By Gary Kayye

When you think of digital signage, you nearly immediately think of LCD monitors. Whether they are mounted horizontally or vertically (mostly vertically), the LCD monitor has become the staple of the digital signage market. Nearly every article you read about digital signage and way over 90 percent of digital signage case studies you ever see have pretty pictures of LCD monitors mounting all over the place driving pretty content to people in schools, retail environments and businesses.

But, why aren’t you thinking projectors?

Not only are projectors now cheaper — when compared size-to-size — to an LCD TV in nearly every size category, but they can now be used in incredibly creative ways.

For example, you can’t, at this point at least, mount an LCD monitor in a window-front and make it a digital signage sign and still be able to see what’s displayed in the storefront – without using an automated mount that raised and lowered the content. But, with a projector you can.

For example, have you taken a look at Stewart Filmscreen’s Mystik!?

Mystik! is a self-adhesive projection material designed for use in digital signage applications – like retail. Mystik! can be applied to any window or glass door to transform the surface into a translucent projection screen.

It’s not the only solution for projecting on clear surfaces, but the concept is cool and works well as at night you can transform a storefront into a giant digital signage display that’s begging you to return the next day. During the day it can be used to not only convince passers-by to come on in, but also can be co-op’ed for advertising by brands that sell stuff inside the store.

And, don’t stop there. You don’t have to think of digital signage as limited to the rectangular projection of a screen. Why not use projectors in digital signage applications to project on nearly any surface? Now we have projectors that are bright enough to project in any type of lit environment and on any surface — you can even color-correct the projector when projecting on a colored surface!

Be creative. Be Bold. Don’t be boxed in…

Gary Kayye is the founder of rAVe [Publications]. Reach him at gary@ravepubs.com