Jomablue Kiosk

Introduction

This documentation is published for partners and Kiosk users of Jomablue. Jomablue Kiosk offers a flexible, self-serve, BYO-hardware Kiosk style solution that can be used for running events of 50 - 50,000 people.

The design of Jomablue kiosk is to deliver premium check-in experiences for attendees, as well as being supportive of event teams in their configuration and execution using Jomablue software on a range of hardware.

When navigating this documentation - please note that the headings on the right hand side contain content (as well as the sub pages). 

Installation

Supported Hardware

• PC - Intel NUC or Similar
  • Intel Core i5 7th-gen or better
  • Windows 10 or Windows 11
• Printer - Epson TM-C3500 Ver2
• Scanner - any USB barcode scanner that supports USB HID mode, and supports scanning QR codes
• Windows 10

Navigate to https://kiosk.jomablue.com/install- this is where you will obtain the files necessary to install the Kiosk apps. In most cases you will install both.

Follow the prompts of both Installs:

Installing prompt for Printer Services 

Installing Prompt for Kiosk

The next steps are as following: 

1.  Run the Jomablue - Kiosk app. Press on Settings (Cog) The app will generate a serial number - save it. 
2.  Within the portal navigate to Kiosks -> Add Kiosk 
   
   1. Enter the serial number generated by the Printer - Services app
   2. Add a Internal Name (such as "Kiosk 5") and complete the rest of the options to add the kiosk
3. Within the Jomablue - Kiosk app, enter the following to complete the setup:
   1. Instance = which Jomablue instance you are connecting to
   2. Primary Domain = Select the primary domain (usually jomablue.com)
   3. Username = provided to you by Jomablue when granting access to use Kiosks
   4. Password = provided to you by Jomablue when granting access to use Kiosks
4. Open the Jomablue - Printer Services App and you will be required to enter the serial number you saved earlier, the instance and primary domain, and the username and password. 

We recognise these steps take a while per Kiosk, but it only needs to happen once at the start of your Jomablue subscription. Once each Kiosk is set up, moving them between events in your instance and reconfiguring them can be done with a few clicks in the portal.

Jomablue – Services app with all the details populated

More information about Running the application

The typical kiosk (with a windows device, printer, qr scanner etc) built in would generally run two Jomablue apps in the Windows device:

• Jomablue Print Services - an app that runs in the background and manages the backend printing services and printer health
• Jomablue Kiosk - the interface an attendee will use and integrates 2D scanners, Facial Recognition etc. 

Running the applications is like running any other application in Windows - they can be located in the Start menu (by pressing the Start button then typing the name of the application), or they can alternatively be pinned to the taskbar for ease of access (recommended).

Finding the Jomablue apps in the start menu

Why is there two Applications to run?

There is two applications to give increased flexibility. For example, you may have a setup where the touchscreen of the kiosk is setup separately to where the print job actually happens (a deconstructed Kiosk) - or you may choose to run the Kiosk Services on a laptop at a info desk to facilitate printing but its not actually a Kiosk. Having two separate apps means you can setup complex Event Check In requirements.

In most cases, where a Kiosk is a completely self contained unit - both apps will need to be running on a single machine.

Example of why there are two apps and the flexibility in it

Epson TM-C3500 Ver2 Setup

Configuration of Printers in Windows

After installing the appropriate printer drivers, navigate to the Control Panel, select Devices and Printers, and then locate the Epson printer (seen selected below): 

Then, to configure the printer for use with a specific media type, settings must be set correctly in 3 places:

Printing Preferences

Right-click on the printer in the Devices and Printers menu, and select Printing Preferences - then ensure that the "Media Name" drop-down has the correct media type selected:

Printer Properties

Right-click on the printer in the Devices and Printers view, and select Printer Properties - then click on the Advanced tab, then click Printing Defaults:

From here, the view that appears will look identical to the Printing Preferences step - but it's important to ensure that both views have the correct media type selected (note that they have to be configured separately):

Printer paper detection settings

Finally, from the Printing Preferences or Printing Defaults views, click on the Printer Utilities tab and then click on the Printer Setting Utility icon to launch the printer configuration app:

Here, you need to ensure that the Media Detection Settings are correct (for Butterfly IDL media this should be set to "Die-cut label (Gap)", and for A6 card media it should be set to "Continuous Paper (Blackmark)" ):

Then press Apply Settings to save your changes.

