In fact, this expectation is extremely evident when you turn a standard LCD advertising display off, where telltale fingerprints suggest people automatically attempt to interact with the screen, even when it is not a touch screen. This is a presumption that is increasing as touch screens spread throughout other technologies such as tablet PCs and the latest smart phones.

Touch screens have many benefits for all sorts of digital signage applications. For information providers they allow customers to access more detailed information. A wayfinding screen displaying a map, for instance, can allow customers to find specific directions to a location, while an advertising display showing a promotion can allow customers to find out more information regarding the promotion or discover the location of a store where the offer is being sold.

The basic touch screen digital signage system does not differ too much to a basic display screen. A touch screen panel is used in place of the standard LCD screen while a PC powers the screen’s interactive content. For outdoor touch screen use, things become a little more complicated as the touch screen will still require protection from the elements, but because of the need for interaction on the screen face, it can’t be covered with a protective screen as with an LCD display.

Outdoor touch screen enclosures enable this protection without inhibiting the touch screen capability of the screen, although different types of touch screen operate more or less efficiently in outdoor environments.

Several different touch screen technologies exist. These include resistive, capacitive and surface acoustic wave. These different types have different limitations for touch screen use. Resistive touch screens, for instance, are highly susceptible to damage, while capacitive touch screens don’t operate very well in cold weather or when somebody is wearing gloves, while surface acoustic waves are more durable, can operate in variable temperatures but are less sensitive.

The type of touch screen to use for a digital signage installation will depend on the type of application the sign is intended for, and where it will be located. For outdoor digital signage, a surface acoustic wave touch screen will probably be best, while resistive and capacitive touch screens are better in indoor areas or for applications that are more intricate.

Digital Signage Touch Screen Applications is a post from: Armagard

Because digital signage is highly visible it is an effective platform for communication in areas where normal communication methods prove challenging. Large premises such as warehouses are often noisy locations with a workforce spread out over a large distance. Often, due to the need for employees in these areas to be moving about, communication platforms such as email are not feasible, so getting information across can be a challenge.

The advantage of digital signage for these warehousing and industrial locations is that the visibility and ability to upload information, remotely and instantly, means that communication is possible over large areas. But digital signage in these sorts of areas does pose a few challenges, namely because of the actual environments.

Many industrial type locations are not the ideal areas to run a screen network due to the environmental conditions. Some warehouses may be dusty environments; other locations could be chilled or wash down areas. All these elements could damage a normal digital signage display so a more protective solution is required.

As with outdoor digital signage, industrial digital signage requires comprehensive protection. For chilled and freezer environments, this may mean maintaining the temperature of the LCD screen above zero, while wash down and dusty areas need an impervious LCD enclosure to prevent ingress from particles or moisture, both of which could disable a digital signage display. Digital signage in industrial locations also needs adequate physical protection to prevent damage to the screen – especially in areas where forklift trucks and other machinery could knock into a screen.

When looking for industrial digital signage solutions, a good place to start is to make sure the screens have been built to sufficient NEMA of IP standards. For dusty environments, this means an LCD enclosure built to at least IP 54 (NEMA 3), while for wash down environments, a rating of IP 65 (NEMA 4) will be required to protect from water.

Shatterproof screens are also necessary in these environments, especially in areas where food is produced, as broken glass caused by an accident can lead to shutdown of production and cause possible contamination.

For frozen and chilled environments, heated LCD enclosures are usually necessary to maintain a stable internal temperature. The heating systems need a thermostat to prevent overheating.

Digital Signage in Industrial Locations is a post from: Armagard

Waterproof TV enclosures and digital signage displays do have some drawbacks, however. Essentially, a digital signage system is just a TV hooked up to a network, where content can be distributed from a central media player. However, TVs are highly sensitive piece of equipment and are not designed for use in areas where they are at risk of being splashed with water.

In many food production and storage facilities, wash down is an important part of the hygiene process. Machines and food storage areas need to be kept clean, which means that any display screen operating in such an area is at risk of getting wet, and ultimately failing.

Fortunately, there is a solution for enabling TV displays to be used in wash down areas: the waterproof TV enclosure.

Waterproof TV enclosures are designed to house standard TV screens and protect them from water splashes in wash down areas. The waterproof TV enclosure provides an impenetrable barrier that keeps water from the screen, but also still provides air to penetrate inside the enclosure to maintain cooling. This is achieved through clever use of air filtration chambers that permit air to enter and exit the enclosure, but not moisture.

