We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions about our styluses, and some technical information about touch screens in general.

We hope you find it useful. If you have a question you would like answered, or a comment, please send it to us at: info@pdapanache.com.

ABOUT YOUR STYLUS

Q. What should I look for in a good stylus?

A. We think the most important feature of any stylus you choose is the quality of the writing tip. The writing tip is the part that comes in direct contact with your touch screen. This is the main purpose of a stylus, to provide the right type of contact with your touch screen to input data (strokes) or commands (taps). Using an instrument that does not have the correct material or shape can lead to touch screen damage such as scratches. It may also degrade input accuracy and character recognition. All PDA Panache styli have screen safe writing tips engineered in accordance with specifications from major touch screen manufacturers.

Q. What kind of styli are available?

A. You'll want to decide if you want a stylus upgrade that fits into your PDA's built-in stylus holder, or a more general purpose instrument that you can keep in your pocket, case, or purse, or may offer additional features.

A stylus upgrade retains the convenience of storing in your PDA's stylus holder. It is your primary stylus kept on-board so it's always there when you need it.

PDA Panache custom stylus upgrades are designed just for your specific PDA. Fitted with our screen safe writing tip, our stylus upgrades offer a better grip, feel and look, plus more mass, than the stock stylus supplied with your PDA. They store in your PDA in place of your stock stylus.

We custom make each model to compliment and work with your PDA. They often include our "nail" head top cap for easy insertion and extraction from the stylus holder.

For those PDA's that need a paper clip to press the unit's hardware reset button, we provide a handy built-in reset pin under the screw-off top cap of the stylus.

One of the most appreciated features of our stylus upgrades is their extra mass. Mass contributes to a better feeling stylus by helping it hug the surface. It glides smoothly through areas of varying resistance, resist chatter and skipping. Additional momentum provides better flow for your writing, and can improve character recognition. Extra mass results in a strong, rigid instrument. Its stiffness permits minute accurate adjustments on your screen.

Q. Do you have styli I can use on any PDA?

A. PDA Panache also offers a variety of general purpose styli that may be used with any PDA. We have styli available with most of the same features as traditional ink pens. You have a selection of colors, sizes, and prices to choose from.

A popular choice for general purpose styli includes the multifunction models that combine a quality stylus tip with an ink pen and/or pencil in one handy instrument.

Our low cost Stick Stylus line is a popular choice for promotional and industrial applications. They may be imprinted with your logo or message for added value or as an advertising promotion.

In addition to complete instruments, we have stylus inserts for popular pens that allow you to convert your favorite pen into a screen safe stylus.

Q. What are PDA Panache stylus tips made from?

A. PDA Panache uses the highest quality, virgin, DuPont® Delrin® brand acetal plastic resin for its stylus tips. Acetal plastic is the material specified for stylus tips by the major manufacturers of touch screens. Some of the desirable properties of Delrin® that make it ideal for stylus tips include its strength, impact and chemical resistance, stability, resistance to creep, and its natural lubricity. Our stylus tips are injection molded from virgin Delrin® resins.

Q. Why are your stylus tips bright orange?

A. PDA Panache introduced the Easy View® orange stylus tip in 1995 with a number of goals in mind. First is the improved visibility and eye-hand coordination it affords the user. This is particularly true in low-light conditions or with backlighting on the screen. Better visibility leads to better accuracy. It's that simple. Our Easy View® tip also offers added protection when fitted into our multifunction stylus/pen combo instruments. With Easy View® you'll always know you have the correct tip exposed for use on your screen. A third benefit of our Easy View® is easier detection of contamination. It will be easier to see if a foreign particle becomes embedded in your tip.

Most of our customers rave about the advantages of our Easy View® writing tip, and it comes standard on all products. You may request a traditional black writing tip, if you prefer, as a no-cost option available on most of our stylus products.

Q. Can a PDA Panache stylus scratch my screen?

A. No, a clean stylus, used properly on a clean screen, will not scratch. Screen scratches come from the dust and dirt trapped between your stylus tip and the touch screen. Your best defense against scratches is scrupulous cleanliness with your touch screen and stylus. (See our Care Guide for information on cleaning your stylus and touch screen.)

Q. Can my PDA Panache Stylus tip be replaced?

A. Your stylus purchase includes our exclusive Lifetime Writing-Tip repair service. Our stylus writing tips are engineered to provide maximum performance and protection for your touch screen. With proper care, they will continue to perform as new for many years of normal use.