Barcode Scanner Setup

The following is for a specific barcode scanner, but it's provided here as a guide of what to look for in other compatible Barcode scanners. 

Configuration of the USB Barcode Scanner

This is barcode scanner specific, please refer to manufacturer manufacture manuals. When configuring a USB Barcode Scanner for use with Kiosk, plug it in to the Kiosk computer, and then enable USB HID mode via one of two methods:

Scan the programming barcode

Set the Barcode Scanner into USB HID mode by scanning the appropriate barcode in the scanner's user manual (see user manual for more information).
First, scan the USB HID code to put the scanner into USB HID mode:

Then, scan the screen optimisation code - to optimise the scanner for scanning mobile phone screen:

Portal Configuration

Kiosks have configuration templates within Jomablue. This template allows the same 'configuration' to easily be applied to multiple Kiosks allowing for flexibility and ease of deployment. The configuration template contains options for text labels, background images and other customisations that might be useful to a specific event. 

Creating a Configuration Template

To create a Configuration Template in the portal, navigate to Advanced > Kiosks and click the Add New Template button:

In the next view, give your template a name - and then edit the base configuration template if desired:

Finally, click Save to save your work.

Sample Configuration Template

This is an example configuration template. A configuration template can be applied to one or many kiosks. 

When you create a new template in the portal, it will contain this sample template:

[
    {
        "name": "English",
        "pages": {
            "error": {
                "message": "A problem occurred, please see the information desk",
                "visible_seconds": 4
            },
            "start": {
                "buttons": {
                    "scan": {
                        "text": "Scan your e-Ticket",
                        "width": 300
                    },
                    "register_by_qr": {
                        "text": "Register now",
                        "width": 300
                    },
                    "search_by_name": {
                        "text": "Search by name",
                        "width": 300
                    }
                },
                "scan_prompt": {
                    "image": "https://res.cloudinary.com/acara/image/upload/v1669165041/LEP/qkbs2fqd262lkkik249k.gif",
                    "width": 1280,
                    "visible_seconds": 6.6,
                    "vertical_alignment": "Center",
                    "horizontal_alignment": "Center"
                }
            },
            "closed": {
                "message": "This kiosk is currently closed"
            },
            "printing": {
                "message": "Your badge is printing",
                "visible_seconds": 4
            },
            "not_found": {
                "message": "We couldn't find your registration",
                "visible_seconds": 4
            },
            "retrieving": {
                "message": "Finding your registration"
            },
            "register_by_qr": {
                "message": "Please only use this if you haven't already registered",
                "qr_size": 300,
                "instructions": "Scan with your device to register",
                "register_url": "",
                "visible_seconds": 12
            },
            "search_by_name": {
                "buttons": {
                    "confirm": {
                        "text": "Confirm",
                        "color": "#00a300",
                        "text_color": "#ffffff"
                    }
                },
                "confirm_message": "Before proceeding, please ensure this is you. Please don't print badges for other people, it's against our policy.",
                "badge_text_color": "#000000",
                "no_results_message": "No results found - see information desk",
                "search_placeholder": "Search by name, company, or email...",
                "badge_background_image": "https://res.cloudinary.com/acara/image/upload/v1664155956/LEP/qnmkgj8krmnlghddfdwn.png",
                "inactivity_reset_seconds": 15
            },
            "printed_already": {
                "message": "Your badge has already been printed, please see the information desk",
                "visible_seconds": 4
            },
            "printing_complete": {
                "message": "Please collect your badge and head into the Exhibition",
                "visible_seconds": 4
            }
        },
        "window": {
            "text_color": "#ffffff",
            "background_color": "#007fc4",
            "background_image": "https://res.cloudinary.com/acara/image/upload/v1666653720/LEP/m0k68k9xsdhrecpwrc28"
        },
        "language": "en",
        "search_by_name": false
    }
]

Badge Layout

Badge layouts are configured via the portal, and have all the same smarts of layout prioritisation that Jomablue Smart Badges have. This means layouts can be chosen based on the categories of people or other data segments within your event. 

