What Are Exhibition Stands Made Of?
When it comes to exhibition stands, there’s no one size fits all option – because an exhibition stand is an umbrella term for all of the components that make up a display. With so many materials to choose from and different elements to consider, it isn’t easy to know where to start.
In this post, we’ll look at the best materials for your temporary walling, flooring, displays and everything in-between.
The Flooring
In some cases, you won’t need to install temporary flooring, but it can bring your exhibition to life and help you create the right impression on your audience. For example, if you’re attending an event, and your brand colours are green and orange, black flooring can bring the stand to life – especially if the event location has brown flooring.
The colour is just one thing you need to think about because many types of temporary flooring are available. Let’s take a look at them.
Melamine
If you want to create a luxurious feel, melamine flooring is ideal. It’s a form of raised flooring that immediately gives a high-end impression. In general, you can customise melamine to suit your brand colours, but white, black and grey are the more common colours you’ll come across.
A significant benefit of melamine is that you can hide electrical cables underneath it – which is perfect if you want a clean display but have a lot of lighting and electrical equipment.
Carpet
Carpets are often found in most households, one of the most versatile (and comfortable) flooring types. It’s comfortable, cost-effective and comes in a range of colours and textures.
The only thing you’ll have to remember with carpets is that they can’t hide wires, so they’re not a great idea if you’re planning to use electrical equipment.
Vinyl
Vinyl flooring is so under-rated because it’s incredibly useful and creates a high-end effect. If you’re on a budget, you’ll be able to get some fantastic deals on vinyl flooring, and it goes straight over concrete or carpet.
Better still, vinyl is probably the most customisable flooring type, and you can find a design that matches your branding.
The Stand Structure
The structure of your stand is responsible for holding everything together. Whether it’s the graphics, products or electrical installations, the structure is essentially the backbone of your entire display.
Most structures are either made of timber, metal or acrylic.
Timber Stands
There are many types of timber, and while solid timber might seem like the best option, it’s also more expensive. Most people prefer to go with MDF or plywood because they’re cost-effective materials that are easy to move and customise.
It’s challenging to make an impression when you can’t customise your trade show to meet your brand’s identity. Roller banners are fully customisable, which gives you a perfect opportunity to get creative.
Metal Stands
The two most common forms of metal exhibition structures are steel and aluminium. While steel is the stronger material, it’s also heavy and difficult to work with. Steel structures are more suited to permanent constructions, so for this reason, they’re not common in exhibition displays.
Aluminium, however, is a lightweight material, which is easy to move around but still offers a lot of stability for your display. You can even have it spray painted to match your brand colours.
Acrylic Stands
Acrylic is cheaper than glass, but it’s also more sustainable. Using glass for your exhibition can be risky because you’ll need to transport it, which can often lead to accidents. As acrylic is more lightweight, it’s ideal for customisation too.
Exhibition Wall Panels
Your exhibition wall panels are the outer layers of your structure, and they’re often used to display your branding and products. There are many wall panel types to choose between, including art display panels and plasma TV panels.
While there is a range of material choices, MDF is the most effective solution because it’s cheap to source and easy to transport. Another benefit of MDF is that it’s completely flame-retardant and meets the guidelines set by event show locations.
Finishes
In some cases, you might want your graphics going straight onto the MDF panels, but there are also special finishes you can use to streamline your display and make it stand out more.
Roll Paint
Roll paint is easy to use, and it’s great if you want to add your brand colours to the display. It’s also sustainable because you can sand the surface, and repaint it, which means you can use the same panel repeatedly.
Laminate
Laminate leaves a beautiful finish, and it’s so popular because of its high-end appeal. However, while laminate is more durable than paint, it can cost more to repair if it gets damaged.
Vinyl Wraps
If you like artwork and graphics on your wall panels, vinyl wraps are the best solution. At Conex, we take a digital file and print it onto the material. The vinyl wrap then goes over the wall panel and creates a stunning finish.
As there’s no damage to the walls, they can be reused again, which is why temporary walling is so popular.
Spray Paint
Spray paint can create a shiny, eye-catching finish that resembles a new car look – but it’s not always the most practical solution for wall panels. Firstly, you’ll need to spray a few coats and wait for each one to dry.
Secondly, spray paint is expensive, and the entire process is time-consuming. For these reasons, most people stick with traditional paint or vinyl wraps.
If you decide to use spray paint, we recommend that you begin decorating your walls a few days before the actual event. That way, you’ll achieve the finish you desire, and the paint won’t fade during the exhibition show.
The Takeaway
As you can see, there are so many solutions available for your exhibition stand, so nothing is stopping you from getting creative. However, buying the equipment means you’ll have to customise it yourself and find somewhere to store it when not in use.
At Conex Temporary Walling Solutions, we provide fully customisable exhibition display equipment so that you can create the right impression. At low rental prices, we’re confident you can get real value for money with us.
