Types of Devices You Can Use to Display the Token Number

If you are planning to have a take-a-number system or token system to manage the queue in your facility, you should also plan to invest in a reliable and flexible number display system. The two systems work in sync together. When a customer comes into your facility, they punch out a ticket that gives their number in the queue. The customer can then wait in the lounge or waiting hall till they see their token number displayed on the display system.

There are various types of display devices you can consider before you get one that best suits your needs.

7 segment LED display or LCD boards

7 segment LED or LCD display boards are the most common type of number display devices. Typically available LED boards are seen emitting in red color (Perhaps because amongst all colors, red color light travels the farthest without spreading or losing much intensity).

A 7 segment display can display the digits 0-9, and only some alphabets. In case you require the alphabet Z to be displayed for example, then that would typically be possible with a 14 segment display, or 22 segment display.

If multiple token numbers need to be displayed at a time, then either the size of the display board needs to be larger to allow for display of more characters, or multiple independent 7 segment LED or LCD display boards can be used to display different token numbers at the same time.

Buying specifications should include the following:

1. Number of characters (digits or alphabets) that can be displayed in a single line
2. The number of lines or number of separate token numbers that can be displayed.
3. The color of light and the background color.
4. Whether the board has a speaker attached to it and of course what is the wattage of the speaker (to know what kind of area / noise level can it be audible in).
5. What is the height in inches of each digit/alphabet? This will be useful to know if the characters are visible from far off in a larger area.
6. What is the height in inches of each digit/alphabet?
7. What all digits and alphabets can it display?
8. Whether it can be used indoors only or outdoors as well.
9. Is it battery operated? And what would be the battery life, charging time, etc?
10. What is the warranty period of the device? And what about the support/service?

Higher number of segments like 14 segment or 22 segments in a board would allow for more natural looking display of the digits and alphabets, and also allow displaying of all alphabets (a-z, A-Z) along with the digits 0-9.

Dot matrix LED display or LCD display

Typically, dot matrix LED display boards are used for varied requirements where in words or sentences or even shapes, graphs or curves are primary focus rather than simple displaying just the numbers or a the characters of English language. Dot matrix displays are also useful when displaying words, messages or sentences which contain characters from languages other than English. These can be monochromatic or polychromatic (can display in multiple color). Each alphabet or a digit is represented by dots or pixels. Typical size for a character (alphabet or numeric) is 5×7 pixels or 8x8 pixels boards. Buying specifications would be similar to that in 7 segment display boards as stated above.

Smart TV display

Token numbers from Queueme can be displayed easily on smart TV browsers using a display link. This would allow for a more self serve set up compared to the display boards set up options stated above.

More importantly, it would allow for easier and more flexible setting of colors, contrast and more customisations without much support from the OEM or without having to change the display device.

The other thing about having a TV in your waiting area is that the aesthetics or the architecture of the place would typically merge more smoothly which may become a bit of a hassle while setting up more electronic-looking display boards. A smart TV will also become a more long term asset for your business. Finally, the vendor selection can be more easy, even the service/support from the vendor would be more standardised.

Queueme software features APIs that enable customisation as per as your queue management requirements. The software can be configured to display the current number as well as the next numbers in the queue. You can customise the software to display the tokens from the same queue on all screens or a tokens from different queues on different display screens based on your specifications. Contact us to know more about our queue management software and suggestions for what might be best for your facility.