Example of Smart layout choosing process

Badge Layouts

You can design layouts for any paper size that the printer supports. Within the portal interface there are some Print Preview, pre defined options, but you can also enter custom sizes.

Custom Fonts on Kiosk Badges

Each text field on the layout has independently customisable font options:

• Size: The font size. Depending on the selected overflow method, fields may print at a smaller size to fit the text within the bounding box.
• Style: Choose between Regular or Bold font.
• Family: Select the font family. The built-in options are Corbel, Open Sans, and Helvetica (with Corbel set as default). The option [Custom] lets you select any font added at the organisation level.
• Case: Choose the case of the font: Default, Sentence Case, or Upper Case.
• Overflow: The method used when the text in a field cannot fit within its designated area. Resize (reduces text size to fit within a single line) or Wrap (keeps the text size constant while allowing the text to flow onto new lines).
• Invert: When enabled, the selected element is printed in an inverted style (for example, white text on a black background).

Add a Custom Font

A Custom Font must first be added via Organisation Settings > Fonts:

1. Navigate to Organisation Settings
2. Select the Fonts tab
3. Click New Font
4. Enter a Font Name and Font Family Fallback
5. Choose between Custom Font CSS or Custom Font File, then provide the corresponding CSS or Font Face settings
6. Click Save

Once added, the font becomes available for any badge layout across your organisation, including both Kiosk and Smart Badge.

Background Designs

Background designs should be designed at 360dpi if using the Epson TM-C3500 printer. 

Example Media: Butterfly IDL

Media size: 103mm x 276mm

Design background image: 1460px x 3912px (103mm x 276mm @ 360dpi) - maximum quality JPG or PNG

Halfway down the height, is the fold in the paper, so the image needs to rotated. See below example. 

Additionally, the following safe/bleed zones should be incorporated into the design:

• 18mm (255px) at the top and bottom edge
• 4mm (57px) at the left and right edge
• 4mm (57px) horizontally in the middle of the badge - where the fold will be

The results is this when printed, it is then folded on itself to create a double sided lanyard.

Example Media: A6 Card

Media size: 105mm x 148mm

Background image: 1488px x 2098px (105mm x 148mm @ 360dpi) - maximum quality JPG or PNG

The following bleed zones should be incorporated into the design:

• 2mm (23px) on all edges

Previewing Badge Layouts

When creating and viewing a Badge Layout, by default, the A6 Card Media preview will be selected. If the Badge Layout (and background image) are intended for Butterfly IDL Media, then it may look funny, such as in this example:

In this case, changing the preview size to Butterfly IDL Media size will cause it to display correctly:

Remotely Closing a Kiosk

From anywhere you can remotely close a kiosk within the Jomablue portal. This may be to prevent further use to pack up the kiosk or it can be done if you know the kiosk needs attention (such as restocking) and you want to clear the queue in front of the kiosk. 

You can do this in a single toggle from within the portal -> Kiosks. 

Toggling that on or off, removes the customisable Closed message. 

Portal UI – Showing closed Toggle

Default (and customisable) messaging on the Kiosk

Attendee Experience

Overview

There are three configurable options for the kiosk. All of which (excluding e-Ticket scanning) can be turned on/off per configuration template. 

e-Ticket Scanning

At any time a person can scan their e-Ticket by presenting it to the scanner - they are not required to interact with the touchscreen or press the button to do so. But if they do press the 'Scan your e-Ticket' button, they will be instructed to scan their eTicket. 

The instruction is in the form of an animation. The animation is customisable (or an image can be used in its place). 

As they present their e-Ticket QR code to the Kiosk scanner, and it will automatically read the QR code and print their badge. 

Search by name

If enabled via the Kiosk Configuration, attendees can search for themselves (rather than checking in via scanning their e-Ticket), by tapping on the "Search by name" button. Its worth noting that this should only be enabled if the privacy implications are understood and accepted - that people can search for an other people or 'see who is attending'. 

Example Searching

Confirmation step after searching for a name:

Register Now

Pressing the register now button displays a QR code (that is customisable) where users can scan with their own device to complete registration. The QR code is generated from a link provided in the kiosk configuration.

