Trade Show Printing Checklist — Houston Convention Venues Edition

The Houston trade show calendar

Between OTC, CERAWeek, the Houston Livestock Show, and hundreds of smaller conferences, our facility ships trade show print materials somewhere in Houston almost every day. Here's what we've learned about each major venue.

NRG Park — dock windows

NRG Park's move-in windows are ruthless. If you're setting up at NRG Center or NRG Stadium, delivery windows typically close at 4 PM the day before. We recommend shipping from our Houston facility three full business days ahead of your setup day so you have a buffer for any reprints.

George R. Brown Convention Center

GRB is easier — their loading dock accepts deliveries 7 AM to 6 PM most weekdays. For smaller booth setups, we can hand-deliver from our Houston facility on setup morning if your booth is on the ground level.

What every trade show print order should include

• Retractable banner (33" × 81") — the foundation of any booth.
• 8ft × 10ft step-and-repeat backdrop — the branded background for photos.
• Table throw (6ft or 8ft) — 4-sided, dye-sublimated so it doesn't wrinkle.
• 500 business cards — assume you'll run out and pre-plan a reprint window.
• 100 tri-fold brochures — enough for high-quality leads without waste.

The 'day-of' reprint scenario

You've run out of business cards at 2 PM on day one of a three-day show. Because we're in Houston, we can print 500 more by 4 PM and hand-deliver by 6 PM if your booth is inside the loop. This 'day-of reprint' is one of the biggest reasons Houston-based businesses pick a local printer over a national online one.