Most waterproof TV enclosure are designed to international standards that denote the type of area the screen can operate in. IP54 and IP65 are common European ratings these waterproof TV enclosures are built to, as is the US NEMA 4 standard.

To prevent corrosion, waterproof TV enclosures are manufactured from either stainless steel, or a powder-coated mild steel that prevents rusting, which is important to prevent contamination in food production areas.

A shatterproof screen also protects the TVs housed in the waterproof TV enclosures. This too, is highly important in food production and storage areas as a glass screen could lead to contamination if it is accidentally broken or smashed.

Waterproof TV enclosures provide a cost effective and efficient method of installing display screens and digital signage in food production and distribution areas, enabling almost any make, model or size of screen to operate in locations where water is used in a regular basis to clean and wash down the environment.

Waterproof TV Enclosure in Wash Down Areas is a post from: Armagard

 Whether it’s digital signage screens used in retail to promote brands and products, to information screens in public buildings, making sure the screen is prominent is essential to ensure its effectiveness.

Indoor Digital Signage Displays

Indoor areas are full of all sorts of things that compete for people’s attention s a badly positioned digital signage screen could easily be missed. This is never more apparent than in retail environments, where sale items and other signage can make a screen virtually invisible if it’s not in the right place.

One of the best locations to attract people’s attention with a digital signage display is near the entrance so it becomes the first thing they see when they enter a store or building. However, a screen placed too high, such as suspended from a ceiling, or positioned flat against a wall, will not be as noticeable as a screen positioned at eye-level.

But how do you position a screen at eye-level near and entrance? The key is in the digital signage enclosure. A floor-standing enclosure, often called a totem digital signage system, is a freestanding unit that stands at eye-level. This provides a prominent method of digital signage implementation, which is highly noticeable, far more so than wall-mounted digital posters and ceiling mounted displays screens.

Outdoor Digital Signage

Outdoor digital Signage has to work even harder than indoor signage to get noticed. This is because the dwell time for an outdoor screen s far lower, a few seconds at most, and outdoor environments have far more distractions.

Again, an ideal place for positioning an outdoor digital signage screen is near an entrance. Whether it’s a school or college wanting to relay important information to students and staff, or a retailer or transport hub, by placing a screen near to an entrance you can be sure to communicate with everybody that enters.

As with indoor screens, eye-level is key for an outdoor screen. Outdoor digital signage totems provide the same sort of digital signage display unit as those for indoor environments, except, obviously, an outdoor digital signage totem provides protection against the weather and variable temperatures of an outdoor environment.

Outdoor digital signage screens are often viewed from farther away than indoor screens, so larger screens are more effective at being noticed. For this reason, outdoor digital signage totems come in sizes up to 70”, which provides a large, eye-catching form of outdoor screen that is near impossible to miss.

Position Matters – effective placement of digital signage displays is a post from: Armagard

 Both IP ratings and NEMA codes, such as the IP65 and NEMA 4, which are commonly associated with outdoor environments, denote the level of ingress protection an outdoor digital signage enclosure provides. Ingress is the protection offered by an enclosure in preventing foreign bodies from getting inside. These bodies may be dust, rain or snow, which while important to keep out in an outdoor environment, there is more to outdoor digital signage protection than just ingress protection.

While an IP65 digital signage enclosure (or a NEMA 4 enclosure) will offer a useful guide as to the environment it can operate in, it’s important to ensure an outdoor digital signage enclosure is equipped to deal with all the hazards that outdoor digital signage faces in operation.

Temperature for instance, is something not covered by either the IP rating system or the NEMA codes, and yet any IP65 digital signage enclosure not equipped to cope with the variable temperatures of an outdoor environment will soon fail. Both ranges of temperature, high heat and freezing cold, need defending against to prevent screen failure, so as well as ensuring a screen is waterproof to NEMA 4 or IP65, and IP65 digital signage enclosure also needs to be able to cope with seasonal temperature changes.

Physical protection is also something not covered by either the IP or NEMA rating system. Again, an outdoor digital signage system unable to cope with impacts, either accidental or deliberate vandalism, won’t last very long in an outdoor environment. For this reason outdoor digital signage enclosures need to be rugged enough to withstand impacts and attempts at vandalism.  This often means be solidly constructed from a tough material such as steel, as well as having some form of shatterproof screen protection that won’t smash.

