BLOG · PLANNING · JULY 2026
The six-week conference merch timeline
Show-day disasters are booked weeks earlier. This is the week-by-week sequence we run with every client — including the two deadlines that are always tighter than teams expect.
Week 6 out: lock the format
Decide station type (print bar, hat + patch, embroidery, live screen print), booth or room placement, and rough piece count. This is when to start the sponsorship conversation if a sponsor is funding the station — prospectus decisions move slower than print decisions.
Week 5: art in, venue forms out
Send us brand files — vector or 300-dpi PNG. We build the print-ready designs and co-brand lockups while you submit the two forms with real deadlines: the power order (two 20-amp circuits; venue exhibitor-services portals close earlier than you think and late orders can double in price) and the certificate of insurance, which we supply the same day you ask.
Week 4: approve designs, size the order
You approve final art on garment mockups. We size the blank order from your registration data — real size curves beat guessing, and this is the second tight deadline: blank availability in specific colorways thins out fast in conference season.
Week 3: transfers into production
Approved designs go into transfer production. Any “can we add one more design?” requests need to land this week — after this, additions mean rush fees somewhere.
Week 2: logistics locked
Dock times, drayage paperwork or direct load-in plan, staffing schedule, and the station layout marked on your booth plan — queue path, intake point, pickup rack. You get a one-page run-of-show your whole team can read in two minutes.
Week 1: confirm and breathe
Final headcount check against the blank order, crew confirmations, and a call to walk your booth staff through the scan-then-print intake. Show week itself should contain zero merch decisions — that was the point of week six.
Booking later than six weeks out?
It happens constantly and we staff for it — two-week turnarounds are routine and we have loaded in with less. The honest cost of compression is choice: fewer blank colorways still in stock and less room to iterate on art. Call (562) 614-4800 and we will tell you exactly what is still possible for your date.