SLAS · San Diego Convention Center · Winter

SLAS Trade Show Booth Rentals

These visitors validate instruments for a living. They will watch your deck run a full cycle before they say a word.

Fixed-price SLAS exhibits — design, fabrication, graphics, freight, installation and dismantle in one number that doesn’t move. Pre-built, lit and photo-approved before it ships, so the booth that meets seven thousand life sciences researchers and automation engineers in San Diego has already stood up once, powered and checked, on our floor.

Booth Finder

Filters the booths below — every one shows its San Diego price.

January 30 – February 3, 2027Show dates · auto-updated
San Diego Convention CenterVenue
San DiegoCity
Advance orders close ~Dec 5, 2026
7K+Researchers & automation professionals
Lab automationScreening, sample management & data
24 hrConcepts and a fixed quote back
1Project manager, end to end
Built for instrument and life-science brands

The kind of booth an automation scientist stops to watch

SLAS brings together the scientists and engineers who specify, integrate and run laboratory automation — people who will stand at your stand for ten minutes watching a liquid handler cycle, then ask about throughput, error handling and integration. The booth is a working lab bench with a brand around it. The work below is what we build for technical companies: structures engineered around running equipment, clean sightlines to the deck, and somewhere to sit down with an applications specialist, with one team accountable from first rendering to dismantle.

Know the floor before you plan the booth

At SLAS the instrument is the exhibit

Almost every exhibitor here is running real equipment: liquid handlers, plate readers, robotic arms, integrated workcells. Those instruments are heavy, calibrated and expensive, they arrive in their own crates on their own schedule, and they need level floors, clean power and sometimes compressed air or data to run. The booth has to be designed around them — and finished before they arrive.

Move-in by booth size

Largest footprints load in first

Show management staggers exhibitor move-in by footprint: the largest booths get access first, mid-sized booths the following morning, and everyone else that afternoon. For an island that is a real advantage, but only if the structure is ready to go up the moment the hall opens, so instrument installation and calibration get the remaining time. Because ours has already been assembled once, it goes up in hours, not days.

Instruments need a lab, not a stand

Level floors · clean power · load

A workcell that runs perfectly in your facility can misbehave on a raised show floor. We design platforms and counters to carry instrument weight without flex, route dedicated circuits to each system, leave service access behind every deck, and keep visitor traffic far enough from the robot to satisfy your safety team while still giving a clear view of the run.

The winter calendar

Alternating coasts

The show sits at the turn of January into February, which puts the advance-order cutoff in early December with the holiday break between sign-off and freight. It also alternates between San Diego and Boston, so the building, the labour rules and the instrument shipping route all change from one edition to the next — last year’s logistics plan does not carry over.

What we handle at the SDCC
  • Instrument-first design — platforms, counters and service access engineered to your equipment
  • Layout submission and show approval, filed early
  • Electrical, compressed air, network and material handling orders calculated and filed at advance rates
  • Structure installed at first access so your engineers get the rest of move-in
  • Union labour coordination and on-site supervision
  • COI, EAC and exhibitor-manual deadlines mapped to our calendar
  • Dismantle, pack and outbound freight
Billed by the show, not by us

Booth space, electrical, drayage, rigging and cleaning are billed to every exhibitor directly by the show, the venue or the show’s general contractor — no exhibit house can absorb them and none should claim to. What we do is calculate them for your exact booth before you commit, and file every order at advance rather than floor rates.

  • Booth space
  • Electrical drops and floor distribution
  • Material handling (drayage)
  • Rigging, if you’re hanging a sign
  • Daily cleaning · internet
Why a fixed price matters most here

The budget you present in autumn should survive show week

Trade show invoices have a habit of growing between quote and show: labour hours over estimate, revisions rebilled as change orders, graphics reprints, supervision time nobody flagged. Our model is the opposite — the number you approve is the number you pay, contractually. Design revisions are unlimited until you approve. The quote and the final invoice are the same document.

01

One number, and it holds

Design, fabrication, graphics, furniture, lighting, freight, installation, dismantle and project management in a single fixed price.

02

Proven before it ships

Your booth stands fully assembled and lit at our 65,000 sq ft facility, and you approve photographs of the actual build — not a render.

03

Show costs, known up front

Space, electrical, drayage and rigging calculated for your exact booth before you commit — so the total is a number, not a range.

04

The paperwork is ours

COI, EAC, electrical, network, rigging, freight windows — filed at advance rates, mapped to every exhibitor-manual deadline. Nothing lands on your desk three days before it’s due.

We quote higher and cost less. That’s the whole argument, and it’s why every booth below is published with its price rather than hidden behind a “request a quote” form.

Available for SLAS

SLAS-ready booths, with real prices

Every booth below is priced for San Diego and available as a custom build for your brand — rented, not bought. Use the finder at the top of the page to narrow by size and budget.

Or jump straight to your footprint

One click — the catalog opens already filtered to your size and San Diego pricing.

Working backwards from show week

Your real deadline is in early December

The advance-order cutoff lands roughly eight weeks before the show — the exact date is in the facts strip at the top of this page, and it updates automatically each edition. For a show at the turn of January into February that puts the binding constraint in early December. Your instrument list has to be final before then, because power, air and floor loading are all ordered from it.

