Exhibition Printing Checklist: What Your Business Needs for an Event

Posted on October 2, 2026September 29, 2026 by Nikki Barlow

Whether you are attending a trade show, business expo, networking event or industry exhibition, the way your business presents itself matters.

You may only have a few seconds to attract someone’s attention as they walk past your stand. Once they stop, you then need to give them a reason to start a conversation – and something memorable to take away afterwards.

That is where professional print comes in.

From roller banners and display boards to brochures, leaflets and business cards, having the right printed materials can help your stand look professional, consistent and easy to understand.

At Ronset, we provide exhibition printing in Blackburn for businesses across Lancashire and beyond. If you have an event coming up, this practical checklist will help you decide what you actually need – without ordering lots of print that serves no real purpose.

Start With the Purpose of Your Exhibition Stand

Before choosing what to print, think about what you want visitors to do.

Are you trying to:

Generate new sales leads?
Launch a new product or service?
Build awareness of your brand?
Meet existing customers?
Find distributors or business partners?
Encourage visitors to book a demonstration?
Collect contact details?
Drive people to your website?

Your objective should influence the printed materials you take with you.

For example, a company introducing a new product may need prominent display graphics, product information sheets and brochures. A professional service provider attending a networking exhibition may place more emphasis on business cards, leaflets and a simple roller banner.

The most effective exhibition stands aren’t necessarily those with the most printed materials. They’re the ones where everything has a clear job to do.

Exhibition Printing Blackburn: Your Essential Checklist

Planning your print in stages makes preparing for an exhibition much easier.

Think about your materials in three groups:

Print that attracts attention
Print that explains what you do
Print that visitors take away

Getting all three right gives your stand a much more joined-up feel.

1. Roller Banners to Make Your Stand Visible

A roller banner is one of the easiest ways to transform a basic exhibition space into a branded stand.

They are portable, relatively compact when packed away and can be reused at future events, conferences, presentations and even in your own reception area.

Your roller banner doesn’t need to contain your entire sales pitch.

In fact, simpler is often better.

Visitors should be able to quickly see:

Your logo
What your business does
One strong message
Your website or contact information
A clear call to action, where appropriate

Keep important information at eye level and avoid filling every available space with text.

If you regularly attend exhibitions, investing in professionally designed and printed banners can give you a reusable piece of marketing that works across numerous events.

Find out more about roller banners for events and retail.

2. Large Format Graphics for Greater Impact

For larger stands, you may want to go beyond a standard roller banner.

Large format printing can be used to create attention-grabbing graphics that make your exhibition area much easier to spot across a busy venue.

Depending on the space available, this could include banners, display panels, printed boards or other branded graphics.

Large graphics work particularly well when viewed from a distance. That means the design needs to be bold and easy to understand.

A potential customer walking down an exhibition aisle shouldn’t need to stop and read a paragraph before understanding what your company offers.

One clear message can be far more powerful.

3. Printed Boards and Display Panels

Rigid printed boards are another useful option for exhibitions.

They can be positioned behind products, mounted around a stand or used to highlight particular services, offers or messages.

Ronset’s boards and banner printing can be used for exhibition displays as well as business signage, promotional campaigns and events.

One advantage of printed boards is flexibility. Rather than trying to fit every message onto one large display, you can create separate panels covering different services or products.

This can also make updating your exhibition display easier in the future.

4. Brochures for Visitors Who Want More Information

Your exhibition graphics attract attention. Your brochures can provide the detail.

A professionally printed brochure gives interested visitors something tangible to look through during the event or take back to their office.

This is particularly useful if your business offers several products or services that would be difficult to explain on a banner.

A brochure could include:

An introduction to your company
Products and services
Key benefits
Case studies
Customer testimonials
Technical information
Contact details
QR codes linking to relevant website pages

The quality of the brochure matters too.

Paper stock, finish, imagery and print quality all contribute to the impression somebody forms of your business.

For longer documents, catalogues or company guides, our booklet printing provides another way to present more detailed information professionally.

5. Leaflets for Quick, Accessible Information

Not every visitor needs a full brochure.

A leaflet can provide a shorter summary of what you offer and is ideal for people who want something quick to take away.

Your leaflet could focus on one particular product, service or promotion rather than trying to explain everything your company does.

This makes leaflets especially useful if you are attending a specialist industry event.

For example, if your company provides ten different services but only three are relevant to the exhibition audience, your leaflet can concentrate entirely on those three.

Explore Ronset’s leaflet and poster printing if you are planning printed materials for your next event.

6. Business Cards Are Still Worth Taking

Even with QR codes, LinkedIn and smartphones, the humble business card still earns its place at exhibitions.

Why?

Because exchanging a card takes seconds.

You don’t need to unlock a phone, search for a profile or rely on the venue’s Wi-Fi connection.

A good business card should be easy to read and contain the information somebody genuinely needs to contact you after the event.

That will usually include:

Name
Job title
Company
Telephone number
Email address
Website

You could also include a QR code linking to your website or LinkedIn profile.

