Aug
07
2025
Over the last few months, Ideum has been slowly integrating optically bonded 55” touch displays into our lineup, and an official announcement will be made this Fall. We have optically bonded versions of our popular Platform II and Drafting II touch tables. In addition, our Presenter and Inline models, as well as our Tasting Table, use these same displays. So, what is an optically bonded touch display, and what are the advantages?
Touch screen displays are comprised of a monitor and a touch sensor. In large-format displays, these components are usually separated by a small air gap. This is fine for many (even most) displays and configurations, but there are some instances where optical bonding improves the quality of the touch display. In this process, a clear adhesive is used between the touch sensor and the monitor, bonding the two components together.
Removing the air gap and replacing it with a transparent adhesive has several advantages. The first is that the display appears to be visibly brighter; this is due to removing any reflection that might occur from the surface glass. In addition, the viewing angle of the display is greatly improved since the display and sensor glass are effectively one, bonded unit. There is no reflected light off the back of the sensor glass, making the integrated touch display brighter and clearer.
Bonded units don’t have issues with parallax, which is the perceived gap between the touch sensor and the display, again because they are bonded together. We have focused on the 55” model (and soon the 65” model) since they are the most popular, but also because this gap can be noticeable, and closing it improves the viewing quality of the display.
We’ve always taken pride in creating touch screen tables and displays that are practically indestructible. Our all-aluminum frames and chassis, and tempered glass, provide exceptional security and durability. Optically bonded displays are even stronger than their air-gapped counterparts! This makes sense as the clear adhesive bonds the display and sensor together.
Optical bonding also makes it impossible to introduce dust or other particulate matter between the layers, making it perfect for challenging environments. The bonded touch display is also more resistant to spills (that’s why we use it for the Tasting Table). All in all, it is a superior product; the only downsides are that the manufacturing method is more involved and expensive, and the process inherently means that any flaws in the display or the sensor compromise the entire assembly. Air-gapped touch displays allow you to replace damaged components more easily, since those parts remain separate. Bonding is forever.
Finally, we’ve also improved the display’s case, creating a design that appears slimmer, and it has no visible fasteners. We have a patented manufacturing process for our displays, which uses extruded aluminum as the frame. To create corners that don’t have fasteners, we designed 3D-printed metal corners that can be fastened to the extruded aluminum frames from the inside. The new design provides a better-looking profile and differentiates this new model from its predecessors.
This Fall, we will be announcing all of the available optically bonded models. They will be referred to as the Plus Series, since they appear across all of our offerings, from displays to various touch table formats. We will continue to offer all of our models, so the Plus Series will simply expand our offerings for our customers.
