The 33rd International Printing & Packaging Exhibition is listed for 7 to 10 December 2026 at the Tehran Permanent Fairground on Chamran Expressway. That leaves about nine weeks from today. If your stand will have a press or a packaging line running on it, nine weeks is workable, but only if the decisions start now.
This fair is different from most of the Tehran shows we build for. A large share of exhibitors bring real machinery. So the stand is more than walls, graphics and lighting. Machine weight, three-phase power, forklift access and where the operator stands all become part of the design. Below is how we approach it.
A realistic timeline to December
If your space and stand position are not confirmed yet, sort that out first. Without the size and the number of open sides there is nothing to design.
- By late October: space confirmed, plus a list of every machine you are bringing with its dimensions, weight and power needs.
- First half of November: first 3D design, one or two rounds of comments, materials chosen.
- Around 9 November, four weeks before opening: final design and print files signed off.
- The last three weeks: cutting and building in our workshop, graphics printed, a trial assembly.
- Build-up days at the venue: delivery, installation, power and lighting checks.
We cut and machine panels in our own workshop on CNC equipment, so once a design is approved we are not waiting in someone else’s queue, and joints come out cleaner. That still does not make late size changes free. A new dimension means re-cutting, and usually an extra day.
Sizing the stand around the machine
Most of the problems we have seen at this fair start the same way. A company books space to fit a budget, then finds the machine plus its working clearance fills half the stand. Draw the machine to scale on the floor plan before anything else, along with door swing, the operator’s spot and a path for visitors.
- A small inline stand rarely fits a running machine and a meeting table. Pick a smaller unit or book more space.
- Corner and peninsula stands work better for machinery. Visitors can see the machine from two sides and getting it onto the stand is easier.
- Keep tall walls away from the aisle side of the machine. The machine is the draw, so let people see it.
Power, flooring and getting the machine in
Three-phase supply has to be ordered from the organiser. The amount, the cost and the deadline are in the organiser’s technical manual, and they can change from one edition to the next, so we would rather you check the current manual than rely on last year’s figures. Get it this week and put the power deadline in your calendar.
If the stand has a raised floor, either it is engineered for the machine’s weight or the machine sits on the hall floor with the platform cut around it. We usually go for the second option. Rolling a heavy unit across a timber platform is a risk we would rather not take. Cables run under the platform or in covered channels, never across the walkway.
Order matters on build-up days. The machine goes in before the walls close. Agree the truck’s arrival time with your freight company and with us. Iran GEO and the shopping centres and retail exhibition run on the same dates at the venue, so the gates will be busier than usual and one late truck can push the build back half a day.
If your equipment is coming from outside Iran, freight and customs are the longest part of the chain. Talk to your forwarder now, not in November. Our page on trade fair services in Tehran covers what we handle for foreign exhibitors.
Lighting print samples properly
Visitors at a print fair look hard at colour. If your lighting shifts the colour of your samples, good work looks ordinary. Use high colour-rendering fittings over sample shelves and tables, and keep any coloured mood lighting well away from the product.
Your own stand graphics will be judged too. Someone who runs a print shop notices a badly finished banner edge or uneven fabric colour. Supply files at the right resolution with a defined colour profile and leave time for a colour proof. That is one reason we ask for final artwork four weeks out.
Cold halls and noisy neighbours
Tehran is cold in December, and the large hall doors stay open during build-up for deliveries. Adhesives and paint dry slowly in the cold, so we finish painting in the workshop wherever possible and leave only assembly and touch-ups for the hall.
A running machine is loud. If you plan to hold serious meetings on the stand, add a semi-enclosed room with a door and put it as far from the machine as the layout allows.
Next step
If you have space at this fair, send us the hall plan with your stand position, the machine list with sizes and weights, and photos of your last stand if you have them. With those we can return a first design and a dated schedule within a couple of days. You can see what we take on, from design to dismantling, on our services page.
