Can you answer shemun_2000’s question about Displays?:

What is the market size of store display fixtures and fittings (this includes gondolas,racks,slatwall,wire bins,hooks,pegwalls etc) all used in retail stores ? Which countries are the major producers of these fixtures ? What is their present capacity(market cap,sales,no. of units) ? What is their import and exports percentage ? Who are the major importers and exporters ? From which website can I get these figures . I have visited NAFSM but they provide 2003 figures , where can I get relevant figures (sites,magazines,govt websites) ? Overview of the Chinese market , Italian market , turkish market ? How mature is the industry and how is it expected to grow ?

Custom Trade Show Exhibit Design

With the price of large (>32”) LCD displays decreasing rapidly and new functionalities being added to LCD displays, does it still make sense for businesses to buy a projector vs. an LCD display?

Some of the variables to consider when evaluating this question are product quality, price, picture quality, screen size and other such considerations. We discuss these and other factors from a typical business organization perspective. Read other articles and make your informed judgement.

Product Life: LCD TVs or displays typically have a backlight life of 30,000 to 60,000 hours (ie, if you have the display on for ~6 hours every day, the backlight will last for 16 years). Even then the backlight can be replaced in most LCD displays. A projector bulb typically has a life of 2,000 hours.

Price Considerations: A basic projector can be found for INR 25,000. However, if the projector is going to be used for video conferencing or board room presentation, a high resolution, good contrast ratio and saturated colour projector would be required. The cost of such a projector is close to INR 1 lakh. Thereafter, you need to factor in the prices of projector bulb and projection screens. A typical projector bulb needs to be replaced almost every year or two with bulbs costing Rs 20,000+ per bulb. We have added these costs over a five-year period to compare a projector vs. an LCD (see chart below). With 46” LCD TV or display costing around Rs 135,000 – Rs 150,000 and dropping, price becomes less of an issue when considering whether to buy a Projector or LCD display

Figure: Total Cost of Ownership Comparison for Projector vs. LCD Display

Basic Device capital cost for projector is INR 70,000 and that of an LCD display is INR 150,000, Projector Screen Capital Cost (Wall Mount Screens INR 5-15K) is INR 10,000, Consumable cost of the projector is 20,000 x 3 = INR 60,000, Consumable life of a projector is 2,000hrs and that of an LCD display is 60,000hrs and the Cost of Ownership of a projector is Rs.140, 000/- and Rs.150, 000/- for an LCD display.

Assume: 5years of usage @ 5hrs a day ~ 6600hrs of use. This translates to 4 lamps in 5 years requiring the customer to buy 3 lamps in addition to 1 supplied with machine.

What is clear from the above figure is that a Full High Definition 46” LCD Display is, at best, only marginally costlier than a XGA Projector of ~2500AL. Additional costs of low screen installation costs and lower device loss costs are purely additional.

Picture Quality: Projectors such as a DLP or LCD projector use glass panels to combine red, green and blue colours to create the image. When sitting close to screen, the viewer can see the different colours at the borders of an image, aptly described as the rainbow effect. The rainbow effect takes away from the image quality and can give headaches. High-end projectors have been able to reduce the rainbow effect, however the problem still remains and these high-end projectors cost more. LCD TV or LCD displays do not have rainbow effect issues and the quality of the picture is good at close range.

Rather, projectors cannot compare with the picture quality for an LCD display. The vividness of the colours, the contrast ratio, the colour saturation and image sharpness are much better for an LCD display than a projector. When viewing a projector image, especially in ambient light, the viewer has to dim the lights or close the curtains unless the business has purchased an even more costly higher lumen projector. Not true with LCD displays, as the brightness and colour quality are much better.

Viewing angles used to be an issue with LCD displays but this issue is no longer true. Most LCD displays can be viewed from up to 176 degrees.

Dead or Stuck Pixels: Projectors can suffer from dead pixels and LCD displays can suffer from stuck pixels. Both dead pixels and stuck pixels result in white spots in the projected image. However, the manufacturers of both technologies have worked hard to minimize such issues and in most cases they provide warranty against such issues.

