Touch screen panels are found everywhere from our smartphones to self-serve kiosks at the airport. Given their many uses, it should come as no surprise that there are several touch monitor types. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and is suited to specific tasks. Continue reading to learn more about touch screen panels types and how they’re used. Or discover Axnew’s touch screen panles here.
What are touch screen panels?
The different touch panel types
There are 4 touch panel types in regular use – Resistive, Optical Imaging, Projected Capacitive, and Infrared. Below, we’ll dig into their specifics, which include their advantages, disadvantages, and real-life product applications.
Resistive touch screen panels are cost-effective variants that detect commands by way of pressure placed on the screen. This pressure sensitivity is generally limited to single-point touch, with a 20-inch maximum screen, which is fine for many usage cases. These range from styluses to fingertips. As a result, if used correctly, resistive touch panels will remain functional even if a water drop has landed on the screen. As a result of this versatility, however, many will find that resistive touch panels are less durable than their competitors. Moreover, with its reliance on single-point touch, this touch panel type is not actually capable of multi-touch functionality. Regardless, resistive touch panels are often found in grocery stores, where stylus-based signatures are typically required after credit card purchases.
Some like it hot and some don’t. Infrared touch screen panels definitely fall into the latter category. By setting up a grid of infrared beams across the panel, which may be up to 150-inches, touch is detected by way of this panel’s disruption. Although infrared touch panels are durable and support multi-touch functionality, it does possess one potential drawback. Depending on where you sit, literally. Despite infrared implying heat, infrared touch panels actually perform rather poorly in it, particularly in direct sunlight. In those circumstances, the infrared light beams can be disrupted by the sun’s rays, as opposed to your fingers. As such, be sure to place your infrared touch screen panel device in an appropriately dark location.
Light, and the disruption thereof, is not just a great way to produce a shadow, but also to design a touch screen panel type. To take advantage of this principle, optical imaging touch panels are designed to sense touch through infrared cameras and the disruption of light strips. This can be achieved through any input you want, across its 100-inch maximum size, from gloves to bare hands, and beyond. All in all, optical imaging touch screen panels are just about the most versatile option the touch-based world can offer. From durability to multi-touch, and universal input prospects, the possibilities may truly be endless. Although its only disadvantage may be its non-compact design, common applications of optical imaging touch panels include certain varieties of interactive whiteboards.
If you identify with the phrase, “go with what you know”, then projected capacitive touch screen panels are the touch screen panel type for you. For now, you can guess where you know it from. By way of their electrical-based touch detection, Projected Capacitive touch panels are known for their high precision and high-speed response times. What’s more is that they possess multi-touch functionality and can be used within small, compact, yet expensive, devices. Due to their underlying technology, it has proven challenging to scale up to larger sizes. Figured it out yet? Assuming you haven’t, or would like to enjoy the gratified feeling associated with being right, allow us to reveal where you interact with projected capacitive touch panels on a daily basis – Smart Phones! What’s more is that they’re not alone, with tablet computers and GPS devices also utilizing projected capacitive touch screen panels.