The short answer
If you rarely change your menu and a handcrafted look suits your business, a chalkboard or a well-printed board is perfectly fine. If you regularly change prices or products, have several screens or want to show off bestsellers with photos or video, a digital menu board wins. The biggest gain is not in the look, but in how much effort and money each change costs you.
The four options side by side
| Chalkboard | Printed menu | Light box | Digital menu board | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase | Low | Low to medium | Medium | Screen and player |
| Ongoing costs | Chalk, time | Printing for every change | New panels, bulbs | Subscription per screen |
| Changing a price | Wipe off and rewrite | Redesign and reprint | New panel or stickers | In the dashboard, visible within about a minute |
| Photo and video | No | Photo | Photo | Photo and video |
| Readability | Depends on the handwriting | Good | Good, illuminated | Good, illuminated |
| Needs power and internet | No | No | Power | Power and internet |
Chalkboard: atmosphere, but lots of handiwork
Advantages: cheap, no power needed, and a chalkboard gives a personal, artisan feel. For a daily special or a changing soup of the day it is quick and flexible.
Disadvantages: it stands or falls with the handwriting of whoever keeps the board up to date. Rewriting a full menu with prices takes time, and smudged leftovers make it look messy. From a distance or in low light, chalk is harder to read. You cannot show photos of your dishes.
Printed menu and light box: sleek, but rigid
Advantages: a professionally printed board or a light box with panels looks sleek and consistent. A light box is also easy to read in a dark space. No internet needed.
Disadvantages: every price rise, new product or seasonal promotion means redesigning, printing and hanging again. That costs money and above all time, so businesses often postpone changes and make do with covered-up prices or a handwritten sticker. In the cost comparison for a digital menu board you can read how to weigh those printing costs against a subscription.
Digital menu board: flexible, with ongoing costs
Advantages:
- You change products and prices yourself in the dashboard, from any computer. The screen picks up the change within about a minute.
- You combine a price table with text, photos and video. A short video of your bestseller attracts more attention than a line of text.
- The board is always neat and consistent, whoever is on shift.
- You choose landscape or portrait, and adjust the design without having anything made.
Disadvantages, to be honest:
- You need a screen and an Android player, plus power and internet in that spot.
- There is an ongoing subscription per screen. You can see what that costs at Narrow.TV on the current prices.
- Designing a good menu takes time the first time round. Templates help, but you have to supply your own products and photos.
- A screen can reflect in sunlight or bright lamps; choose the spot carefully.
- There is no integration with your till. You change prices in the dashboard, not automatically from your POS system.
What is often forgotten
- Time counts too. A chalkboard is cheap in materials, but someone has to keep it up to date. Include those hours when you compare.
- Postponed changes cost money. Anyone who dreads new printing often raises prices later than necessary. With a digital board, changing a price takes minutes.
- A screen is a board too. A digital menu board does not have to be busy or flashy. A calm design with a chalkboard-style background image can suit an artisan business just as well.
Which option suits your business
- Small menu that hardly ever changes: a printed board or light box is often enough.
- Changing daily specials, otherwise a fixed menu: a chalkboard for the specials, possibly alongside a fixed board.
- Large menu, regular price changes or promotions: a digital menu board saves you the most hassle. Think of takeaways and chip shops, cafés and sandwich shops.
- Several screens above the counter: you create one menu design per screen, for example hot food, cold food and drinks. You make changes in one place, in the dashboard.
Combining works well too. The chalkboard by the door for atmosphere, the digital menu board above the counter for the fixed range.
Try it yourself
Still unsure? Put your current menu on one screen digitally. With the free 30-day trial you build a menu board with the price table and see how it looks in your business. How to make that design readable and appealing is explained in the tips for a digital menu board. More about the software itself is on the page about digital menu boards.
Frequently asked questions
Is a digital menu board more expensive than a chalkboard?
In upfront and monthly costs, yes: you need a screen, an Android player and a subscription. On the other hand, you change prices and products without rewriting or reprinting anything.
How quickly does a price change appear on a digital menu board?
With Narrow.TV you change products and prices in the online dashboard. The player checks for new content every 60 seconds, so the change is on screen within about a minute.
What are the disadvantages of a digital menu board?
You need power and internet to push changes through, there are ongoing subscription costs, and a screen can reflect in bright light. Designing a good menu also takes time the first time round.
Can I combine a chalkboard with a digital menu board?
Yes. Many businesses keep a chalkboard for daily specials or atmosphere and use a digital menu board for the fixed range with prices, photos and video.