Tradeshow Specials

Tradeshows have their own rules. Companies that are preparing to exhibit sometimes design, engineer and construct their own booths, but, in most cases, they rely on advertising firms and sign companies to design and build them. Successful tradeshow-booth design requires many different tasks, but I’ll focus on a few lighting aspects, especially illuminated-sign design and construction for tradeshows.

Well-lit booths

Light attracts insects – and human beings. Psychologically, we hesitate to enter a dark room, because we don’t know if surprises lurk there, whereas a brightly lit, open space announces safety. Applying this principle, most tradeshow booths must be brighter than their environment, the exhibit hall and the light level from surrounding booths.

Most exhibitors follow this principle, which creates a “brightness” competition. Consequently, the overall light level in the exhibit hall’s aisles ranges between 800 and 1,500 lux, while the booth spaces are lit within a 1,000 to 4,000-lux range. Spots that highlight new or exhibited products range from 5,000 to 10,000 lux to attract attention.

Often, signs must draw a visitor‘s general interest to a booth in such an environment. To be effective, these signs, which are generally illuminated internally or by spotlights, must not only be brighter than the surrounding light but also emit unusual bright, saturated colors. A harsh color contrast does attract attention.

In a tradeshow’s bright environment, many LED signs seem to be barely lit, if at all. Normally, LEDs installed to the usual manufacturer’s recommendations don’t provide sufficient light flux to stand out in such a bright environment. To make a channel letter bright enough with LEDs, you have to “stuff” as many LEDs as possible into the letter (always keep in mind the heat dissipation – see ST, February 2009, page 38).

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Neon or custom-made, hot-cathode fluorescents (if the letter size permits their use) produces the best color variety, saturation and brightness. If the glass is fastened on flexible supports to a rigid sign body, it will easily survive rough handling.

Again, for colored, acrylic, sign-face materials, don’t be misled by the phrase “put white behind to make it really bright” (see ST, February 2008, page 52, and March 2008, page 52). Instead, use spectrally matched colored light sources.

If you use multiple, white, fluorescent tubes behind colored prints or acrylics, use the same lamp color codes and only one manufacturer. The same colors the eyes see from different lamp brands usually bear a different spectrum, which will give the sign a “patchwork” appearance.

Rampant RGB color cycling in signs and architectural-effect lighting renders it useless. Flashing a bright, illuminated sign on a tradeshow floor annoys booth workers and also distracts visitors who are trying to focus on important information presented in the booths.

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Rigidity and repairability

Tradeshow exhibits must withstand rough handling, not only when they’re assembled and dismantled hurriedly, but also when they’re transported (and not always packed perfectly). So, even in signs’ planning phases, make sure they’re rigid enough to endure the hard handling.

During its lifetime, even the most rugged tradeshow sign will fail or break, usually at the worst possible moment, when only simple tools and means are handy. (I can‘t remember a single tradeshow booth where at least one important part was held together by duct tape.)

With LEDs, repairs can be a major problem. Normally, it’s difficult to replace a single LED or module with one that matches its color and brightness. And, I can guarantee visitors will notice every, missing single LED or module.

Yes, neon glass can break, but only if the sign construction is less rigid than the glass. Also, flexible tube supports help prevent breakage.

The transport container must be designed alongside the tradeshow sign, not after the sign is built. This guarantees the best possible transport conditions. Occasionally, the container is also used during the show as a construction element of the booth. I remember one booth that popped out of a big container on wheels, to form the large presentation table stand during the show. All was repacked and ready to ship in the box within less than 20 minutes.

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Safety

Tradeshow-safety requirements vary widely with the location and the responsible authority having jurisdiction in the exhibit hall.

I’ve witnessed easy situations when not a single, responsible person showed up during setup, show and takedown, and horror scenarios, where ill-informed inspectors wanted to close down a whole booth because of an open-face channel letter, in which “the lamp was not covered and could be touched,” even if the sign was certified to comply with all regulations.

I could tell many stories about inspectors who just wanted to show their power, so be prepared and have everything conform to regulations.

However, because it’s hard to know exactly where your sign will be shown, make sure the safety marking label is visible during booth setup. If you‘re not a UL-certified signshop, you may want to have the sign inspected to obtain a UL label. Also, if the company plans international exhibits, get in touch with a certified test laboratory to obtain a CE label, which is mandatory in the European Union and in many countries worldwide.

Tradeshow signs shipped throughout the world might need to be designed for multiple power systems. In this case, not only is the voltage important, but also the frequency. Magnetic fluorescent ballasts designed for 60Hz operation (as in the U.S. and most South American countries) will overheat and overload the lamps when operated on 50Hz (as in Europe and Japan). Also, when using power-factor-corrected (PFC) electronic power supplies for LED or neon signs, make sure they’ll work on both line frequencies – I’ve seen defects that resulted from incorrect selections.

In many locations, tradeshow booths (and signs) must be equipped with a residual current detector (RCD), commonly called a ground-fault safety switch (which shouldn’t be mixed up with neon‘s secondary ground-fault protection!) device. The RCD will shut down the power if a fault current goes to ground. Of course, proper grounding is essential for safety, especially for transportable signs.

If large booth installations will be equipped with electronic power supplies, remember that the surge current drawn during switch-on might reach 20 to 100 times the normal operating current. That easily adds up to several hundred amps, which might trip circuit breakers in the exhibit hall’s main supply line, and the breakers aren’t accessible to the public. Exhibit-hall electricians hate nothing more than to be called every morning to reset the breakers just because the switch-on surge current of one booth has caused tripping. Inrush current limiters (such as those for heavy, electric, handheld tools) or sequen¬tial switches help a great deal.

In summary, light and illuminated-sign design are integral to a good tradeshow booth. Besides the requisite safety requirements, incorporate rigidity, repairability and transportability into your design plans so you’re not stuck in the dark in your booth at the end of the show.