Outdoor Digital Signage – Thinking Beyond IP and NEMA Ratings is a post from: Armagard

Armagard will have several exciting new products on display including a stainless steel LCD enclosure, designed for wash down areas, and their double landscape enclosure, which is already proving popular for information delivery on train station platforms and other service provider locations.

These new products will be available to look at on stand #10R116 in Hall 10 of the digital signage area, and Armagard will be displaying them alongside their existing range of portrait, landscape and totem outdoor digital signage enclosures, and several other digital signage solutions.

Armagard’s new stainless steel LCD enclosure is available in sizes ranging between 24” and 42” and is designed to NEMA 4/IP 56 guidelines. A waterproof and corrosion resistant unit, the stainless steel LCD enclosure is manufactured to the same high quality engineering standard as the rest of Armagard’s existing LCD enclosure range.

Armagard’s double landscape enclosure protects side-by-side dual screens. This is already proving popular with information providers as it provides a way of delivering dual information. The twin enclosure maintains a stable internal temperature and can operate in a whole host of outdoor areas and environments where temperature and external elements may be a concern.

Armagard will also have samples of their existing digital signage and LCD enclosure range on display at ISE 2012. Their LCD enclosures are available in both portrait and landscape orientation, and they provide comprehensive protection against temperature and the elements.

Also on display are two digital signage totem solutions. The outdoor digital signage totem is a stylish and prominent outdoor display unit that is ideal for entrance areas and front of building displays. Armagard’s indoor retail totem can encompass brand messages on the enclosure unit itself, maximising branding potential.

ISE 2012 is expected to be one of the largest shows of its kind and Armagard will be among over 750 manufacturers, distributors and integrators from the AV industry, from over 100 countries, that are exhibiting at the event. For more information about ISE 2012, details are available on the ISE website. Armagard hope to see you there.

Armagard LCD Enclosures at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2012 is a post from: Armagard

 The home is a fairly gentle environment for LCD and plasma screens, however, out of the home in the rough and tumble public arena, any screen used as digital signage is going to need protection from impacts.

An unprotected screen isn’t going to last very long out of the home. Whether because of accident or deliberate vandalism, a sudden knock or thump will cause either the device to fail or the screen to smash, both of which will require maintenance or replacement. Things are even worse in outdoor and unsupervised locations, as screens can fall foul of vandals so need to be tough enough to cope with severe blows.

Failing to have adequate protection for a digital signage screen will ultimately lead to the display needing replacing. Vandalism is all too common and many digital signage installers have learnt the hard way the importance of adequately protecting their systems.

Protecting most of an LCD screen is fairly easy as it just needs a rugged digital signage enclosure to withstand blows and impacts, however, protecting the screen face is more challenging.

Because people need to see an LCD screen, the face obviously has to be transparent. Glass, however, is too brittle to protect an LCD screen used as digital signage. One sudden blow and the glass will shatter, this will not only mean the screen will need replacing, but also could cause a hazard. Glass is not only sharp and can cause injury, in some environments, such as a food hall or production facility, broken glass is a contaminant that can lead to closure.

Because of this, alternative protection methods to glass are used in digital signage enclosures. Shatterproof polymers are preferred by most digital signage and digital signage enclosure manufacturers, as they are very tough and can withstand extremely severe impacts but also they don’t shatter. The worst damage one of these shatterproof screens will incur is a discolouration of the polymer, which is easily replaced.

Digital Signage Enclosures for Physical Protection is a post from: Armagard

All too often retailers, however, litter their stores with screens inside, but don’t take advantage of the space correctly. A poorly positioned screen is not going to be effective at promotion, advertising or branding, so finding the right locations for a screen is important to provide the maximum effectiveness of the technology.

Around the store

Perhaps the most used areas of a store for digital signage are screens placed around the store itself; however, when shoppers are looking at sale items, little time is spent looking at screens so the most used space for digital signage tends to be the less effective. However, there are better locations around a store for placing a digital signage display.

Point of Sale

One of the prime locations for a digital signage display is at the point of sale, where customers are waiting in line to pay. This is because the audience is captive, with nothing else to do, so it is more likely they will view the content displayed on the screen. A point of sale screen should be highly visible, though. All too often, other promotional items surround screens on checkouts and point of sale locations, cluttering the screen up and making it less noticeable.

