Design: PCAP touchscreens offer more flexibility in shaping and thickness, thanks to the well development and high volume of consumer eletroncis touchscreens, They can be constructed to be thinner and lighter,  suitable for sleek and slim devices.

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For instance, there are hundreds of different design with openframe touchscreen for kiosk, closed frame touchscreen monitors and zero bezel touchscreen, while IR touchscreen is limited to IR frame touchscreens due to limited design and application in commercial world.

Because it is not as slim, be limited by the frames to have room for sensors to emit and detect. another benefit of pcap touchscreen can enjoy over IR is PCAP can adopt glass front edge-to-edge designs to be looking for beautiful. 

We are in an era when touchscreen is the only front face of interactive devices, and the work on the design of touchscreen is vital for industrial design.

Reaction Timing: faster touchscreen feels smooth and smart, PCAP touchscreens generally offer faster and more accurate touch responses compared to IR touchscreens. PCAP technology can detect multiple touch points simultaneously and provides precise touch tracking, creating a more responsive and smooth user experience. IR touchscreens, although capable of multitouch, may have slightly slower response times and may not offer the same level of accuracy.

Cost: for large touchscreen, for instance, 55inch, IR touchscreens are more cost-effective compared to PCAP touchscreens. IR technology uses simple components, such as infrared sensors and emitters, which are relatively inexpensive. PCAP touchscreens, on the other hand, require complex manufacturing processes and specialized materials, making them slightly costly.

If you are looking for a considerably large touchscreen, for instance, 85inch for a classroom or presentation, IR will be a good margin.

However, it would be a matter of timing for PCAP to remain more costly than IR, as the total volume of PCAP touchscreen is multiple times IR, and the cost and price of PCAP are decreasing heavily by day.

Shipping and installation

For purchasing of touchscreen overseas, safe and fast shipping, and easy installation afterwards is one important phrase user cannot ignore.

IR Touchscreen:

Shipping: IR touchscreens can be shipped as standalone frames without the glass panel. Since the technology relies on infrared sensors placed around the screen edges, the frame itself contains the necessary components for touch detection. This makes shipping easier, cheaper and reduces the risk of damage to the more fragile glass panel.
Installation: Once the IR touchscreen frame is received, a separate glass panel needs to be integrated locally. This glass panel can be of various types, such as tempered or anti-glare, depending on the specific requirements. The process of adding the glass panel involves carefully aligning it with the frame and securing it in place. This installation step can only be performed by professionals: a manufacturer, or a technician. Unfriendly for end users without experience.
PCAP Touchscreen:

Shipping: PCAP touchscreens are typically shipped as a complete unit, already integrated with the glass panel. The glass panel serves as a protective layer and is an integral part of the touch technology. The touchscreen and glass are manufactured together, ensuring proper alignment and functionality.
Installation: Since PCAP touchscreens come pre-integrated with the glass panel, installation primarily involves mounting the entire unit onto the desired device or display. This process usually requires careful alignment and secure fixation to ensure proper functionality. The integrated nature of PCAP touchscreens simplifies the installation process compared to IR touchscreens.
It's important to note that both IR touchscreens and PCAP touchscreens may require additional setup steps such as connecting the touch controller to the device and installing appropriate drivers or software to enable touch functionality. These steps are typically independent of the shipping and installation considerations discussed above.

Daily cleaning

It can be a significant labor when there are a lot of touchscreens such as a casino or airport. Here's an assessment of their cleaning attributes:

IR Touchscreen Monitor:

Bezels and Seams: IR touchscreen monitors often have bezels and seams due to the separate frame and glass panel setup, leaving small areas where dust and dirt may accumulate, making cleaning a bit more challenging by using brushes to clean the gaps and edges. It requires extra labor to clean these areas effectively, as the seams can trap debris.
Cleaning Process: To clean an IR touchscreen monitor, it's important to use appropriate cleaning materials and techniques. A microfiber cloth is typically recommended to gently wipe the screen and remove smudges or fingerprints. Cleaning solutions specifically designed for electronic displays can be used sparingly, ensuring they don't seep into the bezels or seams. However, extra attention is needed to clean those areas thoroughly.
PCAP Touchscreen Monitor:

Glass Front: PCAP touchscreens usually come with a glass front, which is not much difference compared to window cleaning,  Glass surfaces are generally easier to clean compared to bezels and seams found in IR touchscreens. They can be wiped down more easily and are less prone to trapping dust or debris.
Cleaning Process: Cleaning a PCAP touchscreen monitor typically involves using a microfiber cloth or a soft, lint-free cloth to gently wipe the glass surface. Glass cleaning solutions or a mixture of water and mild soap can be applied to remove smudges or stubborn marks. The smooth and non-porous nature of glass makes it easier to keep clean and maintain its clarity.