The concept here is that it removes the person from the kiosk to complete their registration, freeing up the kiosk for others while they complete their registration on their device. Once completed, they can return to the kiosk to print their badge.

Search FAQ

What if an attendee searches for their name and there are lots of results?

The maximum number of results the search can display is 10 - if more results are available, then a customisable message will appear below them, that (by default) will prompt the user to refine their search, or search by email address. 

What if an attendee searches for their name and there are no results?

If no results appear for an attendee, then no results will appear in the search view, and the user will need to refine their search.

A customisable message will appear in the search results area, that (by default) will prompt the user to refine their search, or go and see the information counter. 

What if an attendee is cancelled, and they search for their name?

A cancelled attendee will not show up in the search results.

What if an attendee has already printed their badge, and they search for their name?

An attendee whose badge has already been printed will still show up in the search results - but if they attempt to print their badge again, a customisable message will appear, which (by default) will prompt them to visit the information counter.

Admin Experience

Jomablue Kiosk is designed to be managed as much as possible from the portal and not from the kiosk themselves. Having this centralised management ensures a smoother onsite experience.

From an admin experience, what you will be able to: 

1. Print Badges from a person record to any healthy Kiosk
2. Monitor the health of Kiosks (see Sub Page)
   

Printing People Records without the need to setup printers/drivers

Jomablue providing low ink warnings across all your Kiosks

Printer Health Monitoring

Overview

The Jomablue Print Services application includes built-in printer status reporting functionality for Printers that support it, including showing statuses in the Jomablue Print Services application, and the Printer Monitor in the portal.

For the Epson TMC3500 Version 2 - The Printer Statuses that are reported on include:

• Paper Out (i.e. the printer is out of paper)
• Paper Jam (the printer paper is jammed)
• Ink Low (an ink cartridge is low - note that this does not block printing)
• Ink Out (an ink cartridge is empty)
• Cover Open (the main cover is open)
• Ink Cover Open (the ink cover is open)
• Power Out / Connection Loss (connection has been lost with the printer, due to either a printer power loss or a printer connection loss)
  

In-App reporting

When an issue is detected, it is reported in the application in the printer status panel, for example this is an error message displayed when an ink cartridge is empty:

Portal reporting

When an issue is detected, it is also reported in the portal, in the same way that a Smart Badge printer error is reported:

A red dot will appear in the top bar of the portal

Ink Low reporting

When an ink cartridge is low (but not empty), there is a special case - as this is a non-blocking error (i.e. the printer can still keep printing, but will need attention soon).

In the top bar of the portal, an icon will appear next to the printer monitor icon:

Additionally, an icon and tooltip will appear in the printer monitor:

Creative Assets

All images are to be hosted on a publicly accessible URL, that URL can be used on within a Kiosk Configuration Template.

Kiosk Background Image

The Kiosk background image needs to be the following resolution (assuming a landscape aspect):

For other screen aspect ratios (including portrait orientation), use the resolution of the display for the background image.

The image should be suitable as a background image; ideally, mainly comprised of solid colours/gradients, and content should not be in the middle of the image - as that is where the icons appear.

An example is below - note that the "Scan your e-Ticket" and "Search by name" icons are not part of the background image:

e-Ticket scan image (or gif animation)

1080px x 1080px PNG or GIF (if animated). Other sizes are supported depending on the screen side.

This is the image that is displayed when a person taps the "Scan your e-Ticket" button. Its purpose is to instruct them where and how to scan their eTicket - there is no additional functionality when the "Scan your e-Ticket" button is pressed.

The image is displayed for a define number of seconds before dismissing.

Example thats included in the example Kiosk Configuration is here: https://res.cloudinary.com/acara/image/upload/v1669165041/LEP/qkbs2fqd262lkkik249k.gif


Badge Background Image

670px x 420px approx. This is displayed behind the persons name on the confirmation screen when using the "Search by Name" functionality.

Its designed to simulate a generic badge (or could be a event branded badge).

Note the following is hard to see, as its designed to be placed on a dark background.

FAQ

How do you access the UI settings?

