Touchscreen displays have become a standard piece of technology in our daily lives. Many LCD and OLED applications now include touchscreen technology to improve functionality or enhance user experience.
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However, there is not a universal touchscreen for every application. You'll need to decide which touchscreen is suitable for your project. Like deciding between OLED and LCD, choosing the right touch screen will depend on your application's requirements.
Related: Touch Panel Details and Integration Guide
A capacitive touchscreen panel is made of an insulator, usually glass, that is coated with a transparent conductor. Capacitive touchscreen displays respond to conductive inputs like a fingertip and don't require pressure to activate a "touch event."
Capacitive touch panels are the more modern and advanced touchscreen option because of their advanced capabilities. They are commonly found in consumer products like smartphones, tablets, appliances, and monitors.
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A capacitive touchscreen detects and responds to changes in capacitance caused by the screen's electrostatic field when the screen's surface is touched.
Capacitive touchscreen diagramCapacitive touchscreen displays allow for touch gestures and respond to multi-touch inputs. You&#;ll typically be able to enter one to five touch inputs simultaneously, but some capacitive touchscreens can process even more.
Capacitive touchscreens deliver brighter, higher contrast images due to the makeup of their panels. Displays with capacitive touch screens are more durable than resistive touch screens because they are designed with cover glass on their top layer. In fact, all of our capacitive TFT displays have standard 0.7mm thick built-in cover glass and can be further customized for extra durability.
Related: LCD Cover Glass Impact Test
The cost of a capacitive touchscreen is slightly higher than a resistive touchscreen panel due to more complicated manufacturing processes.
While the cost is currently higher than resistive touchscreens, capacitive touchscreens are quickly becoming the industry standard in touchscreen technology.
The enhanced responsiveness can be a downside depending on how and where the display is used. For example, a capacitive touchscreen would not easily respond to the user while wearing certain types of gloves. Although capacitive touchscreens don&#;t respond to inorganic inputs, they can still be accidentally activated by other conductive elements. One of the the most common elements that causes interruptions is water.
Rain, humidity, and condensation on the surface of capacitive touchscreens will often cause accidental inputs and reduced accuracy until the water is removed. This is one of the main reasons why a resistive touchscreen would be chosen over a capacitive touchscreen in certain situations.
Related: LCD Screen Types
Any device that utilizes touch gestures like swiping, pinching, or multi-touch will require a capacitive touchscreen. These features often help make capacitive touchscreen displays more intuitive and user-friendly than resistive touchscreens. Capacitive touchscreens are best suited for applications requiring improved touch responsiveness with better image brightness and contrast.
Resistive touchscreen panels sense pressure on the display's top layer and send a signal to the circuit layer to activate the touchscreen functionality. Because they use pressure to activate the touch inputs, resistive touchscreen displays can be used with a stylus, gloves, and other items. Resistive touchscreens are built without cover glass and made of plastic, making them more susceptible to dents and scratches.
Resistive touch panels were the original touchscreen to enter the market and are still widely used.
Resistive touchscreens are made of two resistive coating layers with a gap or space layer between them. A "touch event" occurs when these two layers make contact with each other (closing the circuit) by the user's action of pressing into the soft, semi-flexible top layer. Each layer consists of horizontal and vertical lines (x,y matrix) that detects the exact location of the touch.
The gap or space layer typically consists of air or inert gas and some spacers whose only purpose is to separate the soft top layer from the bottom layer.
Resistive touchscreen diagramResistive touchscreens are often seen as the less advanced variety of touch panel compared to capacitive touch panels. However, being able to interact with non-organic inputs keeps these touchscreens relevant in specific industries.
Resistive touchscreen displays are less sensitive than capacitive touchscreen displays. This is considered an advantage in some cases and is why they&#;re chosen for specific applications. Resistive touchscreens will not respond to accidental inputs from the environment, so they won&#;t be interrupted by things like water spills or lightweight debris landing on the screen.
This type of touchscreen requires more intentional inputs from the user, making them more reliable in rugged and unstable environments. For example, a resistive touchscreen is the perfect solution on a construction site where water or debris might land on the screen. They&#;re also the best touchscreen display option for situations where the user is wearing gloves.
