Palmer Digital Group Wins Additional Digital Menu Board Business

Palmer Digital Group has won additional digital menu board business with iconic ice cream shop Rainbow Cone, a Chicagoland institution since 1926.

Following last spring's announcement that Palmer Digital Group (PDG) would customise a canopy menu board structure with Rainbow Cone’s enduring pink polka dots, PDG’s ability to represent the brand through its custom colour techniques has extended the outdoor digital menu board project to several new locations in Illinois and Florida.

Palmer Digital Group is now preparing an installation for a new Rainbow Cone in Flossmoor, Illinois that will open next month, with additional Illinois and several Florida installations scheduled for late 2024. Each Rainbow Cone outdoor digital menu board will be painted with the brand’s pink colours, recognisable to several generations of customers in the Chicago area. Palmer Digital Group will install its QSRDMB246 double digital menu boards, featuring two 46-inch display screens to present dynamic menu board content and IP56-rated structures to protect integrated technologies from water, dirt and other intrusions.

"Rainbow Cone has used a variety of pink colours over the years to represent their brand," said Chuck Lewis, Vice President, Palmer Digital Group. “The PDG team performed a colour study, which began by visiting several stores to match the most common pink to a Pantone colour. We found slight variations in pinks between some stores, and we established an ideal medium to use for all upcoming menu board designs. We then had powder matched to this colour, which we used to paint their drive thru digital menu boards."

Identifying the Pantone colour is critical to perfect colour matching. The Pantone Matching System standardises more than 1100 colours and assigns a number and name to each one, which helps manufacturers like PDG that offer custom colours in their product designs match the customer’s exact specification. Once PDG matches the existing store colours to a Pantone colour, the engineering team converts to an RAL colour. RAL colours are used by companies like PDG to define standard and match colours for powder, which PDG ultimately uses as its coatings for outdoor digital drive thru systems.

Lewis added that PDG uses a highly durable polyester powder for its coatings, extending the longevity of the finish. "It's a more expensive powder and therefore is not often used for menu boards, but using this powder ensures a lifespan of at least 10 years with no rust buildup."

PDG has also installed outdoor digital menu boards for Rainbow Cone at several dual-concept Bouna/Rainbow Cone locations, including the most recent opening in Valparaiso, Illinois. Bouna (Bouna Beef) is a fast-casual chain specialising in Chicago flavours, including its signature Italian beef sandwich.

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