Menu boards: printed, chalk or digital?
Four kinds of board, and three questions that pick one.
Compare
LED light menu board vs digital menu board.
A light box glows. A screen changes. Here is a fair look at where each one fits.
What a light-box board is
A light-box menu board is a sign with lights inside it. Behind a clear or frosted panel there are LED lights, and a printed menu sits in front of them. The light makes the printed words glow, so the menu can be read in a dim room or at night. Some versions use a thin frame that snaps open so you can swap the paper or film. Others use a hand-written chalk-style panel.
Notice what this is not. The light is always on, and the menu itself does not move or change by itself. A person has to open it, take out the old print and put in the new one. We call it a bridge between a printed sign and a screen. It has the glow of a screen and the habits of paper.
Where a light box works
We like light boxes in the right places, and we want to be fair. A light box is a good fit when the menu stays put. Think of a coffee kiosk with six drinks that never change, a small snack window, or a bar with a short list. It is also a good fit when you want a fixed, framed look that matches your interior, and when you have no Wi-Fi at all.
It has real strengths. There is no software to learn and no internet to lose. It does not need updates. If the power is on, the sign works. When a menu changes once or twice a year, a new print is a calm, simple job. If that sounds like your shop, a light box is a sensible choice, and our page on printed, chalk or digital boards compares all four kinds.
Where a screen is better
A screen is better when the menu changes often. Think of a shop with a flavor of the week, a daily special or seasonal drinks. With a light box, every one of those changes is a new print, a trip to the print shop and a swap on the wall. If you change something every week, that is more than fifty reprint jobs a year.
A screen also does things a printed panel cannot. It can show a photo of the special, a short loop of motion, and a holiday board for a single week. It can turn black after closing. At Sweet Aloha we change our boards for holidays and a weekly flavor, and nobody reprints anything. All five of our TVs run Wow Menu Boards every day.
Thinking about moving from a light box to a screen? We set up your first screen with you. Try it free for 14 days, no card.
Reprinting vs updating
We will not put a dollar number on reprints here. Print costs depend on size, material and your local shop, and we do not want to guess. Do the math for your own shop in four steps. First, count how many times your menu changed last year. Second, find out what one reprint costs, including pickup and any rush fee. Third, multiply the two. Fourth, add the days when the old menu hung up while you waited.
Then compare it to a screen. Our Basic plan is $12 per screen, per month, which is $144 for a year for one screen, plus the TV and a player if you do not own them. Standard ($19) and Pro ($29) open when Clover sync ships. A light box has its own up-front cost too, so compare the full picture, not one line. Also see digital menu board cost for the parts of cost on the screen side.
Which one should you pick
Choose a light box if your menu changes once or twice a year, you like the look, and you have no reliable Wi-Fi. Choose a screen if you change items, prices or specials more than once a month, and you want photos or motion.
You can also use both. Some shops keep a light box for the permanent menu and add one screen for specials. What is live today with us: full-HD motion video, exact on and off schedules, play when the internet drops, self-updates, and setup and changes by our team. A dashboard to edit it yourself is Coming soon. Read what an electronic menu board is, or return to our home page.
Keep reading
Electronic menu boards
What an electronic menu board is and how it works.
Digital menu board cost
What small shops really pay, in plain parts.
Menu board design tips
Six plain rules for a board people can read fast.
Run your shop's menu like we run ours.
We open free trials a few shops at a time, and we set up your first screen with you.
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