Putting Together Graphics For Your Next Trade Show Display

By Author: Cindy French
Total Articles: 11
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For most commercial printing a common standard of 300dpi (dots per inch) has been set to ensure high quality print-outs and avoid noticeable pixilation. For most smaller prints (business cards, brochures, magazines, etc.) the distance from the viewer to the media is much closer and the dots become much more easily visible if the resolution is less. For large format printing, the standard is set much lower to accommodate for the large space to be used and the distance from the viewer to the display.

At Trade Show Displays, Inc. there is a minimum dpi for our displays of 100dpi. They have found this to be a good middle ground to accommodate customer’s images as well as file sizes and final output. This also helps customers to understand what size file they will need when purchasing from a stock library. For instance, if you have a 10 Foot Pop up Display (154.72”wide by 88” high) and wish to use one large image for the background; at 100 dpi your image will need to be 15472 x 8800 pixels or larger. If ...
... you simply wish to use an image placed on your Popup Display at 15” x 15” you will need an image that is 1500 x 1500 pixels. If you were to use 300 dpi as opposed to 100 dpi the image would need to be 3 times the size (4500 x 4500 pixels) and the file would be much larger.

Another big issue for customers working with large format printing is gathering images large enough to professionally represent their company. Depending on what size display your company is interested in and how you would like them used, images may be harder to obtain. For instance, if your company is interested in a 10 Foot Popup Display and wants to use an image for the entire background, you will need an image 10’ wide by 7’ tall. This is very difficult to obtain for most companies but not impossible. If your company is interested in a Retractable Banner Stand however and wants the image to be the entire width of the display, you will only need an image that is 34 inches wide. This is much easier for companies to obtain.

It is always best to use images from within your company – whether they have been simply photographed by an employee or hired out by a professional photographer. Company images will always best represent what you do and showcase your previous work. If images are not available from within the company, it is best to purchase images off of a stock library such as istockphoto.com or shutterstock.com . These are simply two of the many stock libraries available to consumers. Although customers will have to purchase the images on these sites, they are typically professionally taken and depending on the site can be relatively inexpensive to purchase. Once purchased, they can also be used for future marketing projects (providing there are no license restrictions).

Trade Show Displays, Inc. will always do their best to help the customer in choosing the best images to represent their company while also making sure the size will be large enough. They pride the company in printing your graphics to the highest quality and will always do their best to inform you of any possible issues before starting production on the display.