With the advent of the touch era, the POS industry is keeping pace, and more touch-screen POS machines are entering the market. Currently, the main types of touch screens available include infrared touch screens, resistive touch screens, capacitive touch screens, surface acoustic wave touch screens, and optical imaging touch screens. Among these, resistive touch and capacitive touch screens are the most common in the POS industry. Today, let’s explore the differences between these touch screens with UIPOS!
The resistive touch screen is composed of multiple material layers, typically two conductive film layers separated by an isolation layer. When the screen is pressed, the upper and lower conductive layers make contact, allowing the touch screen to sense the pressure point. The design enables the resistive touch screen POS machine to be operated with fingernails, a stylus, or gloved fingers, making it particularly useful in colder areas where gloves are often worn. However, as the surface of a resistive touch screen is usually covered with a softer film, it is less resistant to wear and can be prone to scratches, requiring careful handling.
A capacitive touch screen, by contrast, detects touch signals through changes in the electrical field generated when a human finger touches the screen. The touch creates a change in current due to the conductivity of the human body, which the screen sensor captures to provide rapid feedback, allowing for a quick and responsive experience. However, POS machines with capacitive touch screens cannot be operated with styluses or gloved fingers. Capacitive touch screens are generally made with harder glass as the front panel, making them more scratch-resistant and durable.
The differences in materials and production processes also impact costs. Capacitive touch screens, requiring a more complex manufacturing process, are priced higher than their resistive touch counterparts. UIPOS offers a range of POS machine hardware solutions using capacitive touch screens. Please contact us for more information!