cobra Banner Stand please click the link. You will note the Showstore has a promotion on at the moment and the Cobra is going for a rock bottom price that I think can’t be missed!