COMMERCIAL TOUCH MONITORS VS CONSUMER TOUCH MONITORS – WHICH IS BEST?

COMMERCIAL TOUCH MONITORS VS CONSUMER TOUCH MONITORS – WHICH IS BEST?

Published: March 7, 2022

By: Jerry Byrd

We feel it’s necessary to help educate people on today’s technology purchasing. Please be aware of paid technology review sites – Many of today’s technology review sites, earn affiliate commission from reader supported purchases through links on the review website, direct to Amazon. That means the website gets paid for posting a review and linking a product if you purchase through that link. These types of review sites are NOT reliable sources. Do your homework please…

Example: ABC company is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.


We are often asked why customers should spend the extra money to install a commercial touchscreens rather than use a consumer touchscreens that can be bought at a fraction of the price from the Amazon or others. There is a saying that fits very well in this scenario – “Buy cheap, buy twice”.

Here are a few key features that commercial displays offer:

  • Higher Brightness options
  • Longer operating hours – up to 24/7 usage
  • High Grade LCD panels – lasts longer / No Ghosting or image retention
  • High Grade Video Board & Components
  • Commercial grade sealed touch systems with SoC (can be programmed for special applications)
  • Designed for heat dissipation (heat is the number one cause for failures)
  • More comprehensive warranty
  • The big questions these days is supply, Can I get it? Availability can be limited and in today’s market, in some cases, there’s a year wait! TOUCHSCREEN GURU is shipping NOW, when others cannot.

WHY ARE THESE IMPORTANT?

The key reason for integrating an industrial touchscreen monitor is to communicate the critical information, so it makes sense to ensure that the investment made in this technology is being delivered clearly, and at all times. Commercial touchscreens are more likely to be easier to read due to higher brightness, last longer and perform better, provide different options for content types and can be quickly swapped out should there be any technical issues.

So, what seemed like a good commercial decision to buy a cheaper consumer touchscreen monitor, can work out more expensive in the longer term. If you’re buying consumer touchscreens, you are buying with a group millions of consumers using them for Windows computer home play. For example: If consumer- Joe-Windows-10-user is buying a consumer touchscreen for Windows 10 play at home, you shouldn’t be buying this as a commercial solution for your multi-million dollar systems. It’s NOT really COTS (commercial off the shelf)

WHAT MAKES A COMMERCIAL DISPLAY MORE EXPENSIVE?

If you have investigated the cost of a commercial touchscreen vs a consumer touchscreens of the same size, you would have seen a significant price difference, but why is this?

The main reason for the higher price tag is due to the components, but this seems a little generalist, so lets drill down further on this.

Panel – commercial displays use a much higher grade of LCD panel, which provides some of the benefits listed above, longer usage, better brightness, and the ability to rotate the display into portrait mode. There are also many grades to LCD panels. A, B, C, & D. “A” – being the best with the least imperfections. “D” – being the worst. Vizio electronics company got it start by using reject “D” Panasonic panels and selling TVs at a significantly reduced price with the sacrifice of a great picture.

Internal components – again these are designed for long term use, but also provide key features, such as video wall processing, built in media player, and better cooling.

Chassis – Consumer touchscreen monitors tend to be made with a low grade plastic chassis, and can be easily damaged during installation or over the life of the display. Commercial displays will be much more robust and better suited to public areas.

Another key area of cost is the warranty. As mentioned previously, the warranty that normally comes with a consumer touchscreen is for 1 year, and would require you to remove the display and return to the store it was purchased from. Commercial touchscreens will come with a comprehensive warranty, generally for 3 years, and will include a swap out of the hardware to ensure you are not left with a blank space on the wall.

HOW DO I CHOOSE THE RIGHT COMMERCIAL TOUCHSCREEN MONITOR?

OK, so hopefully you can now see the benefits of a commercial touchscreen, so the next question will be which one do you choose.

Here are a few things to consider when selecting a display:

  • Do you need portrait as well as landscape options?
  • Is my content 4k resolution?
  • How long will the displays be switched on per day?
  • What size display do you need?

There are many more things that can influence your decision when selecting the right display for your requirements, and we are happy to advise on these.

ARE YOU SPECIFYING AND BUYING TOUCHSCREEN MONITORS BASED ON AMAZON OR OTHER TYPES OF PAID REVIEW SITES?

WARNING! Consumers buy from these types of sites and give their CONSUMER reviews. These applications are mostly for home use. These sites are not a good source for commercial touchscreen monitor reviews for many reasons.

  1. Many review sites state: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites”.
  2. Consumer applications and usage do not match up to the demand and use of 24/7 use of commercial products. Therefore, these reviews should not be used as a means for specifying a product for your commercial systems.
  3. These are great sites for consumers to make educated decisions when buying products for their home.

HAVING SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES?

The worlds supply chain is evolving and changing with uncertainties of todays environment. Many products are in short supply or no supply at all.

If you are buying from large distribution houses, then you are most certainly having these same issues. You are buying from the same pool as everyone else. You are experiencing long lead times which effect your bottom line. What’s your plan to fix these issues? Touch Screen Guru can help!