When you already have digital signage or you’re contemplating using it in your business, you need to maintain any of the equipment you purchase. Whether it’s issues with software, hardware, media players, display screens and other features, they all play an integral part in keeping your system going. What kind of maintenance does all this require? Here’s a look at how you should manage maintenance to keep your system running smoothly.
Software Maintenance
With digital signage, you need dedicated software to maintain the system. With that in mind, continue to follow through with specialized software maintenance and software updates. You want to extend the life of your digital signage. Software upgrades will bring security improvements and visuals that are current.
Arrange for checkups on your software to ensure that the software and security are in order. You don’t want security breaks in your software or the wrong content being shown. If you’re unable to take care of software maintenance on your own, it’s best to farm out your software maintenance to a qualified sign company, like Tupp Signs.
Hardware Maintenance
The ongoing use of digital signage results in wear on hardware, so it’s crucial to choose the best hardware in your initial use. That includes media players, hard drives and servers that are critical to the operation of a digital system and getting important advertising messages out to the public. Most hardware has a temporary life and requires replacement after working for a certain amount of time.
There are some systems that are available with trade-in programs that allow for upgrades when the equipment is wearing out or requires an upgrade. Check with the manufacturer of your equipment to determine whether you can trade in your old hardware for newer models. If you upgrade your hardware this way, you save a lot and don’t have to worry about compromising your entire system. With system upgrades, you can transfer your information to your content manager and your IP addresses will also show a transfer, as will all other digital signage features that keep your system updated.
Indoor and Outdoor Digital Signage Maintenance Tips
There are regular cleaning routines or tips that are helpful in maintaining both indoor and outdoor digital signage. The general routine includes: Washing, wiping, dusting, removing stains and spots and using compressed air that removes dirt and dust.
It’s easy to clean indoor digital signage. Just use a cloth and a pail of soapy water. Remove any dirt and dust and dry the area with a clean, white cloth. When you find grime that you have trouble removing, make a solution of baking soda or use a good window cleaner.
With indoor signage such as digital posters, menu boards, video walls, bulletin boards and interactive digital signage, you’ll be dealing with polymer covers and to clean them you’ll need a soft white cloth and some soapy water to clean them. More stubborn spots will require a mild cleaner either in the form of vinegar and baking soda or a window cleaner, like Windex.
Both indoor and outdoor digital signage systems require ongoing maintenance. You want to ensure that your digital systems work under most any condition. If your displays are in precarious places or under repeated exposure to sunlight, you’ll want to find strategic locations for any of them and keep them protected.
Any indoor and particularly outdoor signs should go through visual checks along with regular cleaning. You want to clean the outer casings of displays and other equipment to get rid of dirt, dust, lint and other debris. With parts that are hard to reach, you can use compressed air to get ride of hidden dirt and dust. Leaving grime on signs can result in loss of a clear image and may deteriorate the sign.
Keeping Water Out of Your Digital Signage
It’s necessary to protect your digital signage from water. Whether it’s water seepage, moisture buildup from high humidity, or outdoor wind and rain, weather proofing signage is important to keep digital signage working.
When you’re dealing with outdoor interactive digital signage, and the strong possibility of rain soaking it, you’ll want a maintenance plan in place or hire an outside source to keep your digital signage clean and dry. You’re asking for problems if you don’t plan for weather-related incidents. You could have an expensive repair job on your hands and the strong possibility of signage not working.
With display screens, you want to avoid at all costs getting water directly on them. Make sure that any cloth you use on the screen is free of water. Also, if you’re using a spray bottle, you want to spray the stream on the cloth rather than applying it on the screen. In addition, avoid water getting in the inner parts of hardware as you could pay additional money to repair the sign.
Check all supporting structures and replace them if necessary. Also, strengthen and reinforce any corners to assure strength, durability and protection against varying temperatures. Sealing is important too, as you want to check and replace supporting structures, including reinforcing corners, to ensure durability and protection against fluctuating temperatures. Seal your displays properly as you want to stop electrical components from degrading and producing lower image quality.
Importance of Maintenance
Whether you’re dealing with software, hardware, indoor and outdoor signage and all the other various parts that make the system work, maintaining all of it is important in order to keep the entire system working. In addition, you’ll want to use weatherproofing on any of your outdoor signage to protect it from inclement weather. Keep the thought of high quality construction in mind to protect your outdoor signage as you want it to remain tough and strong.
Maybe you’re aware of the different steps and methods for maintaining and repairing your digital signage and follow all the recommendations given here, but if you’re on a tight schedule and business is booming, it may limit your time for maintenance and repairs of your equipment. If that’s the case, consider contacting Tupp Signs. We’ve been in business for over 90 years and not only design, produce, manufacture and install digital signage but they also maintain and repair signage. Call us at 302-322-1600 and learn about their maintenance and repair plans. wE can establish a maintenance plan for you that will allow you to spend more time improving upon your current digital system or help you start a new system altogether.