In a retail setting, digital signage can promote far more goods and services per unit of wall space or merchandising display zone, making it ‘greener’ than the equivalent printed graphics.
There is a fairly well-established workflow for designing these types of messages and graphics, whether they are intended for printed or digital signage. When it comes to actually producing them, however, digital signage is the better approach both for business and for the environment.
Updating messaging through a digital signage network eliminates the travel involved in visiting the physical location of each sign when replacing them. Reducing transportation reduces pollution.
Printed signs need to be transported by and with industry professionals at many points in the deployment process. From the moment paper or plastic stock arrives at a graphics printing facility until a client or outside contractor actually installs the signs, transportation and its environmental impact never cease.
The digital signage workflow is far more efficient from concept to delivery, with zero trips needed to carry physical media and people between the content’s point of origin and the location where it is to be displayed. Cutting out all of the usual ‘middlemen’ in a traditional print workflow makes digital signage an attractive alternative in terms of productivity.
Further productivity gains for the client organization are facilitated by digital signage software applications, which can extract specific information from existing databases, facility management software and other sources to create new content pages automatically.
Addressing concerns
While the aforementioned issues show how digital signage offers certain advantages over printed graphics in terms of environmental impact, this does not mean digital signage is free of all environmental concerns. On the contrary, among the most serious issues are the medium’s levels of power consumption, given the production of electricity needed to drive digital displays and the computers that manage them.
Also, hazardous materials are used in the production of digital displays and computers. It is important to plan for the disposal of these devices—and the packing materials needed to safely ship them to clients or installers.
Display power consumption
The development of light-emitting diode (LED) backlighting for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has presented a viable alternative to more traditional fluorescent backlighting. This has allowed manufacturers to achieve new power savings in an increasing number of display panels.
Further environmental gains are facilitated by extracting digital content from existing databases and facility management software.
One simple way to begin evaluating energy efficiency is to become familiar with the Energy Star international program. In Canada, it is promoted and monitored by Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan’s) Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE). According to the OEE, “products that display the Energy Star symbol have been tested according to prescribed procedures and have been found to meet or exceed higher energy efficiency levels without compromising performance.”
The Energy Star program has addressed a wide range of electronic displays, including those used in digital signage applications. It is also wise, of course, to turn screens off—either individually or across the entire network—after hours to save energy.
Player power consumption
The other device drawing power in a digital signage system is the media player. Typically, this is a compact computer running dedicated software.
Embedding the media player into the actual digital display unit can yield power savings, by eliminating redundant hardware. If this is not possible, the power consumption of a stand-alone media player can also be minimized, by replacing spinning disks with solid-state drives (SSDs) that require less cooling.
