Author: POS Supply Date Posted:30 November 2014
How Touchscreen Monitors are Safe, Easy-to-Use and Long Lasting
Some of us are shy about trying new technology. A few of us even have technophobia — a fear of technology. But sometimes all it takes is a little knowledge to set things right. Here are some simple facts to dispel any fear or misgivings about touchscreen monitors.
What are Touchscreen Monitors?
A POS touchscreen monitor is an electronic visual display which can be controlled simply by touching its surface. The touching itself can be a simple, one-finger tap or multi-touch gesture, depending on the software being used.
Touchscreen Monitors are Safer than Keyboards
Any keyboard is vulnerable to dust and dirt getting between or below the keys. They are also more vulnerable to spillage. Liquids can destroy a keyboard by short-circuiting its sensitive electronics. And it's far easier to spill onto a keyboard than onto a monitor.
Touchscreen Monitors are Easy-to-Use
Few things are as intuitive as pointing and touching. You see images or buttons on a monitor and touching them activates or selects them. No complicated commands or procedures. In other words, "easy."
Some applications allow you to zoom in for a closer look or to enlarge text. This is accomplished simply by touching with two or more fingers and spreading those fingers as if to say, "grow larger." With a POS system, though, most touching involves the single finger tap. Nothing could be simpler.
Touchscreens tested to millions of touches
Touchscreen monitors have been tested for between 35–50 million touches to the same area of the screen without failure. This means the sensitivity of the touchscreen surface would last a very long time.
Here are some examples to put that range of numbers into perspective:
If you were to touch the same spot on the touchscreen once every second, 24 hours per day, the touch functionality for that spot on the monitor would last longer than a year.
Perhaps a more realistic, heavy-use example would be to have the touchscreen touched in the same spot once every 10 seconds for two 8-hour shifts, 7 days a week. The touchscreen functionality would last more than 15 years — far longer than the typical life of a monitor.
Multiple Touchscreen Technologies
There are numerous technologies involved in touchscreen monitors.
• Resistive touchscreen
• Surface acoustic wave
• Capacitive touchscreen
• Infrared grid
• Infrared acrylic projection
• Optical imaging
• Dispersive signal technology
• Acoustic pulse recognition
The two most common types of touchscreen applications are resistive and capacitive.
Capacitive Touchscreens
Highly popular in consumer electronics, the capacitive touchscreen depends on one of several technologies to achieve its functionality. All of those techniques, though, depend on the properties of electrical capacitance — the ability to store small electrical charges.
These technologies are more popular in consumer mobile devices because they are more sensitive to touches — especially light touches across the surface.
Resistive Touchscreen Monitors
In this type of touchscreen, two thin layers of electrically-resistive material are separated by a thin space. The top layer — the one touched — has a resistive coating on its underside surface. The other layer has a similar coating on its top surface — facing the top layer. Electrically conductive connections line the sides of one layer, while similar connections line the top and bottom of the other layer. But don't worry. There is far less electricity running through these layers than you would get from the static build-up of walking across a carpet.
The resistive touchscreen surface handles liquids and contaminants extremely well. Combined with its low cost, compared to other touchscreen technologies, resistive touchscreens are popular for POS applications as well as in factories and hospitals.
Contact us here at POS Supply for more information on a touchscreen monitor for your POS system.
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