Anyone who has ever exhibited at a tradeshow or event has undoubtedly run into challenges with logistics, installation, production or exorbitant costs. Unfortunately it’s generally accepted as par for the course, but it doesn’t have to be…

At Xanita we often talk about the things that we take for granted because we have such in depth knowledge of our product. We tend to forget that something, like designing, producing, shipping, installing and disposing/reusing a trade show booth, may seem relatively simple and straightforward to us, but may not be so simple and straightforward for the average Joe/business out there looking to exhibit at, or even run an event.

We forget that for all the work that we do, many potential exhibitors and event organisers have either never heard of Xanita board or they have, but don’t really have a grasp of what it is and how it can work for them. This can in part be attributed to market education, or lack thereof, so we’ll use this post to breakdown some of the key features that make Xanita board the ideal solution for a wide range of expo and event applications.

Bespoke design

Although technically not a feature of Xanita board itself, over a decade’s worth of design learning & experience, coupled with a dedicated design support team, not only makes unique custom booth design a viable option, but cost effective too. Bland shell schemes and expensive generic catalog booths should be a thing of the past. Your custom designed, branded, immersive expo space should be a reflection of your business, not an expensive cookie-cutter compromise. 

Ultra fast production

To put it simply Xanita board is a two dimensional product that is designed for three dimensional structural load bearing applications. So what does that mean and how does it make production faster?

Unlike materials like MDF, particle board or timber…etc, which have numerous steps in their production process, there are essentially only two key production processes for Xanita board once the design has been finalised. These are digital printing (direct to substrate) and CNC-cutting, that’s essentially it, and with the advancements in the wide format industry over the last decade, production times have decreased and finishing quality has increased exponentially. 

Lightweight & Flat pack shipping

We’re often told that we’re essentially shipping “air”, and while this is a bit of a running joke, it’s not too far from the truth. Comparatively speaking, a 1220×2440 (4’x8’) 16mm sheet of Xanita board print is roughly 75% lighter than an equal sized MDF sheet. This weight saving coupled with the ability to almost always ship flat packed dramatically improves shipping efficiency and in turn reduces shipping costs. As a rough example a 20’x20’ booth could be flat packed down into a box less than 1/10th the size of the fully erected booth. This coupled with the lightweight nature of Xanita board take care of two key factors that affect shipping costs, volume and weight.

Easy set-up and installation

At GlobalShop 2019 we assembled the Mohawk booth faster than we were able to put the IKEA chairs together, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but it was simpler and far more straightforward. Although we design and engineer booths with varying levels of complexity, there are underlying principles that we always follow: 

• Assemble from flat-packed state
• No need for power tools or heavy equipment on-site.
• Self set-up & safe to set-up, no need for contractors or union workers.
• No need to paint, prime or glue on-site.
• Accessories needed are either provided or readily available from any DIY/hardware store.
• Can be broken down (flat) for reuse or easy disposal (recycling)

Many of our end users will have their first experience & interaction with Xanita board on-site during setup, we understand this and the need to make the process as simple, straight forward and painless as possible. We also do our best to be with you every step of the way.

It’s strong 

This is where Xanita board really separates itself from “competing” honeycomb products, (see Xanita board vs Honeycomb). Xanita board was specifically designed for three dimensional structural applications, with it’s dense closed-cell core and a crush strength of 60 tonnes per square metre, it’s hard to believe that this is actually a paper product. The dense core means you don’t have to worry about losing structural integrity when you start v-cutting and folding Xanita board. This allows you to create elegant immersive temporary load bearing structures, that are perfect for events and exhibitions.

Cost effective

Aside from most “generic” catalog booth rental options being ludicrously expensive. If we look at custom designed booths, this is where most people get their costing wrong, they look at material costs as opposed to end-to-end costs. If we had to do a direct sheet comparison between Xanita board and MDF for example, there is a good chance that Xanita board will be more expensive. However, when you take the time to look at ALL of the costs involved for the entire project, you will be realistically looking at a 30-40% saving on the total costs.

Don’t believe us? Just think about the faster production time, that uses fewer steps and less labour. Flat pack & lightweight shipping, which saves additional costs. Fewer installation & setup costs and when it comes to disposal, zero cost, because the booth simply goes into the recycling bin… 

And finally, it’s Sustainable

The hot topic on everyone’s lips at the moment, but like it’s position on this list not the biggest selling point and reason to go with Xanita board for your next tradeshow booth. Some of the common misconceptions about using sustainable materials is that you’ll be compromising in one way or another (quality, increased pricing..etc). This isn’t necessarily true, especially when using Xanita board.

Xanita board is a premium material, even though it is made up almost entirely from post consumer paper waste and contains no VOC’s. It is not only fully recyclable, but fully repulpable as well, which means it can go straight from the recycling bin directly back into the paper production stream (short version), without the need for any steps in between to remove substances like polyethylene…etc. So at the end of the show, if you’re not looking to reuse your Xanita board booth, simply put it in a recycling bin and be on your way, it’s as simple as that. No hassle, no landfill, the perfect peace of mind sustainable solution.