Most digital signage is an LCD panel with a power cable and a network cable. Joan’s room and desk displays are e-paper, the same technology as an e-reader, and the difference matters more than it sounds. This article explains what e-paper is, why it changes the economics of deployment, and what the practical consequences are for an office.
What e-paper is
An e-paper display holds an image without power. Tiny charged particles in each pixel are moved into position by a brief electrical pulse and stay there until the next update. The display draws power only when the image changes, which for a room sign is a few times an hour. There is no backlight; the display reflects ambient light like paper, which is why it is readable in bright rooms and at any angle without glare.
What that means in practice
No power cable. A Joan display runs for months on a charge. It goes on any door, glass partition or pod without an electrician, without cutting into a wall and without asking the landlord.
No network cable. The display connects over Wi-Fi and syncs its content periodically. A building full of rooms is deployed in a day with no cabling contractor.
Low running cost. A floor of LCD room panels draws power around the clock; a floor of Joan displays draws almost nothing. For organisations reporting on energy use, this is a measurable saving.
It looks right. Matte, glare-free and readable from across a corridor, an e-paper display looks like considered signage rather than a screen bolted to a door.
It moves. When a room is renamed, a floor re-planned or the company relocates, the displays come off and go back on somewhere else.
What e-paper is not good at
Video and rapid animation. Refresh is measured in fractions of a second, which is instant for a room sign and wrong for a video wall. Colour is limited on most panels. For a lobby directory that changes constantly or a signage screen with motion, an LCD from OneScreen or eZon is the right product. For a sign that changes a few times an hour and must work anywhere, e-paper is.
Joan’s devices
- Room displays in several sizes, showing status, bookings and a tap-to-book interface.
- Desk devices for hot-desking, showing whether a desk is booked and by whom.
- Wayfinding displays for lobbies and lift areas, listing room availability across a floor or building.
All are managed from one portal, report their battery level and update firmware remotely.
Deployment tips
Mount displays at eye level beside the door handle, not on the door itself, so they are visible when the door is open. Check Wi-Fi coverage at each door; a display at the far end of a corridor with weak signal will sync less reliably. Set a charging rota – a facilities technician with a handful of charging cables every few months. Name rooms on the displays the way people actually refer to them.
Sustainability reporting
Organisations with ESG commitments can quantify the difference: the standby consumption of a powered signage panel over a year, multiplied by the room count, against a device that is charged a few times a year. Joan publishes the figures, and for a company with a hundred rooms the annual saving is not trivial.
Zen and Joan
Zen Interactive Technologies distributes Joan in the UAE and GCC, alongside the LCD displays from OneScreen and eZon for the cases e-paper does not suit. We hold stock in Dubai and can advise on the right device for each location. See the Joan page.