The life of an AV professional is busy, tiring, and sometimes frustrating. And most people who work in AV love it. That’s the gist of what you can learn by following the Twitter and LinkedIn hashtag #AVisLife.
AV pros (or, as they call themselves on Twitter, #AVTweeps) are always looking for ways to make the best use of their available time. One way to do that is by using as many mobile and online tools as possible.
Draper offers several handy online tools to make AV life easier:
Checking inventory.
There are two ways to view Draper’s inventory levels online, any time of day.
The simplest way is to click the “AV Inventory Levels” link in the tools section of the Pro Portal. You can type your part number into the search box, or, if you aren’t sure of the part number, you can scroll down the list, which is in part number order. This list is updated every day prior to 8:00 am with the latest inventory levels for stock Draper products.
To download a spreadsheet of the list, paste the following link into your browser (replacing the #### symbols with your Draper account number): .
Getting freight quotes and tracking orders.
Sometimes you need a freight quote fast, or after hours. The Draper Pro Portal includes the perfect tool to make that happen. The online freight quoting app lets you view and select freight rates to ship part-numbered AV products that are packed as one item per crate. Just type in the shipping destination and the products you want to have shipped, and the app does the rest. You must be a registered Pro Portal user.
You can also find out where your order is in our system whenever you want with our order status and tracking tool. To track the status of a sales order or purchase order, enter the order number into the provided blank, click “Sales Order #” or “PO Order #,” and click on the “search” button. Information—including tentative ship date, date shipped, carrier, and status—will display, as will a tracking number if one is available. This tool is also available in the Pro Portal.
Paying bills.
There are a couple of ways you can make online payments to us with your credit card:
The easiest way is to go to draperinc.com/pay, where you can pay a single sales order or invoice. Draper does not keep credit card information, so while this is the quickest, most convenient way to submit your payment, the only copy of the receipt will be the one we email to you upon payment processing.
You can also pay for multiple orders at once or make partial payments through the Pro Portal. We won’t keep your credit card information, but you can view your invoices and see instant receipts for payment.
To make payments through the Pro Portal, you must be registered for a Pro Portal account and be approved by our accounting department. Once that approval has been processed, you will see a link to pay invoices up to $400,000 per credit card. Click here to go to the Pro Portal.
Planning projection.
Doing projection right means taking into consideration onsite conditions. Light levels, room shape and size, and projector are just some of the variables to consider when focusing in on the right screen solution.
Draper’s Projection Planner 2.0 uses the latest InfoComm standards and best practices to help you quickly identify the best projection viewing surfaces for your specific application.
Calculations using the AVIXA Projected Image System Contrast Ratio (PISCR) Standard help balance projector brightness, room lighting, and screen surface for a clear image with good contrast. Calculations using the AVIXA Display Image Size for 2D Content in Audiovisual Systems (DISCAS) Standard define the optimum screen size for the application.
Take a look.
Many AV companies offer professional window shade installation and integration. While the integration of controls come naturally to AV pros, making the correct fabric choice may not be as simple. Draper offers a couple of ways to help.
We offer a huge number of shade fabrics from which to choose. The online fabric selector allows you to filter by color, openness factor, certifications, and fabric composition.
But you still want to know what it looks like in a window. The view-through simulator lets you do just that. Select either a commercial or residential setting, the desired openness factor, and color. You can change the settings to quickly compare how different choices effect the view-through of the shades.
All of these tools are available in the Draper Pro Portal. Click here for access.
