Gidday. I’m new here, first post, and it’s going to be a long one
I’m considering purchasing a small, portable projector for client meetings and wonder if anyone has personal experience with something like this - either good or bad. I haven’t done much online research yet, as I’d place way more value on feedback from fellow Creatives working in the real world!
The scenario: I have a couple of clients where I sometimes take in a laptop to run through various artwork refinements with them at their offices. Doing it in person is more effective than trying to screen share by remote and it often involves other aspects that are best done in a face-to-face meeting. As an example - one of the clients’ requirements are Illustrator maps showing recreational-user (Mountain bikers and walkers) trails in a forest. There are over 90 trails which are constantly changing as sections of the forest are harvested for timber and tracks are retired, then later on reinstated in different manners. There are also political considerations (aren’t there always!) requiring multiple variations of the trails to be shown for each project.
Working through artwork like this on screen with one person is fine. Recently though, the projects are getting bigger and even more complex and there are sometimes two or three people needing to see the artwork on screen.
Although the bigger corporate clients have conference rooms with media gear I could hook up to - it would be way more attractive to those clients if I could be self-sufficient - rock up with laptop and projector, beam a mirror of the laptop screen onto a wall in a dark room, and be fast and responsive with working through the job with them - without them needing to book conference rooms in advance.
I might be dreaming - the tech might not exist yet. Hope I’ve given enough backstory to make sense - let me know if any other info would help. Thanks!
We’ve done that and I’ve personally done it on freelance jobs. You’re right, it’s best to walk into a situation where there’s a good monitor hookup, but one never knows how it will work until getting there. Even when they assure you everything is in place, there’s always that weird missing dongle or some network glitch that has everybody scrambling and making a mess of things.
Digital projectors have gotten small and inexpensive enough, that it’s a totally doable thing to take one along just in case. Being able to project it on something suitable once you get there is another question, though.
Cool, thanks for that feedback Just-B.
Great to know I’m not wishing for something completely impractical then, if you’ve actually done it!
I understand what you mean about being able to project onto something suitable (light coloured, and an uninterrupted surface). I’m also aware a bright sunlit room won’t help. The two clients I’m dealing with currently both have boardrooms in windowless interior spaces, so that helps.
Do you recall any specifics about the projector you have used previously? Brand? Model? AC powered or USB? Lumens and was it bright enough? Any crumb of info will be most welcome if you have it
We have several small projectors at work, but they’re four or five years old. Newer ones are smaller, better and cheaper.
For my personal use, I’m using a small, portable Artograph Inspire projector, which I bought because I can use it as an illustration enlargement projector for hand-drawn work (which is actually what it’s made for). But it’s also perfect as a portable presentation projector because it’s small and so bright. All these features and its dual purpose functionality add up to a higher price, though. Most designers wouldn’t need this particular projector, but there are plenty of others to choose from that are smaller and cheaper, but I don’t have experience with them.
