Have a Laptop? Care Tips for Laptop Screens
The recent PC "refresh" cycle included 176 laptops to add to the 75 or so purchased in the
last year or two. Using a laptop is almost the same as using a desktop - almost.
The screen on a laptop is an LCD (liquid crystal display) composed of individual transistors
at every pixel (the tiny dots that make up the images on the screen). The screens of the
laptops we just purchased have 1,470,000 pixels. Each pixel is a separate transistor/liquid
crystal combination. If any one is damaged you will have a permanent black spot on your
screen. To be sure, the loss of a single pixel will not make your screen unusable, but if you
physically damage the screen you will probably lose more than a single pixel. The screen is
the single most expensive part of your laptop. Most damage to it is non-repairable. Replacing
it can cost $700 to $1,000, a substantial portion of the $1,483 cost of the most recently
purchased machines.
To keep your screen in good shape, stay away from it - i.e. do NOT poke it with your
finger - or even worse- with a pen or pencil. If you want to show something on the screen to
someone else, point "from a distance" or use your mouse and cursor to point to the item of
interest (incidentally, you can make your cursor much larger and/or change its shape if you
find it hard to see on the screen. Go to My Computer > Control Panel > Mouse). If you do
get fingerprints or dirt on your screen, you can clean it - with care and the proper cleaning
solution. Remember, your laptop screen surface is thin, flexible plastic, not glass. Do NOT
(repeat, do NOT) use glass cleaner. The ammonia that is a primary component of most glass
cleaners will eventually yellow the screen and make it brittle.
Your first attempt to clean a screen should be with a soft cloth (NOT paper towels)
dampened with water. If a gentle wipe with this does not work, then use isopropyl alcohol
(rubbing alcohol) at 50% or less (most isopropyl is 90-95% strength; just dilute it with an
equal amount of water). You can buy commercial cleaning solutions and cleaning pads for
computer screens - but make sure they specifically say "for laptop or LCD screens" -
otherwise they most likely contain ammonia and/or ethanol, both of which will damage your
screen.
And, of course, always pour the cleaning solution onto the cleaning cloth - never pour or
spray it directly onto the screen (where it may run off and damage electronic components).
The same care tips hold true for any LCD screen that you may have - for a desktop
computer or TV as well as for laptops.
If you are a new "owner" of a laptop, were unable to attend any of our recent Personal
Technology Consulting days, and have questions about your new machine, please contact
the Helpdesk for assistance.
The recent PC "refresh" cycle included 176 laptops to add to the 75 or so purchased in the
last year or two. Using a laptop is almost the same as using a desktop - almost.
The screen on a laptop is an LCD (liquid crystal display) composed of individual transistors
at every pixel (the tiny dots that make up the images on the screen). The screens of the
laptops we just purchased have 1,470,000 pixels. Each pixel is a separate transistor/liquid
crystal combination. If any one is damaged you will have a permanent black spot on your
screen. To be sure, the loss of a single pixel will not make your screen unusable, but if you
physically damage the screen you will probably lose more than a single pixel. The screen is
the single most expensive part of your laptop. Most damage to it is non-repairable. Replacing
it can cost $700 to $1,000, a substantial portion of the $1,483 cost of the most recently
purchased machines.
To keep your screen in good shape, stay away from it - i.e. do NOT poke it with your
finger - or even worse- with a pen or pencil. If you want to show something on the screen to
someone else, point "from a distance" or use your mouse and cursor to point to the item of
interest (incidentally, you can make your cursor much larger and/or change its shape if you
find it hard to see on the screen. Go to My Computer > Control Panel > Mouse). If you do
get fingerprints or dirt on your screen, you can clean it - with care and the proper cleaning
solution. Remember, your laptop screen surface is thin, flexible plastic, not glass. Do NOT
(repeat, do NOT) use glass cleaner. The ammonia that is a primary component of most glass
cleaners will eventually yellow the screen and make it brittle.
Your first attempt to clean a screen should be with a soft cloth (NOT paper towels)
dampened with water. If a gentle wipe with this does not work, then use isopropyl alcohol
(rubbing alcohol) at 50% or less (most isopropyl is 90-95% strength; just dilute it with an
equal amount of water). You can buy commercial cleaning solutions and cleaning pads for
computer screens - but make sure they specifically say "for laptop or LCD screens" -
otherwise they most likely contain ammonia and/or ethanol, both of which will damage your
screen.
And, of course, always pour the cleaning solution onto the cleaning cloth - never pour or
spray it directly onto the screen (where it may run off and damage electronic components).
The same care tips hold true for any LCD screen that you may have - for a desktop
computer or TV as well as for laptops.
If you are a new "owner" of a laptop, were unable to attend any of our recent Personal
Technology Consulting days, and have questions about your new machine, please contact
the Helpdesk for assistance.
