Arts People is a hosted solution, meaning that it is running on centralized servers which are maintained by us. This means that clients don't need specialized equipment or IT staff to run and maintain any systems. You simply access the system by logging into it from any computer on the internet.
Here's what you need to run the system:
1) A computer with an internet connection:
- The computer should be as "current technology" as possible,
but any computer that can run recent-version web browsers is fine. Storage need not be large. No files are needed to be stored for the system itself. The operating system can be Macintosh OS or Windows, and should be kept up to date with current patches and versions. - You need a current web browser that is able to open and print PDF files. Google Chrome is recommended for consistent ticket printing results.
- Your internet connection should be a high-speed connection. For most organizations that will mean a broadband connection, such as DSL.
- If you're without a standard internet connection, the Mobile Hotspot feature on your mobile device can provide an internet connection to your computer. See your mobile device's support page for instructions on setting up your phone as a mobile hotspot.
2) A printer:
- If you plan to print any tickets for your patrons at your office, then you'll need the above computer and internet connection at the location where you'll be printing tickets, and you'll also need one of the below printer options:
- A laser printer - you can print the standard Letter sized ticket, just like the ones your patrons print at home, with a laser printer (either black and white, or color - do consider your printer speed - color printers might run too slow for fast box office sales.). You also could design a different ticket layout and print it from your box office while the Letter sized ticket prints for patrons at home- paper for this type of printing is typically simple 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper.
- Optional thermal printer - some organizations prefer to have individual tickets printed at their office, similar to a movie style ticket. For this a thermal ticket printer is needed. We have a preferred-pricing arrangement available for clients with Boca Systems, makers of the most common thermal ticket printers. View pricing and contact information for Boca Ticket Printers here.
3) Optional credit card swipers and barcode scanners:
- If you plan to do in-person credit card transactions with the patrons at your window, you're required by Arts People to use a credit card swiper which plugs into the computer via a USB port. This communicates to the merchant gateway that the patron was "card-present" and gives a higher level of security. If you have multiple computers at your box office window, you would want one swiper per computer. These are low cost, simple to set up and use. Please see the Credit Card swipers the article on how to purchase these swipers for use with the Arts People system here.
- You have the option of placing a barcode on each patron ticket and then can use a barcode scanner to scan each ticket as the patron enters the venue. Barcode scanners can come in different forms such as those listed below. Barcode scanning requires that the scanner operator be able to access the barcode scanning screen so there must be a computer connected to a high-speed internet connection.
- The speed at which you can scan bar-coded tickets is directly dependent upon the speed of your network/internet connection. If you need to scan tickets rapidly be sure your internet connection is stable and fast.
- Test barcode scanning thoroughly in advance of high-demand usage. Reach out to your client services rep. for help setting up either a test show for scanning testing or a test performance of an existing show that you can use for scanning testing.
- Barcode scanning equipment recommendations can be found in these articles: