Fabric Wall Graphics for a Shell Scheme Stand at Alexandra Palace, Delivered the Evening Before Set-Up

The brief: fabric graphics for a shell scheme stand, with a non-damaging fixing requested

The enquiry arrived by email at 15:48 on Friday 9 October 2026 and asked for a quote and a deadline for printing and installing graphics on a shell scheme exhibition stand at Alexandra Palace, London. Set-up was planned for Thursday 15 October and the show was scheduled for 16 to 18 October. The specification was polyester fabric graphics for a back wall and a side wall, with a fixing method that would not damage the shell scheme as the customer’s requirement. The enquiry also mentioned installation; the order covered printing, Velcro fixings and delivery, and fitting at the show was left to the customer. The back wall was first specified as four panels: three of 1 × 2.5 m and one half panel of 0.5 × 2.5 m, 3.5 m wide in total.

Shell scheme is a modular wall system that venues commonly supply to exhibitors; white panels and aluminium uprights are typical of it, though systems differ. Our page on exhibition graphics covers the rollable and rigid panels we print for those walls, and the guide to exhibition stand printing explains how to choose between the options. On Monday 12 October we answered with photos of printed fabric graphics fitted to exhibition walls and of printed tablecloths. The customer left the tablecloth out and asked for the wall graphics only.

One piece or four panels: why the back wall became a single 3.5 × 2.5 m graphic

For a 3.5 m wall we recommended one continuous piece of polyester fabric instead of four separate panels, and the customer went with it on Monday afternoon. In our quote the reasons were that one piece covers the frame uprights, gives a continuous display with no joins in the artwork, and is easier to transport and handle than four panels. The back wall was therefore produced as a single 3.5 × 2.5 m graphic of 8.75 m², and the side wall as a 1 × 2.5 m graphic. Both are polyester fabric with a matte finish, and the quote included Velcro fixings. In short: Silver Image Print & Signs printed a one-piece polyester fabric wall graphic of 3.5 × 2.5 m (8.75 m²) for a shell scheme stand at Alexandra Palace, London, with Velcro fixings included and no joins across the wall.

This is a different product from the stretch frames in our fabric pop-up displays. A tension fabric display is a printed fabric skin stretched over its own frame; this job was a flat fabric graphic that hangs on the venue’s own shell scheme frame. Adhesive graphics applied straight onto a wall, rather than fabric hung on a frame, are a third option and are covered by our wall and floor graphics.

The artwork question on this order: a photo on a wall 3.5 metres wide

The customer’s designer asked this twice, once on Monday evening about the resolution of the back wall photo and again on Tuesday about pixelation. Our answer on Tuesday, at 12:33, was that the files had been prepared at the correct scale and that the text was outlined vector artwork, so the text would print crisp and sharp. On the photograph we said that it would look a little softer when viewed very close up, and that it should be judged from a viewing distance of about one metre. That was our assessment of the file before printing, not an inspection of the finished wall. By then everything had gone to print, so there was no room for artwork changes. Send the photo for a wall this size as large as the original allows, with the text outlined, and ask us to check it before you pay. The formats we work from are in our guide to what file format to send for printing.

Fixings supplied and the fitting note

The fabric graphics were supplied with Velcro fixings. Our fitting note to the customer on Wednesday evening was: apply the supplied Velcro to the frame, attach the fabric, and adjust it until it sits smooth and taut. The note also warned that the fabric is packed folded, so it can show light fold marks, and suggested hanging it and tensioning it gently so that they relax. That was the note for this job, not a manufacturer’s care instruction, so follow the instructions that come with your own fabric and the show organiser’s rules for fixing to shell scheme walls.

The two A3 strut cards

The quote also included two A3 Foamex strut cards: 3 mm board with a strut back so each card stands on a table. They were printed at our London print shop. The customer asked for a proof of the two cards on Wednesday afternoon, at 15:59, and a photo of the printed cards and a PDF went back at 16:09. Cards of this kind are covered on the strut card printing page, and the board itself on foam board printing. A similar pair of A3 strut cards for a partner store is in the Twilio strut card case study.

From enquiry to delivery: the timeline

Every time below is London time (BST), taken from our mailbox and the order record.

On this order the fabric was printed and ready 25 hours 58 minutes after payment, and the complete order was with the customer the same Wednesday evening. On Tuesday we told the customer that fabric takes two to three days; this job came back sooner, which should not be counted on. The evening delivery needed a second courier booking because the first courier had no driver available.

Delivering fabric graphics to Hammersmith the evening before set-up

The customer’s delivery rule was clear: before 17:30 on Thursday the order would go to the venue, otherwise to an address in Hammersmith (W6). On Tuesday the customer chose the Hammersmith address for delivery once the fabric was ready. With the fabric collected at 17:38 on Wednesday, we then proposed delivering that same evening instead of risking courier delays on Thursday morning; the customer confirmed the address at 19:17. A courier was booked at 19:28, and when that courier had no driver available at 20:01 a second courier was booked. In short: the fabric wall graphics and strut cards were delivered to an address in Hammersmith on the evening of Wednesday 14 October 2026, the day before the planned set-up at Alexandra Palace; the hour of delivery was not recorded. How printed work reaches you in London is explained in the guide to how print delivery works, the delivery to the venue itself in the guide to exhibition stand graphics delivery, and we run the Hammersmith same-day delivery side of London from our shop.

What to tell us when you need fabric graphics for a shell scheme stand

For shell scheme fabric graphics, these are the details that let us quote and plan accurately:

• The show, the stand size and the dates. Here it was a shell scheme stand with set-up on a Thursday and the show over the weekend. Give the set-up day, not only the show dates.
• The size of each wall in metres, and whether you want panels or one piece. A 3.5 m wall as one 3.5 × 2.5 m graphic needed no joins and was intended to cover the uprights.
• The artwork at final size, with text outlined. Send the photograph as large as the original allows and ask for a resolution check before you pay.
• The fixing method. This job used Velcro supplied with the fabric; check the show organiser’s rules for fixing to shell scheme walls before you choose.
• Where it should arrive and who can receive it. Give a delivery address, a contact name, a mobile number and the latest time someone can take it in, plus a second address in case the first is too late.
• Time for fabric. On this job we told the customer two to three days; tell us your set-up day and we will confirm what can be done.

For the wider picture of what a stand needs, see the guide to pop-up stand printing and the page for exhibitors. Two other jobs are on record: an overnight stand branding job, and wall graphics fitted in an office. When a graphic has to be there by the next day, next-day delivery printing sets out what we can do.