Ghost touch

When it comes to avoiding unwanted ghost touch, PCAP (Projected Capacitive) touchscreens generally act better compared to IR (Infrared) touchscreens. Here's why:

PCAP Touchscreens: PCAP uses a capacitive sensing technology that detects changes in electrical properties when a conductive object, such as a finger or stylus, comes into contact with the screen, enables better rejection of unintended touches, also known as ghost touches. PCAP touchscreens employ algorithms and firmware to distinguish between intentional touches and unintended input, providing more accurate touch detection and minimizing ghost touch occurrences.

IR Touchscreens: on the other hand, rely on the interruption of infrared light beams to detect touch. While they are effective in detecting touch inputs, they may be more prone to false detections or ghost touches. Environmental factors, such as changes in lighting conditions or objects that accidentally block the infrared beams, can sometimes trigger unintended touch responses.

One of the widely heard ghost touches of IR touchscreen is an insect ghost touch, IR will detect an insect as a touch action and response even if it gets close to the screen bezel. This issue will be a serious factor that users cannot skip or ignore in summer or tropical regions especially outdoors or windows nearby, when a lot of insets appearance will draw several dramatic ghost touches.

To mitigate the risk of ghost touches, manufacturers of IR touchscreens often employ various techniques, such as implementing algorithms to filter out false touch signals and adding additional sensors for better touch detection. However, PCAP touchscreens inherently have an advantage in minimizing ghost touches due to their capacitive sensing technology.

The advancements in technology and firmware updates continually improve the performance of both IR and PCAP touchscreens, including their ability to reject ghost touches. Nonetheless, if avoiding unwanted ghost touch is a critical factor, PCAP touchscreens are generally considered a more reliable choice.

 Let's wrap it up! below chart could help you to make decisions

A touch screen has three main components: a touch sensor, a controller, and a software driver. The touch screen itself is an input device, so it needs to be combined with a monitor and a PC to make a complete touch input system.

Touch Sensor

There are a number of touch screen technologies on the market today. Each uses a different method to sense touch input. Often these are a plastic or glass panel placed under the bezel of the LCD screen.

Click here to read more on the different touch technologies.

Touch Controller

The touch controller is a small PC card that connects between the touch sensor and the PC. It is usually installed inside the touch monitor. The touch monitor will have an extra cable connection on the back &#; usually USB or serial (RS-232) that connects directly to this board. The touch controller takes information from the touch sensor and translates it into information that the PC can understand.

Touch Screen Software Driver

Our touch screen monitors and kiosks are supplied with touch screen software drivers that allow the touch screen to emulate the left button click of a mouse.  Installing the software is usually a quick process consisting of running the installation file. Most users find that they simply accept the defaults, and installation normally just takes a few moments.

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from IRTOUCH.

Once the touch screen driver software is installed, touching the screen is the same as clicking your mouse at the same point on the screen. This allows the touch screen to work with a vast amount of pre-existing mouse driven software. This also allows for simple development of new applications, because no additional code or knowledge is required to develop software for use with the touch screen. New touch screen applications can be developed in the same way as mouse driven software.  The touch screen can emulate left-clicks, double-clicking, and dragging. When the screen is touched, it is the same as if you used your mouse to move the pointer to that spot, and then clicked your left mouse button.

How many years of warranty am I going to get?

Warranty term is a very good indication of hardware quality. For most customers high up time is a key criterion in their buying decision. Be wary of kiosk manufacturers who only offer a 1 year warranty.

What type of touch screen technology is used?