Screen Size: A common thought is that screen size is not an issue for most projectors as the thinking is that the projector image can be made larger by moving the projector away from the screen. This is not true as the image quality deteriorates as the image becomes larger. With projectors, most buyers opt for maximum optimized projector image sizes from 76-inches to 120-inches and the actual working normal projection image used is much smaller. Today, if businesses need a large LCD display in the maximum projector image size, a wide variety of competitive LCD displays can be found in this range.

Portability: Projectors are easy to carry and move around. For a business this could be a value-add or a drawback. LCD displays are durable and can be moved however they are not as light as projectors.

Power Consumption: Projector power consumption varies more from unit to unit, with brighter conference projectors requiring more power than smaller portable projectors. It is hard to compare the two technologies on this performance parameter.

Connectivity: Most LCD displays have more number and different types of ports than projectors. As a result more types of devices can be connected to an LCD display than a projector.

Other Value-Add Features: New features are appearing in LCD displays that could be quite valuable for businesses. For example, touch screen features on LCD displays allow for LCD displays to be used as digital whiteboards where the data written on the display can easily get captured electronically in a text document.

For more information on Sharp’s LCD monitors, check out Sharp’s official LCD monitor site! http://lcddisplay.sbsil.com/



Thanks to shweta sharma for contributing this article to our Displays blog:

Portable Trade Show Displays

When you work with an Install and Dismantle (I & D) company at your next trade show—and every exhibitor must hire an install and dismantle company—it is important to have full communications with them so that your trade show exhibit will remain intact. It is essential for the trade show exhibitor, therefore, to provide the installer with a written, descriptive, detailed breakdown of all the trade show booth items and components.

This inventory list should not only include the number, size and dimensions of the trade show exhibit items, but also a description of what these pieces are. In fact, it would be helpful to have a photo of the inside of each crate. Providing specific and detailed information on your trade show display can make a huge difference in your trade show booth installation and dismantling efficiency and cost.

A detailed inventory list provided by the trade show exhibitor that includes not only the number of crates and skids, but also a detailed description of what is in each skid of the trade show exhibit helps guard against losing pieces that may get detached. Everything should be itemized including literature, giveaways, monitors, hanging signs, etc. If these trade show exhibit items are included in detail, there is less chance for error. By giving this information to your trade show exhibit installer, they will be able to do their job more efficiently, saving you time and money. Since everyone is in a hurry as the trade show move-in date gets closer, having a list on hand in advance will help ensure a worry-free trade show booth installation on the trade show floor.

According to John Taggart of Coastal International, a Sausalito, California based company that specializes in installing and dismantling trade show exhibits, the work his employees do relies heavily on the information he gets from the trade show exhibitor.

Here are some of the installation guidelines that Taggart identifies as essentials for a worry-free exhibit:

Understand the trade show floor facility. Determine in advance where the electrical is positioned in that facility. Does the electrical distribution come from the floor or from the ceiling? If the electrical comes from the ceiling, you will need to hide the electrical hanging cords, perhaps inside a tower, and then spider the cords out on the floor and cover them with carpet. Knowing wiring requirements in advance will simplify the lighting and power process for the installer. This goes for all conventions sites whether they be the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, the Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the Santa Clara Convention Center or the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

Coordinate the time schedules of all of your vendors. It is important to know how to properly pace the timing of your freight carrier, drayage and installer suppliers. For example, if you are exhibiting in the Hilton Hotel in downtown Manhattan, you will need to allow extra time for freight to be delivered. This is due to limited access to hotel freight elevators and the fact that the hotel has only two dock spaces. There is also heavy downtown traffic that can cause delays. Advise your freight carrier to check in to unload at the earliest possible time. They can avoid long lines by getting to the exhibit dock well in advance of the stated move-in time.

Provide a full scale layout of the specific exhibit display including a description where each panel goes. It is best to provide this layout 5 to 7 business days before the show. Why? Exhibitors may be traveling on airplanes and your I & D handlers would be unable to reach the exhibitor rep via cell phone. If your installer has to make a judgment call, and it’s a wrong one, you would need to pull electrical, carpet and other pieces and start all over. By knowing where each exhibit component is positioned, they will be able to accurately assemble the trade show booth without guesswork and thus avoid costly re-dos and down time.

