businessinfomag.uk
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28
Meetings
collaboration, so it is no surprise to
see that demand for these items
is unaffected by the rise in digital
counterparts.”
She added: “Our two best selling
items in the traditional display category,
The Post-it Table Top Meeting Chart from
3M and the Post-it Super Sticky Meeting
Flip Chart from 3M, remain popular
choices for brainstorming sessions and
meetings.”
Glass
A glass writing surface is a stylish
and contemporary alternative to
a traditional whiteboard. A glass
whiteboard or a glass partition that
you can write on is less imposing and
blends into a room’s design.
Poor readability could be an issue
if a clear glass board is used in busy
surroundings, but glass boards can come
in a variety of colours, avoiding this
problem. Glass is actually more durable
than traditional whiteboards. Being
a non-porous material, glass is stain
resistant and can be sterilised, unlike the
material used on traditional whiteboards,
which eventually becomes stained and
difficult to clean.
MagicWhiteboard
Another non-permanent solution
popular in offices, schools and training
companies is MagicWhiteboard, a
‘whiteboard on a roll’ that clings to
any hard, flat surface by static so
there’s no need for drawing pins, tape
or Blu Tac. MagicWhiteboard has
now sold over 1 million rolls and the
market is continuing to grow at over
15% a year.
Managing director Neil Westwood
says portability is a big part of its
success. “MagicWhiteboard comes on
a lightweight roll. This makes it easy for
the customer to carry and take to office
meetings, conferences and workshops. It
gives you flexibility and you don’t have
to worry about taking lots of equipment
and flipcharts,” he said.
He adds that with technology,
things can go wrong. For example, when
an interactive whiteboard breaks, he
suggests simply tearing off a couple
of sheets of MagicWhiteboard and
putting them over the top to create
an instant whiteboard surface for use
with any dry erase marker. Unlike paper
solutions, MagicWhiteboard sheets are
erasable and can be reused. They are
also recyclable.
In the next issue we will look at
digital solutions, including retrofit
solutions and purpose-built,
interactive whiteboards, and the
advantages they have.
...continued...
Despite the widespread availability of notepad apps for
tablets and smartphones, 91% of people still attend
meetings armed with a pen and paper, according to a
survey by stationery brand Rhodia.
The Rhodia
Art of Writing
survey highlights the enduring
appeal of handwritten notes in the office and in the home.
Three quarters of survey respondents still write shopping
lists in the traditional manner, with just one in four using a
smartphone or tablet; and 78% still keep to-do lists on paper.
One area where digital has caught up is in the
recording of appointments in diaries. Today, almost as
many respondents (46%) use a tablet/smartphone for this
purpose as use a paper diary (49%).
Technology backlash
?
Rhodia points out that the education sector has had to find
the right balance when utilising technology. Smartphones
and tablets can be useful learning tools in the classroom but
they can also be a distraction.
Following a 2015 study by the London School of Economics
and Political Science (LSE), which found that the performance
of students improved once smartphones were banned, more
and more schools are introducing bans on mobiles.
Some schools are attempting to counter the effect of
technology on handwriting by reintroducing the compulsory
use of fountain pens.
There is also evidence that people are turning their
backs on e-readers and going back to the printed book. Last
year Waterstones, the UK’s largest book retailer, decided
to remove Amazon’s Kindle e-readers from its stores and
use the space to display books instead. According to the
Office for National Statistics, since 2008 sales of printed
publications and books have risen by an average of 8.6%
each year.
Balance between pen
and screen