Most reputable kiosk manufacturers use SAW, Capacitive or Infrared technology in their kiosk screens. Be wary of manufacturers who use resistive technology. This technology is cheaper, but their thin plastic screen overlay can be damaged easily by vandals cutting the screen or even by the cleaning crew using the wrong solutions. In addition to being easily damaged, the layers of plastic and glass mean that these screens have the worst optics.

Ensure that the kiosk can communicate your branding

The ability to brand a kiosk is essential in communicating the purpose of the kiosk as well as delivering your brand to your potential customers. Ideally a kiosk should also be able to be relatively easily re-branded should the need arise.
In addition, look for a kiosk whose look and feel is modern, clean and contemporary. A kiosk that is purely practical may not communicate the brand message that you want to convey.

Choose a desk-top box over a single board computer

Very small desk-top computers from major suppliers like Asus and Acer are hard to beat on price and performance. They have the advantage of being able to be configured according to your specifications so that you are not paying for features you don&#;t require. Even more importantly, they can come with the processing power that your application demands.
Up-time can also be much higher. Parts are generally available or else they can be quickly swapped over with a replacement machine. Be careful of single board computers (SBCs) which are only generally recommended where the kiosk design doesn&#;t have the space for a desk-top computer.

Ask for a printer with a presenter

Of all the components in a touch screen kiosk, the printer is the most likely to have technical problems, such as jamming. Reputable kiosk suppliers recommend printers for self-service applications that have a presenter. This feature stops the paper so that it isn&#;t visible to the customer until printing is complete. After the paper is cut, the presenter ejects the paper. This prevents customers from grabbing the paper while it is printing and potentially damaging the printer.
Thermal printers have few moving parts and are extremely dependable. The print heads are good for hundreds of thousands of prints, and the only part that needs to be replaced in the interim is the paper roll.

Find out how serviceable the touch screen kiosk is

No kiosk is 100 percent fail-safe, so you will require field service at some point. A kiosk should be designed to be easy to work on. You shouldn&#;t have to remove a bunch of parts from a kiosk for a simple maintenance call. Look inside the kiosk before you purchase it. Can parts be easily accessed? Well designed kiosks have a simple interior layout, with components that could even be swapped over by a relatively unskilled person.

Ask yourself what you feel about the touch screen kiosk design

Today&#;s kiosks must be attractive, inviting, easy to use and must create an emotional resonance with the user. If you don&#;t love the design, your customers probably won&#;t either, and if they don&#;t like it, they won&#;t want to use it.

Ask if you can come in and &#;kick the tyres&#;

Nobody has magic suppliers that can give them the best product for the cheapest prices. If it&#;s too cheap to believe, it probably is.
Visit your kiosk manufacturer and check the build quality.

• Is the fit and finish right?
• Do the doors close properly?
• Generally, just by looking at items like keyboards and printers, you can tell when something doesn&#;t seem to be built to last.

The public can be tough on kiosks. Trying to save a dollar now might cost you many more dollars later due to broken hardware and down time.

TouchScreen Solutions supplies all popular touch screen technologies. For most applications, if the budget allows we recommend infrared technology. Whilst this technology is more expensive to produce than others, it is generally a more robust and preferred solution.

Resistive Touch Screen Technology

Resistive touch screen technology consists of a glass or acrylic panel that is coated with electrically conductive and resistive layers. The thin layers are separated by invisible separator dots. When operating, an electrical current moves through the screen. When pressure is applied to the screen the layers are pressed together, causing a change in the electrical current and a touch is registered.

Although clarity is less than with other touch screen types, resistive screens can be highly accurate and have the advantage of being pressure sensitive so it responds to any input device, including finger, gloved hand, or pen stylus

Resistive touch screen technology is the most cost effective technology on the market today. It is recommended when budgets do not allow more robust solutions.

Limitations of resistive touch screen technology:

• Can be relatively easily damaged by scratching
• Can be relatively easily damaged by poking
• Can be relatively easily damaged by impact
• Not recommended for public access applications
• Requires periodic recalibration
• Can wear through regular use over time

Resistive touch screen technology is the most cost effective technology on the market today. It is recommended when budgets do not allow more robust and time saving technologies. Please contact us if you require a budget touch screen solution and we will be glad to assist you.

