What is a Monitor Arm?
A monitor arm, or monitor riser, supports and elevates a computer screen, laptop or tablet. The main benefits of monitor arms are that they typically offer better functionality than the basic stands supplied with monitors.
How? By enabling precise positioning, portrait and landscape rotation, forward and backward tilt and a variable viewing distance. Usually attached to the back of your desk, a monitor arm helps correct the balance between you, the technology you use and your working environment. And this ultimately enhances your wellness and productivity.
WHAT TYPE OF MONITOR ARM IS BEST FOR YOU?
Thinking about what you need to use your monitor arm for, and what you’ll attach it to will help you choose the right one.
Dynamic monitor arms
For easy height adjustability, dynamic monitor arms offer fluid movement at the touch of a finger. They also allow precise screen positioning, rotation, tilt and a variable distance. Perfect for both single and dual screen use, dynamic monitor arms are also the ideal ergonomic solution for mounting laptops and tablets to keep touchscreens comfortably in reach.
Post mounted monitor arms
Post mounted monitor arms offer scalability and are ideal for environments with two or more screens, like trading floors and control rooms. Because they’re manually height adjusted, they’re best for users who don’t need to move screens up and down frequently, but who do need rotate and tilt options as well as a variable viewing distance.
HOW TO ATTACH A MONITOR ARM
Many clamps are available for dual monitor arms as well as single monitor arms and are ‘tool-less’, making it quick and easy to move them from one desk to another.
If you’re attaching a monitor arm to a desk, there are two main types of clamp to use:
Split mount clamps
Split mount clamps detach into two parts, making them easier to slide down the back of a desk and reconnect. They’re more versatile, can accommodate desks surfaces up to 65mm thick, and can often be used when top mount clamps can’t.
Top mount clamps
Top mount clamps, also called C-clamps, are installed from above the desk. They’re usually more compact and are perfect for desks between 12-25mm thick.
Through-desk mount
A through-desk mount sits over a cut out on your desk. While they elegantly minimise the footprint of the monitor arm, you need to be committed to the location of your desk mount: if you want to move it, then you have to cut out another hole.
Slatwall/rail mount
Privacy screens and partitions are increasingly common in open plan offices. Many of them incorporate slatwalls or utility rails, which provide the perfect setting to install monitor arms that elevate screens off desk surfaces.
What is VESA?
VESA is an interface standard that refers to the distance between the mounting holes in the back of the screen (horizontal x vertical). The most common VESA sizes for monitors are 100 x 100mm and 75 x 75mm. Most out-of-the-box Apple Mac displays aren’t VESA compliant and need a separate adapter. All Colebrook Bosson Saunders monitor arms are VESA compatible and offer intuitive installation.
Why monitor arms are essential
Ergonomics
If we can’t adjust our monitor, we adjust our own posture. We hunch, crane our necks and strain our eyes so that we can see the screen. In jobs where we have to sit in front of a computer for long periods of time, this can have lasting negative physical effects.
Musculoskeletal disorders caused by poor ergonomic set ups can lead to time off work for recovery, and ultimately loss in productivity. Over 6.6 million working days were estimated to be lost in the UK between 2017 and 2018*. Essentially, without ergonomic monitor support, you and your colleagues’ wellbeing could be at risk. While seemingly insignificant at the time, the ability to move your screen can help reduce negative physical effects like muscle pain, headaches and eye strain.
Agile Working
Offices are becoming agile workspaces. With fewer assigned workstations and different people sitting at a desk each day to do a variety of tasks, screens need to be moveable. An adjustable monitor arm empowers each and every person to adjust the monitor they’re using to the most comfortable position.
Productivity
Dual and multi-screen working has increased by 70% since 2002*. Multiple studies indicate that people who use two screens are more productive; as much as 43% more*. Whether screens are side by side, stacked, or a mix of portrait and landscape, monitor arms need to accommodate a variety of configurations.
The technology of teamwork
As we become more mobile in how we work, interaction and collaboration have become a standard part of the working day. To support this mode of working and give every team member a good vantage point, a screen needs be moveable. Adjustability means visibility, which then facilitates collaboration and the flow of ideas.
Decluttering your workspace
Compared to traditional stands, monitor arms typically reduce the size of a monitor’s footprint. And as most monitor arms also offer cable management as standard, this frees up even more desk space..
Single monitor arms
If you only use one screen, then a single monitor arm is perfect for you. The big question is whether a dynamic monitor arm or post mounted monitor arm is best. Key things to think about include where you’ll use your monitor, and what for.
For projects on a tight budget, post mounted monitor arms tend to be cheaper in single configuration
If you’re working in an agile environment, will need to adjust your screen often, or add more in the future, a dynamic monitor arm would be more suitable and future-proof
Dual monitor arms
As the amount of information you’re expected to work with increases, the number of screens you use to view it is also increasing: for many people, working with two screens
is now standard practice. This can increase immediate productivity, but it does provide new ergonomic challenges.
Why choose a CBS monitor arm
History
Choosing a monitor arm from Colebrook Bosson Saunders means you’re benefitting from over 20 years’ experience in developing, designing and manufacturing. We don’t follow fads: our form is our function. All of our monitor arms allow you to adjust the height, angle, orientation and distance of your screen, and all come with a 12-year warranty.
Since the very beginning, Colebrook Bosson Saunders has drawn on the varied and complementary skills of its founders. Their blend of architecture, product and furniture design created unique solutions for interaction between technology and furniture in the workplace. This distinctive approach redefined workplace ergonomics and is still influential today.
Experienced in user experience
From our founder’s involvement in the world’s first articulating monitor arm – Gemini, to our latest Red Dot Award-winning dynamic monitor arm – Ollin, our mission is to enhance user experience by seamlessly connecting people and technology.
Our design philosophy
Always improving on what has come before, we’re passionate about solving ergonomic challenges. Our creative processes don’t start and end with a drawing, they extend from the initial sketch through to our sustainable manufacturing process.
Our multi-national in-house design team combines its knowledge of technology, engineering, materials and creative thinking to solve diverse ergonomic problems and produce a portfolio of award-winning products. The iterative nature of our design process means that all ideas are prototyped, tested, and then tested again until they’re optimised.
See our full range of monitor arms
