Exhibition Tip of the Week #8 - What Material Should You Print Your Exhibition Graphics On?

Once you have designed the perfect exhibition graphic and message, you have to decide what material to print it on. Developments in materials are enabling more ways to create interesting and effective graphics. The information below will briefly introduce you to the various materials available so that you can choose the one that will best showcase your graphics.

Photo-base paper

This is an excellent choice for detailed graphics or photographs. Photo-base paper is available in a variety of finishes including satin, glossy and matte. It is suitable for printing methods such as ink jet or screen-printing. A major disadvantage of photo-base paper is that it is not particularly durable in the sense that it may wrinkle, crease or tear during transport or set-up.

Canvas paper

Canvas paper is a heavyweight paper and it has a textured surface that imitates the appearance of canvas. This canvas texture gives a more luxurious and contemporary feeling compared to photo-base paper. 

Vinyl

Vinyl is a very durable material that has a shiny surface, which can reflect light and may make graphics printed on it harder to see in different types of lighting environments. Images printed on vinyl are typically very vivid and have sharper definition and hence can be extremely striking. It is also easy to clean, as soiled vinyl can be cleaned by simply giving it a wipe. It is however, susceptible to creasing or crinkling with extended use. Self-adhesive vinyl can be used to easily mount it on to surfaces such as the walls of your exhibition booth.

Fabric

Fabric is one of the materials that is most used in exhibition stands in current trends because it is lightweight and can be molded to create eye-catching shapes. It is also durable as they don’t wrinkle or tear during transport or set-up, unlike photo-base paper. However, it should be noted that fabric colours could fade over time. It is also not as easy to clean as vinyl. The greatest advantage of using fabric is that it can define the exhibition space as the part of the branding for the exhibition stand, while maintaining the open, airy feeling of space, so that attendees do not feel enclosed within the exhibit.

Overall, photo-base paper and canvas paper are more appropriate materials to use if you are only planning to use it at only one exhibition. If you want to be able to reuse your graphics at several exhibitions, vinyl and fabric are definitely the way to go.