When to Use Projectors

Technology changes fast. Flat panels are bigger now, LED is cheaper now. Both work in sunlight. In classrooms and conferences, projectors are dying out.

But they are sometimes still necessary in (darker) exhibitions. When?

In six “S” situations.

1. Size
Monitors come big enough to sleep on. But for a whole wall to be an image, if you don’t have LED money, it’s projector time.

2. Shapes at Scale
Monitors come in one shape — a 9:16 rectangle, mostly. For big images, shapes like clouds and sharks need projectors. (Make little shapes by masking monitors.)

3. Surface Irregularity
A projector is a must if you want to Project Onto Stuff.

4. Sick of Screens
Everyone wants to escape all the glowing glass rectangles sometimes.

5. Safety
Sometimes a monitor isn’t a safe choice. Example: an image that people step on.

6. Special
My favorite. When you want it to be unclear how the image got there. Even when a screen might do, use a projector to make it … magic.

Here’s the thing:
Projectors still work in exhibitions, for these six “S” reasons:

1. Size
2. Shapes at Scale
3. Surface Irregularity
4. Sick of Screens
5. Safety
6. Special

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Substrate. A material onto which graphics are printed or finishes are applied. Examples: wood, foam, aluminum, plastics. Substrates provide the structure that supports paint, printing, and textures.