Most importantly, take enough.

Running out of business cards halfway through a successful exhibition isn’t ideal.

Business cards can also be produced alongside your other company stationery printing to maintain a consistent brand identity.

7. Stickers and Labels Can Add Something Different

Exhibition printing doesn’t have to stop at brochures and banners.

Printed stickers and labels can be used creatively as part of your stand or promotional materials.

They might be used for:

Product packaging
Branded giveaways
Sample packs
Promotional envelopes
Information packs
Competition materials
Temporary event branding

A well-designed sticker can be a relatively simple addition, but it can help carry your branding beyond the exhibition itself.

8. Give Visitors a Reason to Stop

A beautifully printed exhibition stand is important, but ultimately you want people to stop and talk.

Think about how your printed materials can help start that conversation.

You might run a competition, ask visitors a question or use printed graphics to highlight an interesting fact about your industry.

QR codes can also bridge the gap between printed and digital marketing.

A QR code might lead visitors to:

A competition entry form
A product demonstration
A downloadable guide
A booking page
A special event offer
Your contact page
A dedicated exhibition landing page

Just make sure you test every QR code before sending the artwork to print.

9. Think About What Happens After the Exhibition

One of the biggest mistakes businesses can make is focusing entirely on the day itself.

What happens when the visitor gets back to their office?

They may have collected brochures, leaflets and business cards from dozens of exhibitors.

Your printed material needs to help them remember who you were and why they spoke to you.

Keep the branding consistent between your stand, brochures, leaflets, business cards and website.

That way, when somebody visits your website a few days later, there is an immediate visual connection with the company they met at the exhibition.

This is one reason why choosing the right combination of printed marketing materials for your business is worth planning carefully.

10. Don’t Leave Exhibition Printing Until the Last Minute

There is always plenty to organise before an exhibition.

Travel, staffing, products, demonstrations, accommodation and stand logistics can quickly fill the diary.

Print shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Giving yourself enough time means artwork can be properly checked and any potential problems resolved before production.

Before submitting artwork, check:

Contact details
Website addresses
Dates
Prices
Spelling
Image quality
QR codes
Logos
Brand colours
Bleed and artwork specifications

Ronset also provides an artwork guide to help customers prepare files correctly for printing.

If you’re unsure about something, ask before placing the order rather than discovering the problem when you’re unpacking your exhibition materials.

How Much Exhibition Print Should You Order?

This depends on the event.

If the organisers can provide an expected attendance figure, use this as a starting point – but don’t assume every visitor needs every piece of print.

Your premium company brochure, for example, may be better reserved for people who have shown genuine interest.

A simpler leaflet can be handed out more widely.

Business cards are small and easy to transport, so having plenty of those available makes sense.

It’s also worth considering whether the materials can be reused.

Avoid adding a specific exhibition date to banners or display boards unless there is a good reason to do so. Keeping them more general could allow you to use the same graphics at several events.

That can make your exhibition printing budget work considerably harder.

Keep Your Exhibition Branding Consistent

Imagine seeing a company with one style on its roller banner, another on its leaflet and completely different branding on its business cards.

It doesn’t create the strongest impression.

Consistency makes a business look organised and professional.

Use the same:

Logo
Brand colours
Fonts
Photography style
Tone of voice
Core message

This doesn’t mean every item needs to look identical. It simply needs to feel as though it belongs to the same business.

Working with one printer for multiple elements of your exhibition materials can also make it easier to maintain consistency across different printed products.

Why Use a Local Blackburn Printer for Exhibition Materials?

When you have an important event approaching, being able to speak to the people producing your print can be valuable.

Ronset has been providing professional printing services to businesses from our Blackburn base for decades.

Rather than simply ordering individual products, we can help businesses bring together the different printed elements they need for exhibitions, events and ongoing marketing.

That could include everything from business cards and brochures to business signage in Blackburn and large format graphics.

Using one experienced print company also helps ensure that your branding remains consistent across the various materials being produced.

Your Final Exhibition Printing Checklist

Before you head to your next event, run through this list:

Roller banners
Large format graphics
Display boards
Brochures
Booklets
Leaflets
Business cards
Product information sheets
Stickers or labels
Promotional materials
QR codes
Contact details checked
Artwork proofread
Enough quantities ordered
Packaging planned for transport
Spare business cards packed

You may not need everything on the list.

The important thing is choosing printed materials that support what you are actually trying to achieve.

Planning an Exhibition? Talk to Ronset

A successful exhibition stand should make it easy for people to understand who you are, what you offer and why they should speak to you.

Professional print plays a big part in making that happen.

If you’re planning a trade show, conference, networking event or exhibition, Ronset can help you produce the printed materials you need, from banners and display graphics to brochures, leaflets, business cards and more.

Based in Blackburn, we work with businesses across Lancashire and throughout the UK, providing commercial printing for businesses of all sizes.

Take a look at what we print at Ronset or request a quote for your next exhibition or event.