Wallboard Gets Digital Signage Running On HP Printer Station Screens

July 31, 2020 by Dave Haynes

I walked away from my demo with Wallboard back in February, at ISE, thinking these guys had a strong mad scientists streak – and an integration with HP’s printing division kinda bears that out.

The Hungarian CMS software company, which also has a big office in Dallas, showed me in Amsterdam a series of integrations with sensors and gadgets that suggested they were big on IOT-driven signage. Exhibit A is the handshake code that puts digital signage content on the LCD screens used in workplaces to control printer functions.

The effort won an HP JetAdvantage Partner Award for Innovation at a virtual HP conference back in May.

“Wallboard capitalized on the flexibility of the HP Workpath platform to create an innovative solution that brings value to our customers and our channel partners,” says Jeff Schaus, Head of PSS Commercial Solutions and Services at HP. “The solution offers the ability to customize the front panel of the MFP to show dynamic content, such a company headlines, weather updates, pictures and more. Wallboard offers a customized experience for our customers and helps set HP devices apart from others.  The software offers a more personalized experience at the MFP that end-users are expecting in the digital world.”

Acronym decoder: MFP is multi function printer. 

“By providing HP’s customers with the ability to customize each print device with unique branding and internal communication messaging, we feel that our application is well-aligned with HP’s ‘segment of one’ strategy,” says Rod Roberson, CEO of Wallboard USA. “In today’s world, internal communication is as important as ever so being able to use our application to leverage the HP print screen as another potential communication channel is exciting.”

This is interesting, in a Why Not? kind of way. The little smartphone-sized screens on smaller printers don’t offer a useful canvas for messaging, but the larger tablet-sized ones are large enough to noticed by people in an office or area where the printer gets parked. It could run in an “attract” mode – a screensaver-like messaging loop that cycles when the machine – be that a printer or kiosk – is not actively in use. 

Is this all an office would ever need? Nope. But it might act a bit like meeting room digital signs – the gateway drug screen that gets the office thinking about a broader digital signage investment.