A laminated display is a specific design and manufacturing configuration of a display output. Take note that a display screen typically has three basic layers: the display panel, touch layer, and top glass. In a laminated display, these three layers are boded or glued together as a single piece of display and glass.
Laminated Displays Versus Nonlaminated Displays: What is the Difference?
Of course, aside from the design and manufacturing configuration, there are critical differences between a laminated display and a nonlaminated display. For starters, the layers of nonlaminated displays are not banded. The gap between the top glass and the touch layer is not that significant, However, there is a considerable air gap between the touch layer and the display layer.
The air gap disturbs the light coming from the display layer, as well as from the external ambient environment. These disturbances significantly affect the quality of a specific image being produced, the display quality, including the viewing angles and outdoor visibility, as well as the overall usability or user experience.
Laminating the three layers of a display screen addresses the problems. Hence, when compared to nonlaminated displays, laminated displays have better image quality, reduced glare, better viewing angle and outdoor visibility, and improved overall usability or user experience. These displays also have a slimmer physical dimension than their nonlaminated counterparts.
Pros and Cons: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Laminated Display
The following are the advantages of laminated displays:
• Thinner Physical Profile: One major advantage is thinness. Removing the air gap by bonding the displayers all together significantly reduced the physical profile of the display screen, thus reducing further the thickness of a particular consumer electronic device.
• Improved Display Quality: Remember that the air gap creates light disturbances due to refraction. It is essentially an obstruction. Removing this gap makes the screen clearer and more vibrant because there is little to no room for light interference.
• Better Outdoor Visibility: Because of the absence of the air gap, the light and produced image from the display screen is brighter and clearer. The result is better visibility, especially when the involved device is used in a strongly lit environment or under sunlight.
• Wider Viewing Angle: Displays based on organic LED and in-plane switching LCD technologies have considerably good viewing angles. However, the air gap from nonlaminated variants still obstructs the light. Meanwhile, images on laminated displays appear more vibrant and as if they are painted on the top of the glass because of the reduced glare or light spill.
• Better Stylus Usability: Nonlaminated displays have a parallax issue in which the line on the screen appears several millimeters away from where the stylus touches the surface. This is not an issue with laminated displays because the display layers are too close to each other. The result is better stylus usability that translates further to input accuracy.
• Reduced Hollow Sound: The air gap in a nonlaminated display is also a hollow area. Thereby, tapping the glass layer with a stylus produces a noticeable hollow sound. The sound can be disturbing for some. Take note that a laminated display does not completely eliminate the tapping sound but it significantly reduces the hollow sound.
Below are the disadvantages of laminated displays:
• More Expensive Due to Cost: Manufacturing laminated displays is more expensive than producing nonlaminated ones. Laminating the display layers is complicated, thus requiring a different manufacturing process. The result is that devices with laminated displays are more expensive than their nonlaminated counterparts.
• Also Costly to Repair: Another significant disadvantage of a laminated display when compared to a nonlaminated display is that it is more expensive to repair when it is damaged because the digitizer also needs to be replaced. Thereby, if the top glass breaks, the user has to have the entire display panel replaced.
• It Can Be Gimmicky: The advantages of laminated displays may be negligible for average users. In use-case scenarios that involve typical office productivity or distanced viewing, especially when used in computers and televisions, the design and manufacturing configuration may not provide significantly better usability and user experience.
