Today’s trade show booths are nothing like their past counterparts. Advanced technology and the number of materials available for fabrication allow for more versatility and creativity in the designs of booths. However, depending on the type of booth you’d like to create, some materials will work better than others. Before speaking to professionals and designing your trade show booth, you should develop an understanding of the materials and where they work best.
Durable, Long-Lasting Booths
After spending a considerable amount of time and money designing your trade show booth, it’s understandable why you would want the final product to last as long as possible. To ensure a long-lasting booth, you must incorporate high-quality materials for its fabrication.
Wood and aluminum are highly durable exhibit materials for your booth’s framework, supporting structures, borders, headers, display cases, and decorative accents. While fabricating an entire booth from just one of these materials has been done before, it is not practical. It is best to combine both materials to create a booth that is unique and cost-effective.
For many years, companies have used wood to fabricate their trade show booths because of its affordability. However, wood is heavy; the more you use, the higher it costs to ship and transport. Although there are lighter wood alternatives like balsa, flex wood, and particle boards, they are not as strong as 100% authentic wood. If part of your booth requires large wood fabrications, you could substitute it with aluminum extrusions.
While aluminum extrusions are slightly more expensive, they are significantly lighter than wood, saving you in transportation costs. Not only that, but engineers constructed these extrusions to bend in various ways, so they can fit almost any trade show booth design.
Increasing your booth’s lifespan is not something you’ll have to worry about when incorporating aluminum. Unlike other materials, aluminum can withstand significant wear and tear before it is time to refurbish or replace your booth.
Flashy Display Booths
While companies have many reasons to invest in a trade show booth, an undeniable reason is to advertise the goods or services they offer. The most effective way to draw individuals to your tradeshow booth is with impressive displays. Previously, companies would fabricate their display counters and cases with glass. Today, plexiglass and acrylic are taking over.
When comparing these materials’ function, quality, and application process, they are almost identical. However, acrylic can give off an edge-lit effect when an LED light shines through it. Many companies are engraving their logo into acrylic slabs and utilizing this advanced edge-lit technology to draw people’s attention.
Even though plexiglass does not give off this same edge-lit effect, it is still an excellent material for constructing unique display cases and 3D logos. While both materials are lighter than glass, they are still fragile, so consider this when setting up, taking apart, and transporting your booth.
Graphic-Oriented Booth
If you’ve designed your trade show booth to be graphic-oriented, fabric SEG (Silicone Edge Graphics) is your go-to fabrication. Depending on how intricate a booth’s design is, it can be challenging to apply graphics onto surfaces such as walls, counters, ceilings, and banners without breaks, bumps, and noticeable seams.
The SEG fabric design allows your graphics to wrap around any flat or curved service perfectly. Compared to traditional paneling, fabric SEG is significantly lighter, more durable, and easy to assemble. Therefore, it saves you transportation costs and time when it comes to putting together and taking down your booth at shows.
Get Creative With Your Trade Show Booth Fabrication
While this list is not exhaustive of trade show booth fabrication materials, it details some of the most frequently used materials and what type of booths benefit from their use. If the type of booth you’re looking to design is not listed, speak to an expert who will help you determine what materials will help bring your vision to life.
Do you need help deciding which fabrication is right for your trade show booth? One of our expert marketing consultants can provide a complimentary brainstorming and evaluation session to find out how we can help you. Let’s Talk!
