Friday, August 28, 2009

An Eco-Friendly Whiteboard

The newest whiteboard product to hit the market is a product called IdeaPaint. It is a innovative solution to the ever present Whiteboard.

IdeaPaint can be used on walls, posts, table tops and even on worn out whiteboards. But, best of all it can be used to cover over old chalkboards. IdeaPaint is simple to install. US Markerboard even loaded a YouTube video on how to install IdeaPaint. It shows you how to measure out a wall, tape it off, prime it and paint it. It is very informative, easy to follow with simple step-by-step instructions.

IdeaPaint is also the most environmentally friendly whiteboard on the market. There is no waste in production, the packaging is 1/10 the amount used to ship a standard whiteboard of the same size, and it takes less fuel to ship. And if you are covering over old chalkboards, the product becomes even more eco-friendly. By using IdeaPaint to cover over old chalkboards you are not throwing old chalkboards into landfills and not filling landfills with asbestos tainted materials.

IdeaPaint is a great solution for any school, home or office and can be found at US Markerboard.com

See Also:
IdeaPaint Installation Tutorial

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Whiteboard When You Need It

There’s no question that having a whiteboard “when you need it” is ideal for any space, work and school.

What the whiteboard industry calls a Free-Standing Whiteboard, is by far the best solution. Generally available on wheels, these free-standing whiteboards come with two sides to write on, and you can often choose what surfaces you want: Chalkboard, Magnetic Whiteboard, Cork Board, or a mix of both.

They are available in wood or aluminum frame and are available in common sizes like 36”h x 48”w, 42”h x 60”w and 48”h x 72”w.

One of the most popular Free-Standing Reversible Boards comes from Best-Rite and is called the Platinum Reversible Board. It comes with an aesthetically pleasing aluminum frame, durable casters and a sizable storage compartment. It is easy to assemble, has locking casters and feels sturdy the moment you put it together.

If you are looking for a Free-Standing Reversible Board, the Platinum Reversible Board is by far the best solution around.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

What is the Right Height to Install a Whiteboard?

Before installing your new Whiteboard, you need to consider a few important pieces of information.

First, if you are installing your Whiteboard in a school, office or municipal building, reasonable accommodations need to be made to fulfill ADA requirements.

Second, you need to determine the overall height of your new Whiteboard. If your board is four feet high you should install your whiteboard 34” off the floor or AFF (Above Finished Floor).

If your Whiteboard is taller than four feet, you need to consider the height of the board as well as the height of the ceiling. If the room has an 8’ ceiling height and you have a 5’ Tall Whiteboard, you will be unable to install it 34” off the floor because the board will be too tall to properly install the top hardware.

In a nutshell, the basic rule of thumb is, if you have an 8’ high ceiling and a 4’ Tall Whiteboard you should install the bottom of the board 34” off the floor.

Science and Lab Furniture See Overall Upgrade in School Purchases

As we begin another school year it’s interesting to step back and see what the average school system purchased this summer with regards to furnishings…Whiteboards, School desks and chairs, Science lab furniture, Activity tables, and Book carts.

The summer buying season did indeed get off to a slow start with many schools deferring purchases until the beginning of the new fiscal year, which for many schools is July 1st. We continued to see last minute, “must spend or I will lose the money” purchases in May and June, which definitely helps to get the buying season going on a high note.

Purchases of Science and Laboratory Furniture were slower in June than in past years but July and August definitely made up for it, with many orders of all sizes. We did however notice that there were less full-scale Science lab makeovers, and more purchases of replacement pieces. Which is perfectly fine, because most orders for replacement Science Tables are generally for common quick ship items and do not impact the production floor. Replacement Science table tops were a very common item this summer which schools opting to replace worn out epoxy science table tops rather than the entire table.

Whiteboards are always our biggest selling item, with many schools looking for resurfacing material and what the industry calls “Retro-Fit Whiteboards”, which are basically Framed Whiteboards, without a tray that screw over the existing chalkboard.

Sales for School Desks and Chairs have had noticeable highs and lows. The early portion of the summer saw smaller orders for fill in pieces of ten to twelve items. The middle of the summer saw a drop off of purchases, with the end of the summer seeing a huge push of volume orders. It is my understanding from conversations with school administrators that purchases were made only after a full investigation of what was absolutely needed was completed, with a general emphasis on upgrading Science and Lab Furniture.

I suspect that this will be the pattern for the foreseeable future and hope that schools are able to take advantage of this competitive marketplace to make good long term purchasing decisions.