Signs & Large Format Print
What you get when hiring and when buying
Hire offers differ between companies, but usually cover the structure for the duration of the show, transport, installation and dismantling. Graphics are almost always printed for you and paid for separately – after the show you either take them away or they are disposed of. Some hire companies add furniture, lighting and flooring.
When you buy, you pay once for the structure with graphics and own it. You can put it up at trade shows, in a showroom, at a conference or an open day – with no extra fees. Our offer is precisely stands and systems to own, so in this guide we show the calculation from the purchase side and suggest what to ask a hire company so that the comparison is fair.
The key question is not how much the stand costs, but how much one appearance costs – with transport, installation, storage and graphics.
Break-even point: a simple calculation
Take a kit for a 3 × 3 m stand: a 300 × 230 cm fabric backdrop (approx. €400), a folding counter with graphic (approx. €210) and two 100 × 200 cm roller banners (approx. €125). In total approx. €735 net.
You compare like this:
- Ask the hire company for the price of one appearance on the same space, with graphics, transport and installation.
- From that amount subtract the costs you would incur anyway with your own stand: transport, installation, storage (see below).
- Divide €735 by the result. That is the number of shows after which your own stand pays for itself.
In our experience, for small and medium stands the break-even point usually falls at around two to three appearances. For a large island with a custom build the calculation looks different – there, hiring or a build made for the specific event is more often sensible. We compare both types of structure in our guide modular or custom exhibition stand.
Hidden costs that are easy to forget
| Item | What it costs | When it arises |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | approx. €26 per pallet per month (with us) or space in your own office | all year between shows |
| Palletising | approx. €19 per pallet | when sending by pallet freight |
| Installation crew | approx. €42 per crew-hour for a 2-person team, min. 4 hours | if you do not set up yourself |
| Crew travel | approx. €1 per km both ways from Wieluń | for installation away from base |
| New graphics | e.g. approx. €190 for a 300 × 230 cm backdrop, approx. €60 for a counter | change of offer or damage |
| Service and parts | quoted after inspection | broken frame, lost connector |
Storage is often the biggest surprise. A small kit fits in a cupboard, but a 6 × 3 m stand with a counter and lighting is already one or two pallets. If you pay for external storage all year and exhibit once, the saving from buying disappears.
On the other hand, hiring also has extra items: graphics printed from scratch every time, surcharges for late design changes, charges for damaged elements. Ask about them in writing before you compare offers.
The mixed model: your own structure, new graphics
We most often recommend a middle way. You buy the modular structure once, and before each season or important show you order only new fabrics. The aluminium frame lasts for years, and the graphic – what visitors actually see – is always fresh.
In practice it looks like this:
- the structure and counter are kept at your premises or in our warehouse,
- before the show you send a new design, we print the fabrics and sew in the SEG edge,
- we ship everything to the hall or bring it with our own transport and set it up.
For agencies we do this as white label: neutral packaging and a crew without our branding. Ready-made elements are on the trade fair and promotional stands and hop-up displays pages.
- 24 hexpress printing (UV inks need no drying)
- approx. 3 daysstandard lead time
- up to 14 dayslarge and custom projects with installation
Plus courier delivery. Tell us your date — we plan production around it.
When hiring is the more sensible choice
You do not always have to buy. Choose hire when:
- you are exhibiting once, as a test, and do not know whether you will return to that show;
- you need a very large space or a build with an upper deck for one event only;
- you have nowhere to store the structure and nobody to transport it;
- the show is far away and a hire company operates locally, shortening the logistics;
- the brand is in the middle of a rebrand and everything will change in six months anyway.
In every other case, work out whether two or three hires would already have paid for your own kit. Small items – roller banners, feather flags, counters – are almost always better bought, because they cost little and are useful beyond trade shows. How to look after them between events is described in our guide how to store a roller banner and backdrop.
Questions to ask the supplier before deciding
Before you sign an order – for hire or purchase – ask these questions:
- What exactly is included: structure, graphics, transport, installation, dismantling, furniture, lighting?
- Who owns the graphics after the show and can they be reused?
- How much does a design change after approval cost and until when can it be made?
- Who is liable for damage in transit and in the hall?
- Does the structure meet the technical regulations of the specific show (height, materials)?
- When buying: can modules be added and graphics replaced on their own? How much does a new fabric cost?
- How long does installation take and how many people are needed?
Timing matters too: we normally produce in about 3 working days, larger kits up to about 14 days. Give us the show date straight away – we will plan production around it. The full preparation schedule is in our guide trade show preparation checklist.