Provide specifics on outbound shipping of your trade show exhibit. When it is time to break down the exhibit,

be sure your I & D company has information on the correct outbound shipping address, repacking instructions

and proper bills of lading.

Remember that a descriptive and detailed inventory list can save you time and money and ensure that your trade show booth remains intact. The more information your I & D handler has, the faster they will be able to do their job. If you take the mystery out of your trade show exhibit assembly, you will win the day.



Thanks to Dick Wheeler for contributing this article to our Displays blog:

Display Tips

Popup Displays

Popup displays are the most popular Trade Show Displays due to their light weight, small size when packed, and ease of set-up. There are literally dozens of brands in the marketplace today. Some are more durable, hence more expensive, than others. We sell several different models: from the most durable – more expensive to less expensive – more economical types.

Standard Grade Popup – includes lighter weight aluminum frame, individual channel bars, velcro (Frontrunner or Prelude) fabric panels and thermomolded shipping case with wheels. Other options available – several sizes available.

Commercial Grade Popup – includes heavy weight frame with nylon connectors, folding steel channel bars, velcro (Frontrunner or Prelude) panels and the choice of 1 or 2 thermomolded shipping cases with wheels. Other options available – several sizes available.

Photo Mural Grade Popup – A standard grade popup with the substitution of photomural panels instead of the velcro fabric panels and includes everything in the standard grade pop up. We use only durst lambda photographic film production techniques combined with HDL lifetime lamination guarantee.

Fabric Mural Grade Popup – A heavy weight popup non-curved frame with a replaceable fabric graphic mural. The fabric mural is pre-attached to the frame, making set up a breeze. This display offers a full photomural effect without a cumbersome set up procedure. It transports in a lightweight included nylon bag, hard shipping case and lights available.

Wall Frame Pop Up – This is not a true popup as it includes an easy to erect rectangular pole frame. The large format graphic is simply velcro’d along the edges allowing simple set up. It is the most economical means of achieving a full 10′ photomural effect.

Panel Displays

Panel displays represent the oldest exhibit type. We sell two types, Foldable and Modular. They consist of a high density corrugated panels covered with fabric or laminates, coupled together by a hinge or extrusion between panels. Vertical pins allow the panels to be stacked in groups upon one another.

Folding Panel Displays – This inexpensive foldable panel system, while not as easily transportable as a popup display, allows for greater load bearing capability. Incorporated counter assemblies and back lighted headers give this display type more utility. Multiple colors on both sides as well as accent colors make it a handsome exhibit choice. Details Modular Panel Displays – This more expensive panel system allows for the use of laminates, backlighting, lightboxes, and far more complex form including curves, laminated curves, plexiglass windows, product alcoves, etc. While it is the most expensive and most difficult to transport option, it represents the most sophisticated exhibit type. Our modular systems remain UPS shippable and are by far the easiest to set up.

Bannerstand Displays

Bannerstands are economical means of displaying large format graphics by an “easy to transport” means. There are two types of bannerstands – rollable (manual set up) and retractable (automatic) set up. The rollable bannerstand consists of a base, pole and graphic that the user assembles prior to displaying. The retractable bannerstand has a spring loaded cassette which sits on the floor and is assemble by pulling graphic vertically out of the cassette and attaching to the pole.

Rollable Bannerstand – Inexpensive, easy to transport graphic system. Simply unroll the graphic attach the base and pole to the aluminum extrusions on the top and bottom of the graphic and you’re ready to display.

Retractable Bannerstand – A bit more expensive but just as easy to transport, this system protects the graphic within an aluminum base. Simply pull the spring loaded graphic to the desired height and attach the pole.



Thanks to Bob Albright for contributing this article to our Displays blog:

Retail Display Fixtures

Can you answer Philip M’s question about Displays?:

I was wondering if anyone had an idea on the cost of an LED outdoor sign for my business. It would be about 16′ x 4′. I only need it in single color with programable text.

Have you claimed your Genesis site?