JUL–SEPBrief, concepts and the fixed price locked. Full design freedom.
OCTOBERInstrument list, weights and utilities confirmed; layout submitted for show approval.
NOVEMBERGraphics finalised and sent to production.
EARLY DECDesign locked. Advance electrical, air, network and material handling filed. After this, floor rates own your budget.
MID-DECBooth built, lit, powered and photographed for your approval before the holiday break.
EARLY JANFreight window booked; instrument shipments sequenced to arrive after the structure.
SHOW WEEKStructure up at first access. Your engineers install and calibrate. You open ready.
Take this to every vendor

Five questions to ask anyone quoting your SLAS booth

Put these to every exhibit house you’re comparing — including us. They separate the vendors that stand behind a number from the ones whose estimate is an opening position. Our answers are printed here so you can hold us to them.

1 Will you put the total price in writing before I sign — and hold it? Ours: yes. Every booth on this page is published with its price. The quote and the final invoice are the same number, contractually. Printed above · hold us to it
2 Do design revisions become change orders? Ours: never. Revisions are unlimited until you approve, and the price is locked before design starts — a better idea in October costs nothing.
3 Will I see my actual booth before it ships — or a render? Ours: the actual booth, fully assembled, powered and lit at our facility, photographed for your sign-off before it leaves for San Diego. Renders are promises; photographs are evidence.
4 Who files my advance show orders, and at which rate? Ours: we do, at advance rates, mapped to every exhibitor-manual deadline. Running instruments need dedicated circuits, often compressed air and data, and crated equipment makes material handling a major line, so the advance-versus-floor spread at SLAS is real money — if a vendor can’t answer this immediately, that’s your answer.
5 How much of move-in will my engineers have for the instruments? Ours: nearly all of it — because a structure that has already been built once goes up at first access, leaving the remaining time for installation and calibration. A vendor still assembling the booth when your crates arrive is spending your engineers’ time. Ask them directly.
In their words

What event managers say after the show

★★★★★
“They never just build the booth and disappear — I always know I have someone on call and ready to jump in when the unexpected inevitably happens. That level of responsiveness makes a huge difference in high-pressure event environments.”
Amanda Horner · Three years of booth programmes · Google Review
★★★★★
“I’ve worked with Pure Exhibits for almost a year now, and have had such a great experience! They are our go-to for trade shows, and create memorable booths that represent our brand well. The team is incredibly responsive and reliable.”
Lexi von Schottenstein · Google Review
★★★★★
“It’s always a pleasure to work with Utsav. The process is simple, straightforward, and high quality. I have worked with them for 3 years now and will continue!”
Carlos Bautista · Three-year client · Google Review
★★★★★
“Their team is incredibly flexible throughout the design process and truly collaborative in bringing ideas to life. I highly recommend Pure Exhibits to anyone looking for a reliable, thoughtful, and experienced exhibit partner.”
Amanda Horner · Google Review
Questions SLAS exhibitors actually ask

SLAS booth rental FAQs

How much does a SLAS booth rental cost?
Every booth on this page is published with its San Diego price — fixed and all-inclusive: design, fabrication, graphics, furniture, freight, labour coordination and project management. Separately, the show, the venue and the show’s general contractor bill you directly for booth space, electrical, drayage, rigging and cleaning; we calculate those for your exact booth and instrument list before you commit, so the total is known before you sign anything.
When should I book a booth for SLAS?
Lock your design by early December. The advance-order deadlines fall just ahead of the holiday break, and your instrument list has to be final before them — start the conversation in summer for full design freedom. The exact advance-order deadline for the next edition is in the facts strip at the top of this page and updates automatically.
Our instruments are heavy and sensitive. Can the booth carry them?
Yes. We engineer platforms, counters and any raised flooring to your actual instrument weights and footprints, with no flex under a running deck, service access behind each system, and cable and air routing hidden inside the structure. It is all load-checked on our floor before it ships.
Can you handle power, compressed air and data for running systems?
Yes, and it’s the most important planning conversation for a SLAS booth. We calculate the circuits, air and network each instrument needs from your list. Those services are billed to you directly by the venue, but we file the orders at advance rates and verify every drop against the booth as built.
Who coordinates the instrument shipments with the booth freight?
Your project manager. Instruments usually travel separately from your own facility, so we sequence their arrival after the structure is standing, keep the crates’ path to the booth clear, and plan empty-crate storage and return so re-packing at close is not a scramble.
Will a rental look custom, or will it look reused?
Every booth is fabricated for your brand — custom graphics, layout, lighting and finishes on a modular structure underneath. The builds shown above are rentals. Before yours ships, it stands fully assembled and lit at our facility and you approve photographs of the actual booth, not a render.
Can I install the booth myself to save on labour?
The San Diego Convention Center floor runs on contracted union labour, and the show’s general contractor governs who may build what; your engineers can typically set up and calibrate your own instruments. Either way the booth isn’t your problem to arrange: labour coordination and on-site supervision are inside our fixed price, filed at advance rather than floor rates.
A vendor just fell through. How fast can you deliver a SLAS booth?
Four to six weeks from approval to show floor for complete pre-built, photo-verified booths from 10×10 through 20×40 — at the same fixed price as a six-month lead time, with no rush surcharge. For a winter show, the earlier in the autumn you call, the more of that window sits at advance rather than floor rates.
Do you handle customer events and user meetings off the show floor?
Yes — hotel suites, user-group meetings and hosted evenings around the San Diego waterfront run under the same fixed-price model, coordinated by the same project manager as your booth.
Fixed pricing · Pre-built & photo-approved · Full-service support

Exhibit at SLAS with zero surprises.

Tell us your footprint, the instruments you are bringing, and what they need to run. You’ll have design concepts and one fixed price back within 24 hours — including what the show will bill you directly.

Or call us directly — (800) 379-8451