Popular Brands that often use resistive touch screen technology:

• LG
• TSS

Capacitive Touch Screen Technology

Capacitive touch screen technology is a popular and durable technology that is used in a wide range of applications. It has a higher clarity than resistive technology, but it only responds to finger contact and will not work with a gloved hand or pen stylus. A capacitive touch screen consists of a glass panel with a capacitive (charge storing) material coating its surface. Circuits located at corners of the screen measure the capacitance of a person touching the overlay.

Capacitive touch screen technology is often recommended to customers who would like the confidence of a brand name LCD such as NEC, which the capacitive touch screen would then be retrofitted to.

Limitations of capacitive touch screen technology:

• Can not be used with a gloved hand
• Can not be used with stylus
• Requires periodic recalibration
• Often retrofitted to standard non-touch LCD monitors which may not be as stable when touched
• Not usually fitted to monitors when applications require dust, water, scratch or impact resistance

Popular Brands that often use capacitive touch screen technology:

• 3M Microtouch

SAW Touch Screen Technology

Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) touch screen technology is based on sending acoustic waves across a clear glass panel with a series of transducers and reflectors. When a finger touches the screen, the waves are absorbed, causing a touch event to be detected at that point.

Like infrared technology, the panel is all glass, so there are no layers that can be worn, or damaged over time. This makes SAW touch screen technology highly durable and suitable for applications where high clarity is desired.

SAW touch screen technology is recommended for public information kiosks and other high traffic indoor environments.

In Australia SAW technology is usually one of the more expensive technologies. Since there are few applications where it is superior to infrared, infrared is more often the recommended solution where high durability and screen clarity is required.

Limitations of SAW Touch Screen Technology

• Must be touched by finger, gloved hand, or soft-tip stylus. Something hard like a pen, credit card or finger nail won&#;t work
• Can be affected by large amounts of dirt, dust, and / or water in the environment.
• Relatively expensive in comparison to other technologies

Popular Brands that often use SAW Touch Screen Technology:

• ELO

SAW touch screen technology is recommended for public information kiosks and other high traffic indoor environments. In Australia SAW technology is usually one of the more expensive technologies. Since there are few applications where it is superior to infrared, infrared is more often the recommended solution where high durability and screen clarity is required.

Infrared touch screen technology

Infrared technology uses a small frame around the display with LED&#;s and photo receptors hidden behind an infrared transparent bezel. The controller pulses the LED&#;s to create a grid of IR light beams. A touch obstructs the beams which identifies the X and Y coordinates.

TouchScreen Solutions supplies all popular touch screen technologies. For most applications, if the budget allows we recommend infrared technology. Whilst this technology is more expensive to produce than others, it is generally a more robust and preferred solution.

Benefits of infrared technology:

• Can be scaled to any size without losing resolution
• Calibration stability &#; no touch point drift
• High clarity and light transmission
• High chemical, scratch, breakage, and liquid resistance
• High sealability from dust and liquids
• Touch can be activated by anything including finger, gloved hand, or stylus
• High durability since a touch is only interrupting light beams

Popular brands that often use infrared touch screen technology:

• Nexio
• IBM
• ELO

How many years of warranty am I going to get?

Warranty term is a very good indication of hardware quality. For most customers high up time is a key criterion in their buying decision. Touch Screens come with very different life expectancies, and warranty term is the best indication of the manufacturer&#;s expectation of the life span of their product.

How sturdy is the stand when it is touched?

Often a touch screen is fitted as an after market product into a non touch LCD frame. Usually this results in a good end product. But one issue is that a non touch LCD frame is not built to be as solid when touched as a purpose built touch screen frame. When the screen is touched it may rock or wobble a little. Test it to see if this is an important consideration.

What type of touch screen technology is used?

There are many types of touch screen technology on the market, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Your touch screen supplier should ask you about your application, and should be able to give you a clear explanation of why the technology that they are recommending is the best solution for your application.

Where have the touch screens been sold?

Some touch screens are much more robust than others. And one style of touch screens may suit an environment more than another. Ask your touch screen supplier what the other companies in your industry have purchased.Ask if you can have a short term free evaluation A reputable touch screen supplier who is confident of his product may be willing to offer a free 7 day trial of their product. This is likely to only be on their main product lines that they hold plenty of stock of. This can be especially important if you are buying over the internet, or or larger volume purchase sight unseen.

For more custom infrared touch screeninformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.