It was a dark and stormy October evening as marketing manager Janet walked through the empty office hallway towards the conference room. Everyone else had already left for the day and she was working late on an important project; with most of the lights turned off the eerie shadows seemed to dance on the walls with each lightning strike. She was exhausted and wanted to go home but a breakthrough idea had come into her mind, and she had to write it down on the collaborative markerboard so it could be shared with her team in the morning. As she walked through the doorway there was a sight that would shake even the boldest to their core, a spirit of writing past appeared before her as she let out a blood curdling scream, “GHOSTING!!!!”
In a panic Janet grabbed the nearest eraser and began to furiously wipe the board but to no avail, the apparition just wouldn’t go away. Luckily for her, the cries of anguish were heard by night janitor Tom who had just arrived to make his cleaning rounds; he rushed to the room and immediately understood what was going on as he had battled these phantasms before. “This isn’t a Calyx markerboard!” he exclaimed, “the surface is a cheap vinyl that invites the ghosting, not a premium porcelain surface that repels it.” Thinking quickly he began to tear the board away from the wall; then carried it to the back door and threw it into the inky night to complete the exorcism.
Janet ran to thank Tom for banishing the evil forces but before she could he had already gone into a supply closet and came out with a brand new Calyx board that had just been delivered earlier in the day through the Calyx Express quick ship program. How he knew Janet would need a board RIGHT NOW we may never know, but in the dim light of the office Tom seemed to have an almost ethereal nature about him. As he began installing the new unit he explained to Janet that this was the best writing surface money could buy and while it was made to resist these evil forces there were some tips to make sure they never even thought twice about haunting it.
First and foremost, he explained how frequent and regular cleanings would create a ward of protection around the board to further prevent ghosting from ever appearing and how using the proper solvent based markers would aid in this as well. He said that the spirits are drawn in from the shadow realms by the increased drying time required for water based markers and that this allowed them to gain a foothold in our world by using the more intense bond created by the ink and the writing surface. He also explained that leaving marks and writing on the surface for an extended period of time, no matter the markers, could again open up that portal. As Tom put the finishing touches on the installation he showed Janet how to complete the initial preparatory cleaning, “this is one of the most important things you can do for the performance of your writing surface,” he said, “and now it is ready for all your amazing ideas and collaboration with your staff.”
A great relief washed over Janet, knowing how she had overcome the ghosting and how to prevent its return, and when she left the office the stormy sky had cleared showing a bright full moon in the crisp fall night. As she drove home she remembered the final sage advice Tom had given her before she left, “for more information regarding the banishment of writing surface horrors, as well as other cleaning and maintenance advice, visit the resources page at calyxbyclaridge.com”.