Entrances

Store entrances tend to be forgotten about when it comes to digital signage; however, the entrance is a prime location for providing promotional material, as the screen becomes the first thing customers see when they enter a store. By placing a well-positioned and prominent screen in a doorway or entrance, facing the customers as they come through the doors, you can be fairly confident that everybody entering the store will get to see the screen.

Outdoor digital Signage

Another area that often gets underused for digital signage is communicating with people outside. While indoor screens are a great way of providing promotional information to customers inside the store, a well-positioned outdoor screen can help draw in customers (with the right message). Screens in window displays, on walls outside, or even in doorways positioned to provide content to passersby can all be effective methods of promotion.

Digital Signage–Making the most of Retail Space is a post from: Armagard

This means people want to read the news when they have a few minutes spare with little else to do, such as when commuting on public transport, waiting at a train or subway station, or standing in line at a fast food restaurant.

And providing news to people in such situations can have several benefits for service providers and digital signage provides the ideal method of offering people news and information.

By installing a screen that provides customers with news and information, you can keep people amused during times of waiting. This increases customer satisfaction and reduces complaints when trains are late or when waiting in a particular long line.

Secondly, by providing news and information on an outdoor digital signage screen you are giving people an impetus to look at the display, providing other opportunities to offer more self-serving content. This can come in the guise of advertisements, promotions or branding information, which is more likely to be viewed than just providing this promotional content on its own.

Of course, news feeds do come with fairly high subscription costs from many news outlets, such as Reuters or Associated Press, but news doesn’t have to be national or from a top service provider. Indeed, providing more localized and relevant information can often be just as effective at getting people’s attention.

News concerning changes in service and the latest developments in a particular industry can garner interest from customers, especially if it is relevant to their needs. Some companies are even taking this measure to its extreme, by starting up their own TV stations to provide digital signage news and content, such as McDonalds, which has just launched McDonalds TV, where fast food outlets will have digital signage displaying entertainment, news, advertising and restaurant-specific pieces.

But news feeds don’t have to be so sophisticated. Uploading content from blogs, Twitter feeds or the company website can be just as effective at gaining people’s interest. Providing such content provides an ideal platform for communicating between your business and your customers, helping to develop trust and raising brand awareness.

Using Outdoor Screens as Digital Signage for News Feeds is a post from: Armagard

 Outdoor digital signage is the fastest growing sector in out of home advertising. Large outdoor advertisers are now replacing many of their static outdoor adverts with digital signage versions, while billboards along roadsides and highways are now also becoming digital.

One of the main reasons for this growth is that outdoor digital signage has the distinct advantage of larger audiences than screens in indoor environments, but it’s not just in the United States and Europe where outdoor digital signage is growing rapidly.

Outdoor digital signage is growing in Middle Eastern locations

The Middle East is becoming one of the fastest growing markets for outdoor digital signage with places such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi installing screens in many outdoor locations.

The burgeoning middle class and an increase in tourist traffic are the main reasons why outdoor digital signage is becoming so prevalent in the Middle East, but the environment in which these screens function also provides distinct challenges to outdoor digital signage installers.

Locations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi experience extremely high temperatures during the daytime, which requires any screen functioning outdoors to have adequate cooling systems to prevent overheating. Furthermore, during the winter while high daytime temperatures continue, at night, temperatures can plummet to close to zero.

Because of this duality in temperature extremes, outdoor digital signage screens need a comprehensive form of temperature management. Cooling systems are essential, making sure the screens don’t overheat during the day. This can take the form of cooling fans or even air conditioning, often needed as summertime temperatures can exceed 40 degrees centigrade. At night, retaining the heat generated from the screen is often enough to prevent the internal temperatures from dropping too much, usually achieved through insulation.

Another problem in some Middle Eastern locations is their close proximity to deserted areas. Wind-blown sand is common in some Middle Eastern cities, where residents often wake up to find their cars covered in a layer of fine particles. These same particles can also lead to damage to outdoor digital signage displays, getting inside the enclosures and adding to the problems of overheating by blocking filters. And making sure any outdoor digital signage enclosures in operation in such an environment can keep out dust and sand particles adds to the challenges of implementing screens in these locations

Challenges of Outdoor Digital Signage in the Middle East is a post from: Armagard