After years of working with international exhibitors at Shanghai's major venues — NECC, SNIEC, INTEX, and others — we've noticed a pattern.
The exhibitors who have the smoothest shows are not necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They're the ones who planned for what could go wrong.
And one of the most common things that goes wrong is printing.
Why Prints Fail to Arrive
The reasons are almost always the same. Shipping delays — international freight is unpredictable, especially around major show dates when every carrier is stretched. Customs holds — printed materials containing certain content, or misdeclared packages, get stopped. Damage in transit — banners crease, boxes get wet, rigid displays snap. Last-minute content changes — someone in HQ decides to update the pricing on page 3 at 11pm the night before.
None of these are unusual. All of them happen every exhibition season.
The Simple Solution: Have a Local Backup
What experienced exhibitors do is simple. Before they ship anything from home, they identify a reliable local printer in Shanghai. They share files with that printer. They confirm prices and timelines. And then they ship their originals as planned — but they know that if something goes wrong, they have one phone call to make.
That's what we offer. We're not asking you to print everything locally. We're asking you to have our number saved.
What the Backup Looks Like in Practice
You contact us two weeks before your show. We review your files and give you a quote. You approve it and put it on file. If your originals arrive fine, you pay nothing. If they don't — or if you need extras — you call us and we move.
For exhibitors coming to Shanghai multiple times a year, we often become a permanent part of their pre-show checklist. Not as the primary printer, but as the safety net.
It's a small thing to set up. And the one time you need it, it's everything.
Get in touch with our manager apollo@call2print.com | WhatsApp +86 135 1212 7905
We respond fast. Even at night.
