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LCD Monitor and Notebook Protection

Larry Braud, longtime subscriber, reader and friend, told be about the protective film he applied to his new laptop. The material was a light-weight, clear, colorless material which came with an anti-glare finish. It adheres to the screen using a built-in silicone resin adhesive.

It seems to be easy to apply and easy to peel off. More importantly, it protects the delicate screen from accidental touches (fingerprint marks are very hard to remove from most LCD monitors). Most importantly, if he hadn't told me that he had the film on the monitor, I never would have realized it. The picture was bright, sharp without the shine of a high gloss LCD.

I'm not sure why so many manufacturers seem to be shifting to high-glare notebook screens. Perhaps the glossy finish is less susceptible to finger oils or easier to clean — but they're awfully hard to read.

I haven't tried these, but Larry has. I've seen his and it looked good, too. If you've got a glossy screen laptop — or if you've got an LCD monitor and have children around (or adults) who can't be trusted to keep their fingers off the screen, this can be a lifesaver.

Another friend noted that he had managed to touch his monitor while he had a felt-tip pen in his hand - and now has a mark on it. A film screen protector would have saved him a lot of grief.

I'm going to keep this one in mind for my next notebook or desktop LCD. You can purchase individual pre-cut sheets for common monitor sizes, including both regular and wide-screen LCD's (they don't work for curved CRT-based monitors. Pricing is extremely reasonable — a 17-inch wide-screen anti-glare sheet is less than $20, and shipping is only another $2.50 (in the U.S.) You can find it at PhotoDon.

Copyright © 2007 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.