Prepare portrait signage images for a mounted screen

Mounting and image rotation do different jobs

Physical mounting changes where the screen's edges sit. It does not, by itself, change how the software places pixels. A display mounted with its long edge vertical can still show a landscape desktop or sideways artwork.

The displayed canvas is the rectangle into which the player draws content. Its width and height depend on the supported display and playback configuration. An image file has its own pixel dimensions and orientation, which may not match that canvas.

Keep these three questions separate:

• Mounting: Which physical edge will be at the top after installation?
• Playback: Which way does the supported playback configuration draw the picture?
• Artwork: What pixel dimensions and orientation does the exported file contain?

Do not assume that a rotation setting changes every part of a playback system in the same way. Confirm the supported portrait configuration before committing to a mounting direction or producing a full set of assets. The digital signage display specification guide explains the broader hardware details; this article focuses on the image that fills the screen.

Portrait dimensions come from the displayed canvas

Resolution is normally written as width by height. A 1920 × 1080 landscape canvas becomes 1080 × 1920 when its axes are exchanged for portrait display. The pixel count stays the same, but the shape changes from 16:9 to 9:16.

The 15.6-inch display has a published resolution of 1920 × 1080. If its supported playback configuration presents that full resolution as a portrait canvas, the corresponding upright artwork is 1080 pixels wide and 1920 pixels high. That dimension swap is a content calculation, not a claim about an automatic rotation feature.

The 10.1-inch display has a published resolution of 1280 × 800. Its corresponding full-resolution portrait canvas would be 800 × 1280, with a 10:16 shape. A 1080 × 1920 layout is therefore not the same shape, even though both are portrait.

Use the confirmed displayed canvas as your export target. Do not use the enclosure dimensions, panel cut-out dimensions or an approximate portrait template as substitutes for pixel dimensions.

Rotating artwork is not the same as redesigning it

A quarter-turn rotates every part of an image, including its text. It does not turn a wide menu into a readable tall menu. For an upright portrait sign, the words must remain upright when viewed in the final installed position.

A landscape composition usually needs a new layout. Move the heading, shorten lines and stack the content to suit the taller rectangle. Keep the original photographs and text as editable elements until that work is finished.

Distinguish these editing operations:

• Rotate: Turns the existing picture and its contents.
• Resize: Changes pixel dimensions. Resizing without preserving proportions stretches the picture.
• Crop: Removes part of the picture to match a different shape.
• Recompose: Moves and resizes individual elements within a new layout.

For a menu or notice, recomposing is usually better than rotating a finished landscape image. For a photograph, cropping may be enough if the important subject remains inside the new frame.

Avoid building sideways text into the file to compensate for an unconfirmed playback setting. That can create a second rotation problem when the playback configuration changes. Only prepare a sideways file when the documented playback workflow specifically requires one.

Decide what happens at the edges

When an image and its canvas have different shapes, filling the screen requires a compromise. Preserving the whole image can leave unused bands. Filling the canvas while preserving proportions removes content at the edges. Stretching fills the rectangle but distorts the picture.

Consider a 1080 × 1920 image placed on an 800 × 1280 canvas. The image is proportionally narrower than the canvas. To preserve the full image, it needs unused space at the sides. To fill the canvas, some content must be cropped from the top and bottom.

Choose the crop in the artwork rather than leaving an important heading near an uncertain playback boundary. Exporting at the confirmed canvas dimensions makes the intended composition explicit, although the playback configuration still needs checking for any additional scaling or cropping.

Keep essential text comfortably inside the layout. Extend decorative backgrounds to the edges, but keep headings, logos and other critical details away from them. The screen size and viewing distance guide covers readable text sizing; rotating a layout does not make small text easier to read.

Make one image that reveals orientation mistakes

Use a temporary diagnostic image before loading finished content. A photograph can look plausible after rotation or cropping, so it is a poor orientation reference on its own.

Build the diagnostic image at the intended export dimensions with:

• A large word “TOP” and an arrow pointing toward the intended upper edge.
• A different label in each corner.
• A thin border just inside all four edges.
• A circle near the centre.
• The intended width and height written in the image.

The top marker reveals sideways or upside-down output. Corner labels make the rotation direction clear. The border exposes missing edges, while the circle makes unequal horizontal and vertical scaling easier to spot.

Check this image in the final physical orientation. If it appears wrong, resolve the mounting direction, playback configuration and file orientation separately. Do not repeatedly rotate the entire playlist without identifying which of those three is responsible.

Preview the exported file rather than the editor canvas

The editable document is not the final asset. Open the exported file and inspect its actual pixel dimensions. Confirm that its text is upright and that its crop matches the intended composition.

Some image formats can carry an orientation instruction in metadata. Software can interpret that instruction differently. Prefer an export in which the pixel arrangement itself has the intended orientation, rather than relying only on a rotation flag. Reopen the result to check it.

Use the signage content checker to inspect the exported resolution and shape, then preview the show on a mock screen. Nothing is uploaded. Look for an unexpected landscape shape, clipped headings or a crop that differs from the design.

A mock-screen preview helps inspect the files; it does not establish how a mounted display is configured. Keep that file check separate from the final check on the installed screen. For file preparation beyond orientation and cropping, use the image and video preparation guide.

Keep one orientation convention for the playlist

Once the diagnostic image is correct, use the same canvas dimensions and upright direction for the finished assets. Give exports names that distinguish portrait versions from landscape originals, so a later update does not introduce the wrong layout.

Inspect the complete playlist, not just its opening image. Mixed image shapes can produce changing borders or crops even when every file appears upright. Reframe any mismatched assets deliberately instead of assuming the player will make the same visual choice for each one.

Check the installed result from the intended viewing position. Confirm that text is upright, the important content is visible and the layout remains readable. Keep the diagnostic image with the editable artwork so that future changes can be checked against the same reference.

Questions