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Wi nter 2013 | p2p Magaz i ne |
27
www.binfo.co.uk
Is the writing on the wall
for office whiteboards?
A meeting room staple for many years,
whiteboards are now being incorporated into
interior design schemes.
Magiboards (www.magiboards.com)
offers a huge array of standard products
and can also manufacture bespoke
boards printed with a logo, table, grid or
other artwork. Its boards are available
with magnetic or non-magnetic finishes.
The former are more durable, being
made from coated steel (with a 5-year
guarantee) or vitreous enamel steel (with
a 25-year guarantee), and more versatile,
as magnets can be used to display paper
material. The latter are made from
laminate (often two-sided) and have
shorter surface guarantees of two years.
Acco has just launched a range of
eco-friendly magnetic whiteboards with a
recycled content of 40%. Nobo EcoClassic
boards are Cradle to Cradle (C2C)
certified and have a recycled honeycomb
core made from post consumer and
industrial waste. The plastic corner caps
and pen tray are 100% recycled.
A touch of glass
Traditional whiteboards face growing
competition from ones made from
tempered safety glass, available from
www.theglasswhiteboardcompany.com
amongst others. Glass whiteboards are
more expensive, but have a number
of advantages: they are longer-lasting
(potentially); can be used with any marker
pen including permanent markers; don’t
suffer from ink ghosting or staining; and
have an attractive modern aesthetic.
Boards can be ordered with clear and
frosted glass or backed with black,
white or a custom colour. Magnetic and
interactive versions are also available.
For maximum impact, manufacturers
such as Clarus offer architectural glass
walls that can be implemented as free-
floating room dividers, as floor-to-ceiling
installations or as cladding on an existing
wall.
Whiteboards, or dry wipe boards, began
to appear in the 1960s and became
ubiquitous in the 1990s. The reason
usually given on sites likeWikipedia
is that their rise coincided with fears
about chalk dust allergies. For business
users, an even greater attraction is that
they look neat and are don't create a
mess on clothes or carpets.
The introduction of data/video
projectors gave whiteboards a further
boost, as models with semi-matt
finishes make good projection surfaces.
Retrofitting a system like Dymo’s Mimio
or Luidia’s eBeam converts a run-of-
the-mill board into a fully interactive
projection surface.
Today, dry wipe boards come in
all shapes and sizes.Wall mountable
single panels are still the most popular
option, but there are many other styles
available, from small handheld boards to
desk screen accessories (sometimes in
combination with a pin board); and from
mobile double-sided panels to space-
saving tri-panel boards that unfold to
create a large writing area.
The walls in Google's
Penson-designed
Engineering HQ
in London have a
whiteboard laminate
to encourage the
exchange of ideas
The Glass Whiteboard Company's Captcha
system lets you save notes written on one of
its boards
Nobo has launched a range of 40% recycled
whiteboards
Magscapes has developed a magnetic dry
erase wallpaper
Magnetic
whiteboards
can be used to
display paper
notice
Clever alternatives
Today there are interesting alternatives to
framed whiteboards. Dragons Den winner
MagicWhiteboard sells sheets and rolls
of statically charged polypropylene film
(in a range of colours and sizes) that are
perfect for temporary use. The film clings
to walls, doors and windows and can be
written on, cleaned, peeled off and re-
used up to 20 times. Because it is static,
a MagicWhiteboard has some of the
advantages of a magnetic board, including
the ability to display paper and notes.
Longer-lasting solutions include
CleverWrite from Sun Jones, a printable
self-adhesive material that can be applied
directly to a wall or other flat surface;
and MS Plus Gloss Dry Erase, a Dry Erase
wallpaper from Magscapes – creator
of the world’s first ‘magnet-receptive’
wallpaper – which can be written on
and used to display paper notices or
magnetised wall hangings like the planner
shown in the photo below.
Another option for permanent
installations is to use a whiteboard paint
like Smart Wall Paint or Ideapaint from
Muraspec to add a dry erase surface to
a wall, whole room or even a tabletop.
This is a great way to encourage people
to share and contribute ideas: it is very
impressive when used on a large scale
to create a brainstorming space, but can
also be used in smaller, more imaginative
ways. For example, Dave Cookson, Deputy
Principal at Seaton Burn College, has
applied Smart Wall Paint to the top third
of each desk in his classroom, giving
students a space for reminders, thoughts,
notes and collaboration.
Designers, too, are making the most
of these options and are creating more
inspiring, collaborative workplaces by
bringing the whiteboard out of the
meeting room and onto the office floor.