Avoiding image retention
Avoiding image retention
Image retention (image sticking, ghost image) is the phenomenon
where an image, or a part of it, seems to be ‘burnt’ in the LCD panel. When you display e.g. a uniform light gray image you distinguish the ghost image in the background.
This phenomenon occurs on all types of LCD panels when a static image remains on the screen for a long time (unfortunately the exact period is not predictable). Also parts of the image that do not change often (e.g., toolbars, buttons, borders) are susceptible to image retention.
Image retention may be undone in some cases, but it may also damage the LCD panel permanently. So it is better to take precautions during product installation to avoid it.
Here are some countermeasures you can take:
Power off, power save mode, screen saver
Very important is to use screen savers and power saving modes as much as possible. If you do not need the display for a few hours, switch it off. If you only need to look at it when you actually do something on the screen, use a screen saver.
The amount of “relaxation” time should be considerable, the more you do it the better. “Flashing” the screen for a few seconds with a screen saver is not sufficient. Image retention is a slow process to build up, but it also disappears slowly.
Re-Layout
In most applications, a display is used to show a layout of several components with borders. Whereas the content in these windows can change continuously, the borders are static images and may cause boundary image retention. The layout of the windows (size, number of windows, etc.) should be changed as much as possible.
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