Outdoor by default
The conditions that break a backlit panel are the conditions a reflective panel is specified for.
ApplicationsIndustrialRetailTransportationOEMBy conditionDirect sunlightBattery and solarExtreme temperatureBy technologyReflective LCDTransflective LCD
What a reflective LCD (RLCD) panel brings to an application
1%of transmissive LCD power draw
100,000 luxreadable in direct sunlight
0 Wbacklight draw, at any hour
−30 to +85 °Cspecified operating range
Figures describe the technology, not a specific module. Per-module figures are issued as a datasheet with the conditions behind each one.
Reflective fits products used where there is light
If the product is read outdoors, on a lit shop floor or anywhere the ambient level can be relied on, the backlight is pure cost: current, heat, thickness and a lifetime curve. Reflective removes all four. The trade is that the panel needs light to be read, so a product used in the dark needs a front light or a transflective panel instead.
Milliwatt budgets
Portable and solar products get their largest continuous load back for the rest of the system.
Nothing to derate
No LED lifetime curve to design margin around in an unconditioned enclosure.
Four application families on reflective panels
Outdoor kiosks and signage
Wayfinding and queue information on forecourts, platforms and concourses.
Handheld field instruments
Meters and analysers expected to last a shift, or a season, per charge.
Machine HMI on open sites
Plant and yard interfaces read at two metres in changing daylight.
Always-on process indicators
Readouts that hold a static frame for weeks at near-zero current.
Reflective panels in the catalog
43-Inch RLCD Display
A 43-inch hanging RLCD display designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content with ...
Reflective LCD · 43 in
43-Inch RLCD Kiosk
A 43-inch free-standing RLCD kiosk designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content w...
Reflective LCD · 43 in
Specify
What we need to place a reflective panel
The decisive question is whether the product is ever read without ambient light. Everything else follows from the geometry and the budget.
Ambient
Lowest light level the product is read in, and how often it sits there.
Night use
Whether a front light is acceptable, or whether transflective is the better fit.
Cover lens
Material, anti-glare treatment and whether the panel will be optically bonded.
Power
Supply, budget for the display and how often the frame changes.
Interface
Existing controller, available interface and the frame rate you need.
Documentation for a reflective build
On request
Datasheets
Each module is characterised before its datasheet is issued, so we send the current specification on request rather than post one that may be stale.
Publishing soon
Integration guides
Not published yet: they are written from real integrations. If you are driving a panel now, an application engineer walks through the interface and timing with you.
Available now
Power calculator
Size a reflective panel against your power budget before samples arrive. A sizing aid, with its assumptions stated on the page.
Think your product suits a reflective panel?
Send the enclosure drawing, the ambient range and the power budget. Our engineers confirm the fit before you commit to anything.
What a transflective LCD (TLCD) panel brings to an application
2 pathsreflective by day, lit at night
100,000 luxreadable in direct sunlight
1 driverone panel, one integration
−30 to +85 °Cspecified operating range
Figures describe the technology, not a specific module. Per-module figures are issued as a datasheet with the conditions behind each one.
One panel instead of a day model and a night model
Products used around the clock usually end up compromising: a backlit panel that fails at noon, or a reflective panel that fails at midnight. Transflective carries both paths in one aperture, so the product ships as one SKU and the backlight only draws current in the hours it earns.
Round-the-clock products
Daylight readability and night operation from the same panel and the same driver.
One SKU, not two
No separate day and night variant to tool, stock, certify and support.
Backlight only when it earns it
Ambient sensing keeps the backlight off through daylight hours, which is most of the duty cycle.
Four application families on transflective panels
Marine and vehicle instruments
Helm and cab displays read in full sun and again on a night passage.
Retail shelf labels
Colour labels under store lighting, legible during night stocking.
Field meters on shift work
Instruments used across a full 24 hours without a torch.
Transit and charge points
Kerbside and platform screens that must be readable at any hour.
Transflective LCD, engineered to order
Engineered to order
Transflective LCD panels are not in the catalog yet
We engineer Transflective LCD panels to order; the published range is reflective. Send the diagonal, the interface and the share of the duty cycle after dark, and we quote it. Modules appear here as they are released.
Specify
What we need to place a transflective panel
The split aperture is a trade, so the brief starts with how much of the duty cycle actually happens after dark.
Night fraction
What share of operating hours falls below usable ambient light.
Ambient
Brightest and darkest conditions, and the switch point between the two paths.
Power
Current available for the backlight, and whether it is a peak or an average figure.
Dimming
Whether night operation needs dimming, and whether it is automatic or manual.
Interface
Existing controller, available interface and any ambient sensor already on the board.
Documentation for a transflective build
On request
Datasheets
Each module is characterised before its datasheet is issued, so we send the current specification on request rather than post one that may be stale.
Publishing soon
Integration guides
Not published yet: they are written from real integrations. If you are driving a panel now, an application engineer walks through the interface and timing with you.
Available now
Power calculator
Size a reflective panel against your power budget before samples arrive. A sizing aid, with its assumptions stated on the page.
Need daylight readability and night operation?
Send the ambient range and the share of hours after dark. Our engineers confirm whether transflective or reflective is the better fit.