Touch screen panel: which type do you actually need
Four technologies get sold as "a touch screen panel". They are not interchangeable and they differ in price by a factor of ten. Read the table, find the row that matches what you are building, and the rest of this site is written around those two rows we actually make.
Same three words, four different parts
| Technology | How it senses | Points | Gloves | Size | From | Where it hurts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infrared (IR frame / overlay) | LEDs on two sides, photodiodes on the other two, controller counts broken beams | 10–40 | Yes, gloves included | 15.6–400" | $32 | Bezel visible, hates direct sun |
| Projected capacitive (PCAP) | A grid of transparent ITO traces under glass measures where your finger changes capacitance | 10 | No — needs a conductive stylus | 8–49" | $48 | Cost climbs fast above 32" |
| Resistive | Two ITO sheets pressed together; the contact point is the coordinate | 1 (2 with tricks) | Yes, with any object | 3.5–21" | — | Dull, scratches, one point only. We do not sell it |
| Surface acoustic wave | Ultrasonic waves across the glass surface are absorbed by a finger | 1–2 | Yes | 10–42" | — | Dies with surface contamination. We do not sell it |
The capacitive touch vs resistive touch question gets argued as if it were close. It is not. Resistive costs about a third less and loses on every other line: one touch point instead of ten, 75% light transmission instead of 90%, and a soft plastic surface that scratches within a year of shop use. It survives where nothing else does — a dirty glove, a wet hand, a stylus on a 7 inch controller — and that is the only reason it still ships at all.
Pick the row that looks like your project
Self-service kiosk
Glass front, 24/7 duty, 10-point so two people can fight over the same screen. IR only makes sense here if the kiosk has a sealed front that you cannot open.
Meeting room / teaching board
The standard build for teaching: above 65 inch infrared is the only technology that is affordable, and it works with a finger, a palm and a pen at the same time, which is what whiteboard software expects. This is also the size band where a touch screen panel for teaching is bought in tens, not ones.
Outdoor terminal
Capacitive does not survive rain on the glass — water droplets read as touches. Infrared across open air does, provided the frame is gasketed and the light immunity is high enough.
Industrial HMI
Glove mode firmware, IP65 front, DC 12 V or 24 V input so it runs off the machine's supply instead of a USB charger.
Retail signage
Portrait mounting, thin printed border, 24/7 panel. Or an IR overlay if the signage screen is already on the wall.
Touch screen panel price, infrared — outside size
| Diagonal | Outside size | Price | Aspect | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.6" | 345 × 194 mm | $32 | 16:9 | 438 pcs |
| 21.5" | 476 × 268 mm | $48 | 16:9 | 466 pcs |
| 32" | 708 × 398 mm | $90 | 16:9 | 412 pcs |
| 43" | 952 × 535 mm | $115 | 16:9 | 486 pcs |
| 55" | 1218 × 685 mm | $160 | 16:9 | 508 pcs |
| 65" | 1439 × 809 mm | $195 | 16:9 | 447 pcs |
| 86" | 1904 × 1071 mm | $330 | 16:9 | 302 pcs |
| 110" | 2435 × 1370 mm | $535 | 16:9 | 254 pcs |
USB is the default, 24 V is the industrial answer
Every panel we ship carries a controller board. The standard one has a USB 2.0 full-speed interface and draws 85 mA at 5 V, which is why it works from a laptop port without a hub. The three alternatives are I2C for embedded boards, RS232 for legacy machine retrofits, and a wide-input DC version that accepts 9–36 V so it can hang off a 24 V rail.
Two interface details get missed on drawings. First, the FPC tail can exit on any of the four sides — tell us which, because the outline does not change but the internal fold does. Second, if you are driving more than 20 touch points over USB, budget the bandwidth: a 40-point frame at 100 Hz is comfortable, a 40-point frame at 240 Hz is not.
What code does it ship under
Touch panels without a display are classified by function, not by size: 8543.70 in the ordinary case, 8537.10 where the end use is electrical control, and 8524 or 8531.20 once an LCD is bonded behind the glass. We print the code on the commercial invoice and can send a pre-classification note with the documents. Full HS code breakdown →
Straight answers
What does a touch screen panel cost?
Is a touch screen panel the same as a touch screen?
Which is better for a teaching board, infrared or capacitive?
Do you support DC 12 V or 24 V input?
Can I get a panel in a size that is not on your list?
What HS code do you declare?
Two numbers and we can quote.
Tell us the diagonal and what the panel goes into. If you already have a drawing, send it — we will mark up what we would change before you commit to tooling.