SEG Truss Banner Displays

Both displays in this collection are designed to stand on the floor under their own weight, with the truss sections joined into a tower or a wider frame and the fabric graphic tensioned across the face. That distinction matters commercially: a freestanding structure is your decision alone, whereas anything hung from the roof becomes the venue's decision. If you want the impact of a suspended banner without the paperwork, build the height into the tower instead of lifting it. Check your height allowance with the organiser before you specify, as many halls cap stand height by stand type.

Yes, and it is not negotiable. At venues such as the NEC Birmingham, anything suspended from the roof structure must be rigged by the venue's appointed rigging contractor and approved in advance, normally with drawings and weights submitted well before build-up. You cannot rig it yourself, and a truss banner brought on site without prior approval simply will not go up. A freestanding truss avoids the whole process, which is why most exhibitors choose it.

SEG stands for silicone edge graphic. A thin silicone strip is stitched around the perimeter of the printed fabric and pushed into a recessed channel in the aluminium extrusion, which pulls the panel flat and gives a frameless face with no visible fixings. Fit one corner first, then the diagonally opposite corner, then work along each side so tension spreads evenly. Forcing one entire edge home before the others is what causes the ripples people usually blame on the print.

The Modular SEG Truss Tower Display is the vertical option: a tall, narrow landmark seen over the heads of a crowd from the far end of an aisle. The Portable Modular SEG Truss Display gives you width instead, which suits a back wall carrying a headline message with products in front of it. If you are on a corner or in an open hall, height usually wins; if you are in a row of similar stands against a wall, width and legibility win. Plenty of exhibitors end up running one of each.

The truss itself is modular, so sections join to make a taller or wider frame and the same components can be arranged differently at the next event. What does not scale is the graphic: a silicone edge panel is cut and stitched for one specific frame size, so changing the footprint means a new panel. Decide the two or three stand sizes you regularly book before ordering, then pick a frame configuration those sizes share. You then reprint fabric occasionally rather than buying hardware twice.

Supply a high-resolution file built to the finished panel size with the bleed we specify, because the silicone edge is stitched into that seam allowance and anything critical placed near the edge disappears into the channel. Keep logos and text inside a safe margin, and remember the extrusion covers the outermost few millimetres of the panel. Free artwork assistance and free 2D mockups are included, so you can see the layout on the frame before anything prints. Send files to support@backdropsource.co.uk if you would like them checked first.

Truss sections and fabric panels ship together with free UK delivery. Always pack the fabric separately from the aluminium in transit, as truss ends will scuff and snag a printed panel; the fabric folds without permanent creasing and travel lines drop out once tension is applied. Count and label the truss sections after each show, because a modular system is only quick to build if nothing has gone missing. Every product carries a 1-year warranty and we have been supplying exhibition displays for over 21 years.

The three regulars are squaring the truss on an uneven floor, over-tightening the connectors before the whole frame is assembled, and fitting the graphic tight at one edge first. Assemble the frame loosely, square and level it, then tighten, and the panel will sit far better. Do a full dry build in your own unit before the first event so nobody is learning the sequence in a hall with a build deadline. Call +44 1628 904 188 if you get stuck partway through.