What makes a monitor screen readable in bright ambient environments? Brightness, contrast ratio, and how light interacts with the screen surface all determine visibility. Optical bonding addresses these factors to deliver superior clarity in high-brightness environments.
Monitor Knowledge
What is Optical Bonding?
Benefits for LCD Monitors in Bright Environments
What is Optical Bonding?
Optical bonding is a process that eliminates the air gap between a monitor's LCD module and its protective glass by filling it with a specialized resin. This technology improves screen visibility, reduces glare, and enhances durability, making bonded monitors ideal for outdoor and high-brightness environments.
1. Bezel | 2. Protective Glass | 3. Resin | 4. LCD-Module | 5. Gap
Why Optical Bonding Matters
1. Clear Display
When light passes through the air gap between your monitor's LCD module and protective glass, it refracts and loses intensity, reducing screen brightness and clarity. Optical bonding improves light transmission by eliminating the gap, improving visibility, particularly in bright ambient environments.
- Reduces light scattering caused by the air gap
- Maintains clearer contrast even under strong ambient light
2. Glare Reduction
Screen glare occurs when external light reflects off layers with difference refractice indices, such as that of the air gap and protective glass. This reflection creates a distracting glare that reduces visibility. Optical bonding improves light transmission by eliminating the gap, greatly reducing the amount of light that is reflected back.
- Reduces reflections from external light sources
- Improves readability in high-brightness environments
3. Increased Durability
Monitors used in harsh environments need protection against impact and scratches. The resin layer creates a strong bond between the LCD module and protective glass, improving structural integrity.
Dies sorgt für eine lange Lebensdauer bei Einsatz in der Öffentlichkeit, in Fertigungsanlagen oder anderen Umgebungen, in denen eine erhöhte Robustheit notwendig ist.
- Resin layer strengthens structural integrity
- Protects against impacts and scratches
4. Eliminate Condensation
Air gaps can trap moisture, leading to condensation inside the screen, causing the screen to appear foggy in certain temperature ranges. Eliminating the air gap through optical bonding prevents moisture buildup, addressing the needs of ships, offshore structures, warehouses, and other environments.
Dadurch ist Optical Bonding besonders vorteilhaft beim Einsatz auf Schiffen, Offshore-Plattformen, in Lagerhäusern, Flugzeugen und in anderen Umgebungen mit extremen Temperaturschwankungen.
- Prevents moisture buildup inside the screen
- Ideal for wide temperature range environments like ships and offshore structures
5. Accurate Touch Experience
Touchscreens rely on precise detection of finger or stylus input. Air gaps can cause parallax errors, making touch points feel inaccurate. By bonding the protective glass directly to the LCD module, optical bonding improves touch precision.
- Eliminates touch deviation errors cause by the air gap
- Improves touch precision for interactive applications
Delivers Clearer Images Than High Brightness Alone
To evaluate how optical bonding impacts screen visibility, we conducted the following test comparing a bonded and non-bonded monitor.
Proven Performance
Contrast Ratio (CR), defined as the ratio of the luminance of white to black, is one of several factors that determine the visibility of a monitor's screen. 10 CR (10:1) is the threshold at which text on paper remains legible. Anything below that becomes difficult for the human eye to discern. Using this as a reference, we measured the CR of two monitors.
The following table compares the CR of the DuraVision MDF2701W maritime monitor (with optical bonding, 350 cd/m2) and a conventional maritime monitor (without optical bonding, 500 cd/m2) when viewed under specific lighting conditions (measured in lux). The results show that the monitor with optical bonding and a luminance of 350 cd/m2 has better visibility than the monitor without optical bonding and a higher luminance of 500 cd/m2.
The CR of the monitor without optical bonding drops below 10 when the ambient light reaches approximately 5,300 lux, but the MDF2701W with optical bonding was able to maintain a CR above 10 up to 12,500 lux, meaning that a monitor with optical bonding is able to maintain clarity up to a higher threshold of ambient brightness. A monitor without optical bonding would have to have an estimated luminance of approximately 1160 cd/m2 to achieve a comparable result to the same monitor with bonding.
Left: Monitor without Optical Bonding and 500 cd/m² (with protective glass)
Right: MDF2701W with Optical Bonding and 350 cd/m² (with protective glass)
High Quality and Efficiency Through In-House Production
At its factory headquarters in Ishikawa, Japan, EIZO has installed a state-of-the-art optical bonding line. This setup delivers high quality and efficient production, enabling flexible and timely response to specialized market needs and challenging operating environments.
