Trade show printing applies to a wide range of marketing products that you may be using at your upcoming event. Whether you are organising last minute flyers, planning your brochures well in advance, or even considering items such as presentation folders, business cards, posters or promotional gifts to give trade show guests, you should never take short cuts.

 

A rushed, poorly planned or poorly conceptualised poster, invite, flyer or catalogue can end up causing your brand more harm than you may realise. To find out more about the worst trade show mistakes (and how to avoid them) keep on reading.

 

Trade Show Printing Mistakes to Avoid

 

In no particular order, some of the top trade show printing mistakes to avoid include the following:

 

1.       Not planning ahead

 

The primary reason for trade show stress and disorganisation is a lack of planning. If you do not have a plan in mind with clear goals and steps for each stage of the process, you will quickly start to feel frazzled. You may also end up missing print deadlines or going well over budget because you have not planned in advance. As soon as you book your booth at the show, you will need to get your material conceptualised, designed and printed. If you leave it too late and suddenly realise that you will need leaflets for guests, business cards to hand out, posters explaining your brand and gifts to leave a reminder of your business, you will end up having to do last minute design and printing. This doesn’t only increase your risk of poor quality and rush jobs – it also means you spend far more in the long run.

 

2.       Vague messaging

 

At trade shows, you have a matter of seconds to catch visitors’ attention and get them interested in what you are offering. If your booth and marketing material does not have any clear message, you are essentially causing people to lose interest. Although printing is important, you first need to ensure that you have a design that clearly outlines your product, services and USP. A beautifully designed booth that has beautifully designed, professionally printed brochures, cards and leaflets, along with gifts for visitors to take home and keep your brand front of mind will always do well at trade shows.

 

3.       Not proofing your items before printing

Have you proofed your brochures, cards, flyers, posters and material before it goes to the printer? You would be surprised how many businesses don’t bother. Once thousands of items have been printed, it will be a lot harder to make changes or fix any errors. Nothing is worse than material that has spelling or grammar mistakes – especially at a large trade show that has large numbers of people come through the doors each day. Make sure that you have someone go over every item you print before it is sent off. This will save you a great deal of time and stress, while preventing a waste of trade show material.

 

Looking for a reliable, professional printer in Durban and surrounds? Contact Minuteman Press Pinetown