Choose the best touchscreen monitor for your application.
| Application | Planar recommends |
|---|---|
| People with gloved hands need to interact with the touch screen monitor. | Resistive, SAW, Optical |
| I need a cost-effective monitor for my employees to use. | Resistive, Optical |
| The touch screen needs to be accurate. | Resistive, SAW, Capacitive, Optical |
| I need a monitor that will tolerate liquids on the screen. | Resistive, Capacitive, Optical |
| I need to install a monitor in an unattended environment. | SAW or Capacitive |
| I need the touch screen monitor to be as bright as possible. | SAW or Capacitive |
| I need a monitor that will be durable and scratch resistant. | SAW or Capacitive |
| I need a monitor that will withstand high levels of impact. | SAW or Capacitive |
How Resistive Works
Why Resistive Touch?
- Advantages
- Cost-effective solution
- Activated by any stylus
- Very accurate
- Low power requirements
- Liquids won't affect touch screen performance
- Disadvantages
- Polyester surface can be damaged
- Lower endurance (35 million touches)
How Capacitive Works
Why Capacitive Touch?
- Advantages
- Scratch resistant, durable surface
- High endurance (225 million touches)
- Very accurate
- Good optical clarity (88+% transmissivity)
- Liquids won't affect touch screen performance
- Disadvantages
- Does not work with gloved fingers or stylus
How SAW Works
Why SAW Touch?
- Advantages
- Durable glass construction
- High optical clarity
- Activated by a finger, gloved hand, or soft tip stylus
- Disadvantages
- Moving liquids or condensation can cause false touches
- Solid contaminants create non-touch areas until removed
- Doesn't support drag or draw effectively
How Optical Touchscreens work
- Advantages
- Clearer than resistive or capacitive since there is nothing between the viewer and the display
- The rugged surface and bezel design is ideal for sealing against liquids and dust
- Able to handle dual touch input
- Can scale to large sizes
- Can support multi-touch (more than dual touch)
- Disadvantages
Technology Comparison
| In addition to resistive and capacitive there are several other touch technologies which are available. Below is a list of the common touch technologies along with a comparison of the various features. | ||||
| Optical Scan (Camera) | Surface Capacitive | SAW | Resistive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | Optical imaging, Modulation and reflection | Electrostatic field | Sound waves | Resistive |
| Activation | Zero activation force required | Low activation pressure required | Low activation pressure required. 40g~200g when using a silicon rubber tipped pen with a 1 mm diameter minimum and a hardness of 60 degree |
Low activation pressure required |
| Transmissivity /optics |
Excellent >92% with transparent window. Window not required | Very good >90% | Excellent >92% | <82%, some distortion to graphics due to coatings |
| Drag and drop | High resolution, draws smooth lines | Requires constant pressure to draw smooth lines | Requires constant pressure to draw smooth lines | Requires constant pressure to draw smooth lines |
| Surface contaminants /durability |
Resistant to moisture and other surface contaminants | Resistant to moisture and other surface contaminants | Adversely affected by moisture or surface contaminants | Unaffected by surface contaminants. Polyester top sheet is easily scratched |
| Multi-touch | Can discern two distinct points | NA | NA | NA |
| Touch method | Can use any pointing device | Exposed Finger | Finger and soft sound absorbing stylus | Can use any pointing device |
| Drivers | HID compliant no additional drivers required | Proprietary drivers, may not be compatible with all software. HID compliant no additional drivers required |
Proprietary drivers, may not be compatible with all software. HID compliant no additional drivers required |
Proprietary drivers, may not be compatible with all software.
HID compliant no additional drivers required |
