protective film
Innovative Materials and Adhesives Protect a
Wide Range of LCD and Touchscreen Applications
The touchscreen display market is expected to reach $14 billion in
2012, according to a report from IDTechEx, with an ongoing compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36% through 2014. While the largest
growth will continue to be in consumer products including tablets and
smartphones, there is also growth in LCDs over 10 inches in size,
especially in eBooks, game consoles, car displays and navigation
devices, digital cameras, laptops, PC monitors, TVs and other screens
in niche markets like machine controls, ATMs, and medical devices.
Touchscreens can use analog resistive, capacitive, surface
acoustic wave, infrared, camera-based optical, and other
underlying technologies.
Touchscreens can use several different core technologies, including
analog resistive, capacitive, surface acoustic wave, infrared, camerabased optical, and integrated. Projected capacitive and resistive touch
are the two most commonly used technologies at present, with
capacitive touch screens most often deployed in consumer devices like
smartphones and tablets. Analog resistive touchscreens are often found
in small displays found in handheld healthcare devices and retail
devices. Embedded touch technology is a new technology and offers
great potential for small and medium size consumer devices.
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While today’s touchscreens are almost always equipped with
sturdy and scratch resistant glass, protective films are recommended to further combat scrapes and gouges. Scratch guards
are made of a protective film that is inexpensive enough to be
replaced as needed.
These films offer:
Cleavage Load
• Durable protection for an LCD screen during daily use
• Optical clarity without color distortion
• Ease of application and replacement
• Enhancement of old displays by making them
clearer and brighter
• Enhanced protection in harsh environments
Advances in Protective Films
Protective films have been around for about 30 years, but
in a less than optimum form. Most films are still applied wet.
They require wetting the film, squeegeeing the film to remove
bubbles, and then letting it dry. These films can often trap air,
dirt, or dust bubbles during application. This can result in image
degradation, scratches from trapped dust, and the slow peeling
of the screen protector from the device.
Advanced dry-application films are becoming more popular.
These films offer innovative solutions to surface protection
and are available from a number of materials providers.
In addition to surface protection, they provide:
• Anti-reflection properties
• Backlight reflector capabilities
• Light control
• Prism characteristics
• Reflective polarization
• Projection components
Protective films offer durable protection for a touchscreen during daily use
in any environment.
They are usually multi-layered, including (from top to bottom):
• Positioning film
• Clear protective polyester film
• Adhesive
• Liner
The layers in a protective cover film are laminated together
to create the finished cover. The polyester film used is often
polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is a thermoplastic polymer
resin that is clear, strong, and impact resistant. It is very
lightweight and can be processed as a very thin film.
In a typical dry-wipe application process, the customer removes
the bottom liner, lays the film down on the face of the device,
and dry wipes the film while applying pressure. The dry wipe
process is easy, resulting in no “wetting,” no trapped air
bubbles or dust, and no peeling.
Expert Materials and Adhesive
Help from Fabrico
While the touchscreen manufacturer or contract manufacturer
can certainly specify the characteristics they require in a cover
film, Fabrico ensures that they meet those specifications by
selecting the appropriate adhesive and release liner, cutting the
film to the exact dimensions of the device, whether it’s handheld size or large screen, and producing a finished component
that is designed for manufacturability. Fabrico works closely
with the manufacturer from the concept stage through
fabrication, assembly, kitting, and shipping.
The process begins with testing to ensure that materials and
adhesives meet specifications and are compatible. Fabrico’s
in-house test capabilities allow touchscreen manufacturers to
explore different combinations of materials and adhesives early
in the design cycle. Test lab functionality includes:
• Temperature resistance
• Performance at upper temperature limits
• Shear, tensile, and peel strength
• Outgassing
• Dielectric strength and electrical conductivity
• Resistivity
• Thermal conductivity
• Slitting widths and tolerances
With these capabilities the converter and manufacturer are able
to cost-effectively explore alternatives and create a better
design, and to do so early in the design process before
investing in prototyping.
For example, it is not uncommon to investigate several films
and adhesives and different designs before proceeding to the
manufacturing stage. One manufacturer required a positioning
film that could have printed instructions on it. The customer
removes the bottom liner, lays it down on the face of the
LCD screen, and dry wipes the film while pressing it down.
Once the protective film is adhered, the customer removes
the printed film from the top.
The final protective film might have multiple layers, including an adhesive,
clear protective film, and liner.
In another example, a top film acts as an easy-to-clean
layer, laminated to the protective film. In addition, Fabrico
applies a non-tacky adhesive and a removable liner.
The top, easy-to-clean layer guards against fingerprints
and smudges, as well as scratches. In this case, Fabrico
suggested the appropriate films, as well as an adhesive that
would adhere the film but not leave any residue upon removal.
Die-cutting to the Device Shape
Once the materials and design are determined, production can
be done on a rotary die-cut press with tolerances of +/- .032”.
Kiss-cutting can be used to create a “crack and peel” on the
liner and film. In addition to die-cutting, Fabrico can also
provide water jet cutting, slitting, rewinding, and laminating.
Printing and kitting for the complete “shelf-ready” package
should also be available.
Fabrico’s Advanced Assembly team can produce prototypes using a die-less cutting,
rapid prototyping system.
About Fabrico
Fabrico’s converting and advanced assembly capabilities include
custom design solutions for applications that require slitting,
laminating, and die-cutting. Laser die-cutting, kiss-cutting,
and water jet cutting are available depending on the application
and materials used.
With more than 30 years of materials experience, Fabrico’s
engineers understand the impact of material and adhesive
selection on the overall manufacturing process and use a
design-for-manufacturing approach to optimize production
efficiency and improve overall cost-effectiveness.
Fabrico Headquarters
4175 Royal Drive, Suite 800, Kennesaw, GA 30144
Phone: 678-202-2700 | Fax: 678-202-2702
Toll Free: 800-351-8273 | E-mail: info@fabrico.com
Material Partners
Fabrico has strategic relationships with word-class material
and adhesive suppliers, such as 3M, Loctite, Adhesives Research,
DuPont, Von Roll, and many others, to assist customers in
selecting the best material and adhesive for the application,
and expedite sourcing. All critical material and adhesive properties
are considered in any Fabrico project, including chemical,
thermal, and moisture resistance.
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Fabrico is a trademark of EIS, Inc.; 3M is a trademark of the 3M Company.
Loctite is a Registered Trademark of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA.