For a Washington event, book six to ten weeks out. That isn't because our presses are busy. It's because they sit in Fullerton, 2,281 straight-line miles away, and travel by freight. The crew flies in a day before load-in, and the rest of the plan hangs off those two dates.
A DC timeline, working backward
- Ten weeks or more: the easy case for association conventions and big advocacy days. Crew hotel rooms are still reasonable and the venue's electrical and load-in deadlines are far off.
- Six to ten weeks: the normal window. Send the date, venue and headcount and we lock the station plan.
- Under six weeks: possible when freight can still make the receiving window. Ask, and you'll get a straight answer within 24 hours.
- About a week out: art is final and blank orders lock.
What speeds it up
Have the logo or artwork ready, a rough headcount, the venue and date, and the stations you want. If it's a convention, attach the exhibitor manual to your first email. It tells us the dock time, the electrical deadline and the venue's rules, and we plan inside them.
Once you're booked, date changes are easiest with two weeks' notice. Spring convention season and cherry-blossom weeks fill first. More on the booking lead time and pricing, or request your DC quote.
Planning notes
Why freight sets the calendar
A DC station is the same kit we run everywhere: presses, flash dryers, heat presses, blanks, tables and signage. It rides a truck from Fullerton, and a missed receiving window at a convention center is hard to recover from. We'd much sooner start early than rush.