Out there on the periphery of your office technology mind’s eye is that compelling electronic sign you spotted in some big-box store. It had photos and text that kept changing, offering up an item that would be a good fit for the home improvement project you keep putting off. It made you think. And not about the home improvement project.
Thinking instead how such signage might be a good fit for a couple of customers, you Googled up “digital signage,” aka “e-signage” or “digital displays.” After dodging all the sponsored and biased stuff at the top of your search and wading through some AI, you realized this was something that could be monetized across many customers. That sound you hear is opportunity tapping on your door.
“Digital signage is another revenue stream that can be added to a dealership,” explained Paul Miceli, director of Audio Visual at Pulse Technology, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based dealership. “It’s an offering that can provide for a client’s needs.” It’s up to your sales team to explain the potential.
Extend Your Office Technology Reach
There’s no reason e-signage can’t be an extension of your conventional office technology offerings. Your business uses basically the same technology as the commercial printer across town or the quick printer down the street. It’s all displaying information on a sheet of paper. Your customers may print on MFPs or light production machines. Some turn to a wide-format printer for poster-size images or have runs of 40,000 full-color brochures run on an offset press. But it’s all ink on a page. Meanwhile, competing dealers are trying to sell your customer other brands of equipment and software. Some companies are buying from Staples and Walmart instead of you. Time to add to your repertoire: perhaps with digital signage, a medium that’s a natural fit for any office-technology dealer.
Once you think beyond the printed page digital signage becomes a no-brainer. “Unlike digital content consisting of static images or text, electronic signage allows for real-time updates and can be used in many settings, said Henry Woods, director of display for Sharp’s MFP Channel.
“Any place a paper sign or notice exists bearing information that needs to be changed can be a home for e-signage,” agreed Miceli. This can include retailers, restaurants, movie theatres, healthcare and hospital facilities, school systems, and more.
Think about it like this. Digital signage can replace posters, HR labor notices and even customer-targeted notices like “special of the day,” which is too often scrawled on a well-used white board. A digital display is easier to read, brighter, cleaner, more professional, can include an appealing image, while silently speaking volumes about a business. Some companies may already be using them, while others may present new opportunities—including places without an MFP or copier in sight. That is new business.
“The most significant opportunity for office technology dealers is in diversification—expanding beyond traditional print and document workflows into visual communication and digital content delivery,” said Woods. Some of the underlying technology of digital signage makes this possible.
Enter Microcapsules
Some types of e-signage use a type of electronic ink comprised of microcapsules that have charged particles forming the image and/or text. This lets a display work without any power using only ambient light. “You may need power for uploading the image/text you want to display,” explained Miceli, but some microcapsules are content with a dose of juice from a USB-C thumb drive, Wireless or Bluetooth connection. This makes e-signage energy efficient and appealing to users by having very low operating costs.
Woods noted screens are available in 13, 25, and 30-inch sizes with prices ranging from as little as $1,000—complete with a basic media player and mounting hardware. He said such a system is ideal for dealers beginning to explore digital signage who wish to gain experience before taking on larger opportunities.
That Sharp is paying attention—and offering digital signage—is important to note. The company’s website notes how e-signage can be a way of replacing temporary ink-on-paper signs. At first glance it would seem that replacing a few paper signs is a strange move for a company that’s synonymous with print. This may be true for signs that are replaced only a couple times a year. But many businesses seek to project a professional appearance or have signage changed regularly. Updating a digital sign takes only moments while having a consistently positive impact on customers, even ones that only visit a facility infrequently.
e-Paper Tech?
This digital alternative to paper is what Sharp calls ePaper and is intended for applications with static content that need regular updates. These could be point-of-sale promotions, menu boards, or these days, up-to-date allergen and nutritional information.
The always-on nature of e-signage can make such displays compelling for an audience accustomed to digital displays—phone, laptops, tablets and the like. The paper-like view, wide viewing angle and no backlight make the text and image easy on the eyes. Imagine the menu of a local coffee shop on an ePaper display. Sure, the place makes copies just once a month at the library, but their menu is updated weekly as new pastries and beverages arrive. Could they be a new customer?
Sales in New Places
You may have some customers who can use e-signage right away. The added benefit for your dealership is that e-signage may open the door to prospects who may never think of office technology except when they need to make a copy, which may be only a few times a year. Besides, they have an MFP bought used on Facebook for that. You go in offering new options.
The same may be true at your local hardware store. Using art from the direct mail flyer that went out last week, suppose items being promoted had full color signage, were highly visible, and had the start and end dates of the sale on the display. Done throughout a store this could provide real value for a retailer.
Think Further Ahead
Following the Wayne Gretzky tip of going where the puck is going to be, it may be worth thinking a few years into the future. In some instances, digital signage can’t run 24/7 so power may be needed for some applications. My neighbor sets up floor plans for a national retailer. Turns out there is electrical power (generally unused) running to many new shelves, because having power available can make moving departments around easier.
Then consider a printer I know. One of his clients is a large grocery chain for whom he prints the price and item tags (barcodes and all) for the front edges of every shelf. Currently printed on a digital press, some change on a weekly basis and installation require some tedious labor.
Now connect the dots: Suppose the item and pricing “labels” were digital displays that could be updated by one person in an aisle with a handheld device using Bluetooth. It might eliminate a lot of labor. This may already be happening with wider use not far off. There will be some office-tech dealers taking advantage of such opportunities.
So, if shelves in many stores were digital-signage capable, could price/item digital signage replace some of the temporary paper signage in, say, supermarkets? Could this help your business?
