Are Resistive Touch Panels Better For Certain Applications?

Take a look around you; virtually every device now has touchscreen displays¾from consumer electronics like mobile phones and tablets to large panoramic displays used for commercial applications.

This ubiquitous adoption of touch-enabled screens has resulted in pricing and designing challenges. Several OEMs are looking for options to help drive down the costs, so as to maintain competitive pricing for the end-user.

During this process, the advantages of PCAP touch-screens were discovered. PCAP panels have enabled us to improve durability, reliability and performance of the touchscreen.

However, there are some situations where PCPA may not be the ideal technology. In these cases, our old tried and trusted resistive touch panels are preferred.

• Cost is one of the major problems. Screen size, ruggedness, unit volume and other factors impact the overall cost of a display. It’s difficult to compare the overall cost for PCAP and resistive touch solutions.
• Simply put, a PCAP sensor and controller combined costs a lot more than a resistive sensor and controller. Resistive touch is a better option if cost is a major consideration, unless PCAP features are absolutely necessary.
• Volume can impact the overall cost per unit. ITO sensors are custom designed and unique algorithm is required for tuning of PCAP controllers.
• For consumer electronics, the cost is driven down because of high production volumes. In contrast, lower volumes of industrial applications may make the costs prohibitive.
• Again, simplicity of resistive designs can be an advantage.  
•  Gloved operation isn’t feasible with PCPA panels. Some medical and industrial applications require use of rubber or leather gloves which can affect the capacitance of the touch. Most often touch function won’t work on PCAP screens. Yet, gloves have no influence whatsoever on resistive screen.
• Impact resistance requires use of a 1–2mm glass overlay, in order to protect the LCD panel and the ITO controller. For industrial and commercial applications, much higher resistance is required. They use thick 4–5 mm glass that can impact a sensor’s capacitance. Resistive panels are less sensitive, and in some cases, preferable for heavy-duty applications.
• Liquids can alter the capacitance experienced by the sensor. Industrial applications require both water rejection (rejecting false touches if liquid is present on screen) and wet finger tracking (accurately tracking the touch in presence of liquid) are necessary. This can add extra cost.

While resistive touch may be a better option in technical terms for the above-listed applications, we can’t ignore the fact that PCAP panels are more efficient. Ultimately, your decision depends on factors such as cost and quality of display.

In most cases, the end-application will help you decide between resistive and PCAP LCD touchscreen display panels. Irrespective of the technology, you can find a number of industrial LCD panels at REVO Interactive.

Browse their products today and contact them for pricing here.