If you’re planning to buy one or more touchscreen devices in the near future, you’ll need to choose the right touchscreen technology. All touchscreen devices are able to detect touch commands. There are different touchscreen technologies, however. Touchscreen technologies are the systems that allow touchscreen devices to detect, as well as respond to, touch commands.

Responsiveness

The technology that powers a touchscreen device will affect how quickly it responds to your touch commands. Some touchscreen technologies will respond more quickly to your touch commands than others.

Capacitive, for instance, is very responsive. You don’t need to use a lot of pressure when performing touch commands. As long as your finger is touching the display interface, capacitive touchscreens will register and respond to your touch commands.

Touch Support

Touchscreen technologies may support different types of touch commands. What does this mean exactly? You can perform touch commands in different ways. The most common method involves the use of a bare finger. You can press the touchscreen interface with a bare finger to control a touchscreen device. Other methods involve the use of a gloved finger, a stylus or a capacitive stylus.

Resistive and surface acoustic wave (SAW) touchscreens support all types of touch commands. You can control them with a bare finger, gloved finger, stylus or capacitive stylus. Capacitive touchscreens, on the other hand, may not work with a gloved finger or stylus.

Capacitive touchscreens require direct contact with a conductive object. Otherwise, they won’t register a touch command. You can control them with a bare finger, or you can control them with a capacitive stylus.

Durability

Some touchscreen technologies are more durable than others. They are able to withstand harsh environments without degrading.

For commercial applications, you may want to choose a durable touchscreen technology. Capacitive, SAW and resistive are all durable touchscreen technologies.

Backlighting

Backlighting options can vary depending on the touchscreen technology. If you’re planning to buy a touchscreen with backlighting, you should consider the touchscreen technology.

Common backlighting options include light-emitting diode (LED) and electroluminescent (EL). Light guides may be added to LED or EL backlighting for better light distribution. Light guides don’t produce light. Rather, they distribute the light produced by the LED or EL backlighting.

Choosing the right touchscreen technology is important. It will affect the responsiveness, touch support, durability and backlighting options. By choosing the right touchscreen technology, you’ll get more use and value out of your new touchscreen devices.