If you ever wear-out, deform, contaminate, or in any way damage the writing-tip of your PDA Panache stylus, you may send the stylus to our factory where we will repair and return it to you for no charge. Please see our Tip Warranty web page for more details on our repair service.

Q. What kind of finish is on the custom styli?

A. Our custom stylus upgrades for your PDA have durable electroplated finishes for years of service and good looks. Our unique Black Chrome finish may develop a patina during long term use, but this will in no way detract from the function of your stylus.

Q. What is the reset pin for and how do I use it?

A. Many manufacturers place a small hole in the back side of their PDA that you may insert a paper clip or similar tool into when you need to reboot your PDA. Most PDA Panache stylus upgrades have a convenient reset pin, sized for your device, built-in under the top cap. To use, simply unscrew the stylus top cap and insert the reset pin all the way into your PDA's reset hole. Follow your PDA manufacturer's instructions for hard or soft reset procedures.

Q. How do I change the pencil lead or ink cartridge in my multi-function stylus?

A. To change the ink or add new pencil lead to any of our multi-function styli such as the Trio or Duo models:

1. Unscrew the bottom barrel from the top barrel by turning it counter-clockwise. They separate in the middle at the ring.

2a. For ink, pull out old cartridge and insert new cartridge. It may help to hold the tube at its bottom while pulling the old ink out. Be sure new ink is inserted all the way into the holder tube. You may purchase 3-packs of replacement ink cartridges in black, blue or red from our web site.

2b. For new lead, pull entire silver colored pencil mechanism off of its brass holder tube and insert 3 or 4 new .5mm pencil leads into the brass tube. Unlike other mechanical pencils you may be familiar with, multi-function instruments with pencils fill from the bottom, not top of the pencil. Do not over fill the tube as it may cause jamming.

3. Replace the lower barrel and test function.

ABOUT YOUR TOUCH SCREEN:

We have compiled some general information about the touch screens commonly found in today's popular PDA's. This information may vary depending upon your touch screen manufacturer. Please consult with your PDA manufacturer for their specific characteristics and recommendations.

Q. What is my touch screen made of?

A. The surface you touch with your stylus is typically a .007 inch (0.1mm) thin film of hardcoated Polyester (PET) plastic.

Your PDA has a multi-layer touch screen and display. The top layer is the touch-sensitive "input device" of your PDA. Underneath it is the display "output" part of your screen. You look through the touch sensor to see the display.

The touch sensor consists of a PET plastic film top layer, an air gap, and (usually) the glass surface of the underlying display. The underside of the PET top layer is printed with a grid of conductors for the touch sensor. Touching the top layer of PET plastic deforms it, and closes the air gap, thereby putting it in contact with the conductors and the glass surface underneath. An electrical resistance is generated at the point of contact and used to determine exactly where on the screen you touched. The resolution of your touch sensor is low, about one contact every 1/5inch (5mm) and much lower than the resolution of your display.

Q. What's my screen's hard coat and what does it do?

A. The PET plastic of a touch screen's top surface is typically treated with a UV-cured, organic acrylate hard coat material to protect it. This is your screen's first line of defense against scratches. Hardcoated PET is substantially more abrasion resistant than uncoated PET. Your screen may have a clear high-gloss hard coat, or one of various antiglare (matte) surface treatments.

Q. How hard is my touch screen?

A. It may be of interest to know just how hard your PET touch screen plastic is.

The standard method for testing organic thin film hardness is known as the ASTM Pencil Hardness Test (ASTM: D 3363-92a). In this test a set of standard pencil leads ranging from the hardest (6H) to softest (6B) is stroked across the film at a 45 degree angle until the pencil hardness that will not scratch or gouge the film is found. Typical PET touch screen pencil hardness falls between 3H and 5H. That means that any item harder than a #3H pencil lead may cause a scratch in the screen's PET.

Q. What can I put on my touch screen without damage to it?

A. You may also be interested in how resistant typical touch screens are to common solvents or household chemicals.

For solvent testing the touch screen plastic is placed in continuous wet contact for one hour. In tests with the following solvents there was no effect: Heptane, Ethanol, Isopropanol, Acetone, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Toluene, Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrochloric Acid, Turpentine, Naptha, Gasoline, Motor Oil, Diesel Fuel, Transmission Fluid, and Antifreeze.