Resistive touchscreen panels are unfortunately more susceptible to dents and scratches. Their poor visibility in direct sunlight does not make them ideal for outdoor applications. Their inability to respond to multi-touch inputs can be a disadvantage in fast-paced applications requiring such. Because resistive touchscreens rely on the pressure applied to the top layer, they tend to be abused and mishandled, which makes them less durable over time than capacitive touchscreens.
Related: How to Clean an Electronic Display
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Resistive touchscreen technology is ideal for low-cost applications involving rugged environments, indirect sunlight, and simple touch features. Fewer accidental touch inputs, better resistance to heat and moisture, and the ability to be operated with pretty much anything (stylus, pen, gloves, fingers, etc.) make this touchscreen technology a more reliable solution when user input is crucial.
While it&#;s clear that capacitive touchscreens are dominating the consumer electronics market, resistive touchscreens still have an advantage in some ways.
If you&#;re looking for a cost-effective touchscreen that can operate with simple tap inputs in rugged environments, resistive is the way to go. For more advanced and intuitive touchscreen technology with higher quality applications, choose capacitive touchscreens.
To learn more about touchscreen displays, or anything related to display technology, we&#;re always here to help! Get in touch with our engineers today.
When deciding between resistive and capacitive touch, be sure to consider where as well as how the display will be used. Different use cases call for different touch technology.
Resistive touchscreens use a relatively simple technology. A resistive touchscreen comprises two flexible sheets with an air gap between them. When the screen is touched, the sheets make contact. Then the touch location is calculated based on voltages using and an ADC. Read more about how to implement a resistive touchscreen.
Resistive touchscreens register touches made with a finger (even if gloved), stylus, pencil eraser or anything with an end blunt enough not to damage the screen. Most ATMs, card readers at the grocery store, and older home electronics (think that GPS you bought for your car in ) use resistive touch sensing.
This is our 5&#; resistive touch display. The tail from the touchscreen is visible coming down in the middle of the display and is connected to the main display tail under the black protective tape.Because resistive touchscreens are relatively simple and require only four lines to sense touch, the lines connecting the touchscreen to the microcontroller are often incorporated into the main display tail, meaning only one connection between the display module and the controller are needed.
Capacitive touchscreens are a little more complicated. Capacitive touchscreens work by registering a change in an electrostatic field on the screen when touched with an adequately capacitive object, like a finger. Gloved fingers or a stylus may be used, but they must have conductive materials to simulate a bare finger.
As capacitive touchscreens require a controller and more lines, the tail of a capacitive touchscreen is usually separate from the main display tail.
This is our 5&#; capacitive touch display. It is the same display as the display with the resistive touchscreen. On the main tail, you can see four pads where the resistive touchscreen tail would connect. To the right of the main tail, you can see the capacitive touch tail.Beyond the methods of obtaining a touch, there are pros and cons that must be considered when deciding between a resistive touchscreen and a capacitive touchscreen.
The following table compares resistive and capacitive touchscreens across a variety of categories. In short, resistive touchscreens are less expensive and work well in outdoor applications, but do not age well (they can get scratched, and become hazy with age) and can only register a single touch. Capacitive touchscreens use a glass top layer so they maintain more of the display&#;s brightness. Plus, capacitive touchscreens can support multiple touches and gestures. The main draw backs for capacitive touchscreens are the higher cost and lower tolerance of environmental factors.
Compare some of our families of displays that include a no-touch, resistive touch, and cap touch version. The 5&#; sunlight readable displays, above, start at nits and drop into the 800s.
Further, consider our 3.9&#; bar-type display. Without a touchscreen, this display boasts a respectable brightness of 500 nits. With a capacitive touchscreen applied, the brightness drops to a typical brightness of 400 nits. The brightness with a resistive touchscreen applied drops even further, to a typical brightness of 350 nits.
This is the 3.9&#; cap touch display which can recognize five distinct touches at once. The photographed display is running as part of an EVE module.https://ca.pipglobal.com/archive/literature/PIP-WP-Gloves-and-Touchscreen-Compatibility.pdf
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Kelsey is an engineer at Crystalfontz. She graduated from Gonzaga University with a BS in Electrical Engineering. Kelsey&#;s roles at Crystalfontz include customer support, documentation, product demonstrations, and design.
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&#;As a new user to the world of LCD electronics, Kelsey has been a Godsend in providing the hand-holding I needed to get my project up and running despite my own efforts at fouling things up! :-)&#; &#; Owen M
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