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Transparent touch screen technology will transform the product display cases in your custom trade show exhibits into interactive experiences. Evan Plotkin, our 3D Exhibits tech guru explains:

What is a transparent touch screen?

Evan: A transparent touch screen is exactly what it sounds like—it's a touch screen where the background—what would be the desktop on your tablet—is transparent. Like a window. Graphics and copy only appear on the parts of the glass face where you want them.

How does using a transparent touch screen improve the visitor experience in a trade show exhibit?

Evan: Transparent touch screens turn static product displays into a dynamic experiences. Up until now, if we wanted to provide our visitors with additional information we had to place it on a monitor next to the product display. With a transparent touch screen, we can create an overlay where the additional information sits right in front of the product. The product is still visible, it's still protected—but now you've made the case interactive. So you can still see the actual product, but you can also dive deeper in the story right there in the moment.

 

trade show exhibit transparent touch screen

What kinds of the media can you display on the monitor?

Evan: On a transparent touch screen, you can display any sort of media you want—text, graphics, photos, video and animations in whatever combination it takes to tell your story. For instance, if your product were a medical device, you could have interfaces where visiting physicians can pull of animations of the device in use, graphs of success rates, and data sheets with manufacturing specifications.

Any other tips on making sure my transparent touch screen works well?

Evan: Like any other interactive, the quality of the experience is dependent on two things: the quality of the media you load into the experience and the clarity and simplicity of the user interface. Just because the technology is cool doesn't mean you can skimp on content.

How do costs compare to that of traditional touch screen monitors?

  Evan: Transparent touch screens are a little more expensive than a standard touchscreen from a factory because it's all custom—the transparent screen has to be built to fit your casework or exhibit—and you need to build that casework. But spread over several shows, the cost difference starts to be negligible versus the same content programmed on a traditional touch screen interactive. As time goes by more manufacturers are producing ready to load complete systems such as the 32" planar transparent display case that can sit on a counter or table, so stay tuned as a lot of these product will be available for rent in the near future

Have you seen a transparent touch screen in use? If you have, we'd love to hear what you thought.