Tap the top right of the screen 5 times, followed by pressing the cog that appears. Then enter the passcode 2658

What is the passcode to unlock the UI settings?

2658

What connectivity is needed for the Kiosks?

Jomablue Kiosk software constantly polls for jobs and provides heartbeats to Jomablue servers. Therefore a reliable connection is required and ethernet is recommended where possible. If using wifi, ensure only 5gHz is used (2.4gHz too unreliable in high density environments).

How are Kiosks Configured? 

Initially configured on the Kiosk in the Jomablue Kiosk software. After that, the configuration and management is done in the Jomablue Portal, via Kiosk Configuration Template

How long does using the Kiosk Take if Scanning an eTicket

Approx 3 seconds of processing, 8 seconds of badge printing + some time for the person to take the badge and attach the lanyard. Estimated is up to 30 seconds each person.  

How fast does a badge print? 

The Epson TM-C3500 Ver 2 prints a full colour badge prints in about 8 seconds. The design of a badge doesn't change the print time. After printing (depending on the paper stock used) it might need to be peeled before attaching a lanyard.

Can an Agenda be added to the rear of a badge? 

If using the Butterfly IDL paper, it can be printed on the badge. The agenda must form part of the badge background image and be reversed in the source image. Due to the quality of the print, some small text may be hard to read 

Does the Printer Require Ink? 

Yes, ink is inserted in cartridges on the right hand side of the printer. There is also a maintenance kit that is installed on the left of the printer. Heavy use of a single colour, eg pink, would deplete the magenta ink cartridge sooner than others. We don't yet understand the life of a single ink cartridge 

Can you print to a kiosk from a Person record in Jomablue? 

Yes if the kiosk is online, active and healthy. This is done from the "Print" menu in the person record. 

Why are there two apps that run? 

One is responsible for managing the Kiosk interface and the other is responsible for managing the printer and print jobs. This is to allow running of one or othe other to have flexible scenarios (eg: You can run Jomablue Kiosk services on a windows machine at the info counter so you can print badges without the need for an entire kiosk 

How does Full screen mode work? 

There are two methods of entering fullscreen, one is using a special guided access user. This is best used when the kiosk might not be within reach of trusted teams and in a public place. It provides a secure login to only acces the app and nothing else on the kiosk. The other way is to toggle full screen from within the configuration menu on the Kiosk UI App 

Where can error logs be viewed? 

All logs are streamed to AWS Cloudwatch an can be accessed by Jomablue product team. 

After a paper jam or changing ink - how long does the printer take to be available again? 

Anywhere up to 3 mins. During this time it may go through 'Head Maintenance' 

Troubleshooting Guide

Printer Connection Issues 

Unable to Test Connection in the Printer Services application

If the Test Connection button is unavailable, it means a compatible printer has not been detected. Ensure that the printer is powered on and connected, then retry. If the issue persists, then a compatible printer has not been detected; follow the steps in the section below.

Compatible printer not detected

If the Printer Services application cannot detect the printer, take the following steps to ensure the printer is detected correctly:

• Uninstall the printer from the machine:
  • Navigate to the Device Manager in windows
  • Locate the printer, right click on it, then select Uninstall
• Reboot the machine
• Plug the printer back in

If this does not resolve the issue, check that the printer drivers have been installed, and check with another printer to ensure that it's not a hardware issue.

"Test Connection" error messages:

If, while running the "Test Connection" utility in the Kiosk or Printer Services application, you see an error message, check the following list to determine how to resolve the issues:\

This can be caused by network issues, or an incorrect kiosk configuration.

Check that:

• The machine has a stable internet connection
• The instance name is correct
• The primary domain is correct (ensure that .com has been selected in the domain dropdown)
  

Check that:

• The machine has a stable internet connection
• The machine is not configured so that Kiosk traffic is directed through any proxy tunnels
  

This is typically caused by a kiosk serial number being incorrectly entered into the portal.

Check that:

• The kiosk serial number has been correctly entered into the portal

Note that to resolve this, a new Kiosk entry in the portal needs to be created - as existing Kiosk serials cannot be edited once saved.

This is caused by the username or password being incorrectly entered into the Kiosk or Printer Services application.

To resolve, double check and re-enter the username and password.