Paper Menu vs. Digital Menu with iPad POS2 min read

Is the paper menu really that attractive? Are you dazzled and intrigued when you are seated and offered a paper menu at any particular restaurant on any given day? Does the paper menu really entice you with text descriptions that force you to imagine what a menu item may look like when delivered to your table? Are the descriptions often too short and leave far too many things to the imagination?

Chances are fair that we’ve all encountered this at various restaurants from time to time. And while those glossy menus with pictures are seemingly tacky, there is a nice medium and compromise that can be reached: the digital menu. Today we shall compare and contrast why a digital menu is the new answer to the obsolete paper menu.

Paper Menu vs. Digital Menu with iPad POS

1. There are no pictures on a paper menu, forcing guests to imagine what menu items may look like from text descriptions that are often too short. With a digital menu, high-resolution and gorgeous imagery accompanies each menu item.
2. Paper menus are static, and they must be altered and reprinted and designed each time that menu items are changed or updated. By contrast, with a digital menu it is updatable by merely making simple changes to the back-end software that powers the menus.
3. Paper menus are costly to print and design and can run hundreds or thousands each year for restaurants. Digital menus can be designed and updated as desired with no extra costs incurred.
4. Paper menus need to be rotated throughout the day for different dining hours (lunch, dinner, happy hour, etc.). With digital menus, you just push a button and your new menu is instantly swapped.
5. You can’t tender payment from a paper menu. With a digital menu with iPad POS, you can securely tender payment from the table.
6. You can’t press a button on the paper menu to request a waiter; you can with its digital counterpart.
7. Paper menus rarely reflect pairing options for wine and beer, nor do they feature the entire wine or beer list; digital menus do.
8. Paper menus don’t offer streaming news feeds, imbedded social media functions, customer feedback submission, and custom ordering specification submission fields; digital menus certainly do.

Open offers an industry leading digital menu solution that includes POS for one low monthly rate. Learn more about our all-in-one solution with iPad POS, and how it could take your restaurant to the next level with our risk-free 90 day buyback guarantee.