Choosing a monitor mount for your desk

To achieve good posture while seated at a desk, the top of the monitor should be about eye level. However, often we’re hybrid working and constantly adjusting or altering our position. By using a monitor mount, you can have a mount set up permanently for your PC, or you can remove and replace your laptop or screen onto the mount as and when required.

There are all kinds of monitor mounts you can choose from, but a monitor can help you maintain your seating position for optimal back health, and comfort.

The benefits of a monitor mount

There are many benefits of using a monitor mount that go far beyond maintaining better posture while in the office. It can help:

• Optimise your desk space
• Make it easier to keep desks clean and tidy
• Improve your posture
• Provide you with more capacity for display space if needed

Choosing the type of mount

Different mounts can be different heights but they tend to be fitted to the desk using either a clamp mount or a grommet mount (one that fits through a hole in the desk). Our gas-adjustable mounts or gas-assist monitor mounts make it really easy to adapt the height of the monitor as needed.

Monitor heights

Different mounts offer different monitor heights, so ensure that the mount that you choose offers the versatility of the height you need. Some poles offer a 410mm height to play around with, whereas other monitor mounts rise to 605mm above the desk. If you  have a longer torso or a larger laptop, you may benefit from choosing a longer central pole.

Rotation

Some monitor mounts, like our Glide Dynamic Monitor Mount arm rotates to enable your screen to take a landscape or a portrait rotation.

Fitting the screen

If you need to be able to attach and detach the screen quickly and easily, a quick-release VESA plate can make life easier. There are a number of monitor mounts that we supply that come with a quick-release VESA plate such as this top-fixing Single Mount Monitor Arm. Other monitor mounts come with a ledge that a laptop either sits upon or attaches to.

VESA plates come in 50mm, 75mm and 100mm to fit different size screens, so before ordering a monitor mount arm, check which size VESA mounting plate you need by measuring the space between the screw mounting holes in the centre at the back of the screen. Some monitor mounts come with several VESA plate sizes. Others don’t, so double-check what your chosen monitor mount includes as standard.

Single monitor arms and monitor mounts

Our single monitor mounts offer two options – a monitor mount that literally holds the monitor off of the desktop – this would usually be coupled with a docking station and keyboard for a laptop, or a base unit typically stored below or to the side of the desk.

Alternatively, you could choose a mount that holds a shelf for a laptop to sit upon when in use, bringing the screen to eye level. This would usually be coupled with a keyboard as otherwise, the laptop keyboard would be at the wrong height.

Swivel, Tilt, Rotate

Most monitor mount arms will come with a specification as to the swivelling, tilt and rotation ranges that the arm can accommodate.

Tilt- this is how you adjust the bottom of the screen upwards and towards you, which is important to be able to see the screen properly. This is particularly important if your arm has a ledge for  a laptop and your laptop has limited opening options.

Rotate – Rotate is where you can angle the screen so, for example, a full 360 degrees would also enable you to have a landscape or a portrait screen as you’d just rotate your screen right through 90 degrees.

Swivel – Swivel is how you can adjust the arm to move towards you or further away from you, swivelling around the central pillar.

Some monitor mount arms offer a wide range of movement, with possibly even an additional joint part way up the arm like the Series 20/21 Single Mount Gas Spring Desk Clamp Monitor Arm for greater mobility.  Others, like this Single Mount Manual Monitor Arm, Clamp Fix is more basic and will allow a tilt of just 15 degrees.

Some single monitor arms have a 90-degree stop which, when enabled, stops the arm from swivelling beyond 90 degrees. This same feature but with a wider, 180-degree swivel can also be found on some models.

Load Rating

Load ratings for single monitor mounts vary from 8kg to 20kg per screen, but some monitor mounts will hold more than one screen, so a monitor mount arm may also provide a total load limit that you will need to take into consideration.

Dual-arm monitor mount

Our dual arm monitor mounts offer seamless transition from one screen to another, each at the same height, extending the screen or enabling multiple windows or even applications to be open at the same time. Both arms for two different screens are extended off a central vertical pole secured to the desk using either a clamp or grommet fixing.

Modular monitor mounts

If the single-arm mounts and the dual-arm monitor mounts that we have in stock aren’t what you’re looking for, we have the Galaxy range. Our Galaxy range is a modular range of monitor mounts that can be built from interchangeable components all available from Box15.

Simply choose the length of the pole, the type of mount, and even the type and number of arms – you can have as many as 6 arms on a single system, and with that, you can design and assemble your perfect monitor mount system.

For more information on any of our monitor mount arms, speak to one of our friendly advisors online or call us on 01295 565001.