Dealing with glare on displays

Tag : surface dust remover

Hamburg - "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of themall?" Many computer users find themselves in the same position asthe Queen in Snow White: looking into a mirror. The difference:This mirror is intended to be a computer screen. Laptops inparticular are known for having glossy displays that purportedlyprovide brilliant colours. Ultimately, though, glossy displays arenot particularly practical.


While glossy displays may be perfectly adequate for working inenclosed spaces, they are infuriating outside, particularly inbright sunshine. It's torture on the eyes at best, and impossibleat worst. Glossy displays are impractical and non-ergonomic, saysKlaus Dembowski, a trained engineer at the Institute forMicrosystem Technology at the Technical University ofHamburg-Harburg.

"That applies to displays with piano lacquer frames as well," thenon-fiction author notes.

Special films have been developed to reduce glare problems. Thesecover the entire screen surface and take away the glossiness. Thereare two types of anti-glare: "One involves a matte surface, whilethe other is a so-called thin film, which has a light violetcolouration," explains Kay-Uwe Schenke from 3M.

3M's Vikuiti ARMR-200 anti-reflection film is actually doublyanti-mirroring. One variant that can be laminated on the display iscalled ARMP-200. The film costs between 25 and 60 dollars,depending on the display size. A test by Hanover-based c't magazinedetermined that the films cannot fully resolve the reflectionstructures.

"The intensity of the mirroring is significantly reduced, though,"says Schenke. Depending on the laptop, the application of thesefilms reduces the brightness by no more than one to three per cent.The contrast was diminished on a test device only from 545:1 to505:1. Otherwise the film appeared to be colour neutral.

Anti-reflection products can be applied to the display either onyour own or by trained technicians. "You can either do it manuallyor send the laptop into the shop," Schenke says. The biggestchallenge is getting the surface free of dirt and dust and thenapplying the film carefully with a spatula to avoid bubbles.

"Most people do it themselves," says Schenke. The testers at c'tsee the application of a self-adhesive film as a "difficultmatter," especially since it needs to be pressed on with uniformforce and speed.

"If it's applied even slightly crooked, then it leaves a reflectivearea open, which then is all the more disruptive; furthermore eventhe smallest air pockets or dust particles under the film aredistracting," the testers warn.

They therefore recommend having a workshop perform the application,which costs around 100 dollars including materials.

While self-applied films can be easily removed again, laminatedversions form a firm bond with the old display surface, known as apolarizer. Those cannot be removed without taking the old surfacewith it. As the lamination process at a workshop often involves theremoval of the so-called panel, check with your laptop maker firstabout whether that procedure will void the warranty.