Five-minute set-up: portable displays one person can put up alone

What "one-person set-up" really means

A display that one person can set up has to pass three tests, not one:

• The carry. Every bag or case has to be light enough to get from the car to the stand, often from a car park or loading dock some distance away.
• The build. No tools, no ladder and no second pair of hands to hold a frame steady while you fix it.
• The pack-down. It has to go back into its bag at the end of a long day, when everyone is tired.

Weight matters, but it isn't the whole story. Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice: Hazardous manual tasks says: "There is no safe weight set for all workers in all circumstances because there are too many factors contributing to the risk, not just the weight of the item." How far you carry it, how awkward it is to grip and how often you do it all count. So the practical rule is to split the kit into several light bags rather than one heavy case, and to use a trolley or wheels wherever you can.

Packed weights and set-up times compared

These figures come from our current product pages. Times are for one person unless the page doesn't say.

Put a few of these together and the five-minute stand is realistic. A Premier banner (no more than 60 seconds) and a pop-up counter (under 3 minutes) take one person under 4 minutes, plus a few seconds for each flag. The carry for that set, with two flags, is under 6 kg + 12 kg + 3 kg + 3 kg = under 24 kg, spread across four packs (plus the counter's carry bag, if you add one). That assumes the flags go on firm grass, where the stake supplied with each flag does the job.

Pull-up banners: the one-minute display

A pull-up banner is the simplest portable display there is. The graphic retracts into the base, so set-up is just: open the bag, stand the base on the floor, pull the banner up and attach it to the support pole.

Our Premier pull-up banner suits the person who carries a banner to every event. It weighs under 6 kg, packs into a padded, reinforced bag with a shoulder strap, and goes up in 60 seconds or less. It comes in 500 mm, 850 mm, 1000 mm and 1200 mm widths, and 2.1 m is the most popular height. The stand hardware carries a lifetime guarantee, and when the message changes, we can fit a new banner to the same stand.

If a whole campaign rests on banners, carry one per person rather than stacking three on one shoulder. They are light on their own, but the bags are long and awkward to carry in a bundle.

Flags: seconds to assemble, but plan the base

Teardrop flags and Blade 2 Go feather flags go together in seconds: join the fibreglass pole sections and slide the flag's webbing pocket over the pole. Each flag packs into a zip-up bag with separate compartments for the hardware and the flag, and weighs no more than 3 kg without its base.

The base is the part to plan. The in-ground stake supplied with each flag is all you need on firm grass. On concrete, paving or an indoor floor you need a cross base or steel base plate instead, so count those in the carry.

Counters and demo tables that fold flat

A counter gives the person on the stand somewhere to work, and a branded front to stand behind.

• Pop-up counter. Our pop-up counter has just five parts: unfold the base, put in the shelf and the former that keeps the base rigid, then lay the two-piece gloss top over it. One person can have it up, with its graphic wrap on, in under three minutes. It weighs 12 kg, folds flat, and an optional carry bag measures 800 x 900 x 110 mm. The top holds up to 15 kg, enough for a laptop or samples.
• Superlight 800 demo table. For sampling, the curved Superlight 800 weighs under 4 kg and one person can assemble it, graphic wrap and all, in under four minutes. It comes in a carton; add a carry bag with a shoulder strap if it will go in and out of the car regularly.

Fabric walls and display panels

For a full-height backdrop, a fabric wall is the one-person choice.

SuperWall. The aluminium frame sections are linked by elastic cord and click together. Fit the feet if your wall uses them, then pull the fabric graphic over the frame, pillowcase style, and zip it closed. A complete SuperWall, frame, graphic and bag, weighs 7 to 14 kg depending on the width, and one person should be able to assemble it in less than 10 minutes. A 3 m wide wall weighs 12 kg packed, and one person can build its frame in no more than five minutes before sliding the graphic on. The fabric graphic folds, so frame and graphic pack down into one carry bag.

Cario display panels. The standard Cario panel, 750 mm wide x 1100 mm high, is sized to fit in a car boot and be handled by one person, and weighs 2.7 kg. Panels clip together with poles, so you build up a wall a panel at a time, with no tools. A carry bag holds up to four panels: 4 x 2.7 kg = 10.8 kg of panels per bag. Add feet if the panels will stand in a straight line rather than at angles to each other.

If you need a whole 3 m x 3 m stand rather than a single wall, our pop-up stand buyer's guide compares SuperWall and magnetic pop-up layouts for 3x3 and 3x4 sites.

Where one person isn't enough

Some portable kit sets up quickly but is heavy enough that a second person should help with the lift.

• Executive pop-up stand. It goes up in minutes without tools, but in its hard-shell case it weighs about 28 to 38 kg, depending on the size. Wheel the case, and have two people lift it into and out of the vehicle. Our guide on how to set up a pop-up exhibition stand walks through the build step by step. For a lighter kit that travels in a carry bag, look at the SuperWall range instead.
• Event marquees. A 3 m x 3 m Gazebo 2 Go frame weighs 23 kg before the 5 kg roof and the weights each leg needs outdoors. Plan a second person for those days.

When nobody on the team can be there for the build, our installation and pack-down service can build the stand before you get there and return to pack it down.

Set-up habits that save time

• Practise once at the office. The first build is always the slowest. Do it before show day, not in front of the organiser, with the stand's own instructions open.
• Pack in build order. The base or frame goes in last, so it comes out first.
• Label every bag with what is in it and which stand it belongs to, and photograph the packed kit so it goes back the same way.
• Keep a short set-up sequence with the kit, and keep the instructions in the bag.
• Check it from the aisle. Before doors open, walk out, look back, and check graphics are straight and cables are clear of the walkway.
• Inspect it at pack-down. Note missing feet, clips or a scuffed graphic before the kit goes back into storage, not at the next event.

Next step

Start with the Premier pull-up banner and a pop-up counter if one person will run most of your events, then add a SuperWall if you need a full backdrop. Tell us who will carry the kit and how they travel, or call 1300 240 250, and we'll suggest a set that one person can manage.