For household chemical testing the touch screen is immersed for 24 hours. In tests with the following household chemicals there was no effect:
Strong Tea, Coffee, Catsup, Vinegar, Milk, Wisk Laundry Detergent, Fantastik, Betadine Antiseptic, Hydrogen Peroxide, Joy Dish Soap, Windex Glass Cleaner, Armor All Protectant.

It was found that Mustard will cause severe yellowing on matte touch screens.

Touch screens all have air openings around the bezel. Never apply any liquid directly to your touch screen as it could leak under your screen and cause severe damage.

Q. How do I get scratches on my screen?

A. Screen scratches come from dust and dirt trapped between your stylus tip and the touch screen. If the foreign material is harder than the touch screen's hardcoated PET plastic top layer, it will gouge or abrade it. Your best defense against scratches is scrupulous cleanliness with your touch screen and stylus. (See our Care Guide for information on cleaning your stylus and touch screen.)

Creases are another form of screen damage that improper stylus care may cause. A crease is the permanent bending or deformation of the touch screen's top plastic layer, as opposed to a scratch, which is a gouging of the material. Using far too much stylus pressure, or an instrument with too small a tip, are the primary causes for creases. Try to moderate your writing and tapping pressure on the screen so you press only hard enough to accurately input your strokes, but no harder than necessary. Never use a fine-point instrument, such as a ball-point pen tip, as a stylus. It offers no improvement in input or recognition, and may crease your screen or de-laminate the underside conductors.

Touch screen haze is another condition that is sometimes experienced. Haze is usually caused by long-term wear of your screen's hard coat and micro-scratching of the screen. Again, cleanliness, and use of a properly tipped stylus with moderate pressure, is your best defense against long-term screen deterioration from hazing. Tests with hardcoated PDA touch screens show that after 400,000 strokes with acetal-tiped styli at 250 grams of pressure, the reduction in screen clarity is only about 1%.

Q. How can I remove scratches from my screen?

A. We know of no proven way to remove a scratch from a touch screen. Any attempt to polish the scratch out of the screen will also remove your touch screen's hard coat, leaving it exposed and vulnerable to more extensive damage. Your best solution for a bad scratch is to cover your screen with one of the commercially available or homemade screen protectors, or if only the input area is affected, try using Scotch-brand 811 removable tape over the area.

Q. Should I use RainX or Armor All, or car waxes on my screen?

A. In our opinion this is not a good idea. While the chemical resistance tests shown above indicate that it is not likely to do any direct harm, it is also not likely to offer much of a benefit. None of these treatments will be able to exceed the protection characteristics of your screen's hard coat. Keep your screen clean and us a proper stylus to protect the hard coat for maximum screen life.

Q. Why do I have to perform a touch screen calibration on my PDA?

A. Your touch screen needs to be calibrated to the touch of your stylus the first time you use it, or after a reset. Your PDA has a function built-in to take you through the procedure. It usually involves tapping your stylus on a target as it is moved to known points around the screen. This is required for the digitizing software to accurately determine the location of your stylus. It is important to hold your PDA and stylus as you will normally use them when calibrating your touch screen. A different stylus may change the way you touch the screen. For best performance we recommend re-calibrating your touch screen whenever you switch to a different stylus.

Q. How should I clean my touch screen?

A. The front surface of your PDA touch screen should be kept free of dirt, dust, fingerprints and other foreign materials. Abrasive materials will scratch the front surface of your touch screen, impairing visibility and input accuracy. We recommend that you use a clean, damp, nonabrasive cloth towel, and any commercially available window cleaner, to regularly clean the surface.

The cleaning solution MUST be applied to the cloth and NOT directly to the screen. Most screens have air vents around the edges and are NOT designed with water tight bezels. Fluid may get behind the screen if it is not cleaned properly.

We suggest first gently blotting the screen without any rubbing action. This will pick up most loose particles so they will not be rubbed into the screen. After blotting, turn to a clean area of the cloth and gently rub until the screen is polished clean and dry. Pay particular attention to the edges and corners of your screen where dirt can hide. Even if you use a screen protector product over your touch screen, you should still clean it regularly. This will extend the protector's life and protect your stylus from contamination or unnecessary wear.

To reduce the tendency of static electricity to attract dust to your screen, try a USED dryer static cling sheet, such as Bounce®, to polish your screen after cleaning.