Graphics have one deadline and one failure mode. The deadline is around five weeks before move-in. The failure mode is a file the printer can't use — and the fix is a reprint on a rush schedule, often shipped expedited, sometimes done on site at show-site rates. A $400 fabric panel becomes a $1,200 problem because a logo was placed 1.5 inches from the edge.
Send this checklist to whoever is building your files. Every item on it is something a large-format printer will reject or silently print wrong.
Resolution
- 100 pixels per inch at 100% scale is the target for large-format work. The acceptable range is roughly 75–150 ppi at full size.
- Web images are 72 ppi at screen size. A logo pulled off your website will print as a blur at eight feet wide. Use vector artwork for logos and type, always.
- If the file is built at reduced scale, the resolution scales up: a file at 50% needs 200 ppi, at 25% needs 400 ppi, at 10% needs 1,000 ppi.
Scale
- Build at 100% if the software allows it. If not, use a standard reduction — 10%, 25% or 50% — and put the scale in the file name (
backwall_scale50.ai). An unlabeled half-scale file prints at half size, and nobody catches it until the panel arrives at the booth. - Multi-panel graphics go out as one continuous file, not one file per panel, so the image lines up across seams. Ask the printer for a layout template.
Color
- If exact color matters — a brand color, a product color — build with Pantone solid coated swatches. Note that some Pantone colors can't be reproduced in CMYK and will print duller than they look on screen.
- If exact color doesn't matter, build in CMYK and expect the file to print as-is, with no adjustment.
- Never send RGB. It'll be converted, and the conversion is a surprise.
- Screens lie. The only way to know what a color will look like on fabric is a test print. Large jobs sometimes get one automatically; small jobs usually have to ask. If color matters, ask.
- Overprint fill off. It's a checkbox in the attributes panel. Left on, it produces unexpected results on press.
Safe areas
- Fabric graphics: keep text and logos at least 2 inches from every edge. Fabric is stretched and trimmed; the edges aren't exact.
- Banners with pole pockets: keep 5 inches clear at the top and bottom. The pocket swallows it.
- Anything mounted in a frame: ask for the frame's visible area, and design to that, not the material size.
Files
- Preferred formats are the standard design apps' native files or a print-ready PDF.
- Package the file — collect every linked image and every font into one folder, and send the whole folder, not just the document. A missing font is a rejected file.
- For PDFs, keep editing capabilities enabled so the printer can fix small issues without a round trip.
- Keep files under the printer's size limit (a couple of gigabytes is a common ceiling).
- Name files clearly:
company_show_panel-name_scale.ext.
Submission
- Files usually go through an upload link, not email. Confirm receipt and ask for a proof.
- Proof the proof: spelling, phone numbers, URLs, the booth number if it's printed anywhere. A typo on a ten-foot panel is a reprint.
- Keep a copy of the final approved files. You'll need them next show.
The schedule that avoids all of this
- M − 60: final copy approved internally. Last chance for wording changes without cost.
- M − 45: files built and run through this checklist.
- M − 35: files submitted; proof requested.
- M − 28: proof approved.
- M − 21: graphics in production; nothing changes from here.
That timeline leaves two weeks of slack before the warehouse deadline for anything that goes wrong. The planner holds the graphics deadline at M − 35 by default, attaches this checklist to it, and reminds you at two weeks and one week out.
One more thing: the booth structure decides the spec
Pipe-and-drape booths, fabric-frame rentals, hardwall panels and hanging signs each take graphics differently — different materials, different mounting, different safe areas. Get the exact spec from whoever is supplying the structure before design starts, not after. A backwall graphic designed for a hardwall panel does not fit a tension-fabric frame, and that mismatch is discovered at the printer, five weeks out, with the clock running.
Frequently asked questions
- What resolution do trade show graphics need?
- About 100 pixels per inch at 100% scale, with roughly 75–150 ppi acceptable. A file built at 50% scale needs 200 ppi; at 25%, 400 ppi. Web images at 72 ppi will print blurry.
- Should trade show graphics be CMYK or Pantone?
- Use Pantone solid coated swatches for colors that must match (brand colors, product colors). Otherwise build in CMYK and expect it to print as-is. Never send RGB files.
- What is the safe area for fabric trade show graphics?
- Keep text and logos at least 2 inches from every edge on fabric graphics, and at least 5 inches from the top and bottom on banners with pole pockets.
- When should I send graphics files to the printer?
- About five weeks before move-in, with a proof approved a week later. That leaves time for a rejected file to be fixed before the warehouse deadline.
More exhibitor guides
Every figure in this guide is a typical range. Your show's exhibitor service manual governs the actual dates, rates and rules.