Surface protectors

aka "Screen protectors"

Overview

There are many options to protect the surface of your tablet from scratches, etc. There are options for both pen tablets (screenless tablets) and pen displays (screen tablets).

Considerations for all tablets

  • Protectors do not interfere with the pen - These protective sheets do NOT interfere with how your pen works. The EMR signal from the pen, passes right through non-metallic materials such as plastic or glass.

  • Protectors do not interfere with touch - But check with the protector manufacturer to be sure.

Considerations for pen displays

  • Transparency - Protective sheets for pen displays must, of course, be transparent. Make sure you verify any protector you buy is intended for use with a pen display.

  • Anti-glare - you have to consider if the have an anti-glare treatment and how much anti-glare sparkle they cause. Some people are very sensitive to the amount of sparkle. So factor that into your choice. More here: anti-glare sparkle.

  • Parallax - Since parallax increases when the distance increases from the tip of the pen from the display panel. However, in practice these protectors are incredibly thin and the actual parallax increase is very very small and I've never heard anyone complain about the small bit of additional parallax they add.

Protection from the tablet manufacturer

3rd-party protectors for pen displays and pen tablets

  • Photodon screen protectors - Photodon sells pre-cut and custom-sized protectors for all kinds of devices including many drawing tablets. They have anti-glare films at different strengths so you can pick what works best for you. More here: Photodon screen protectors

  • ViaScreens - makes different types of protectors for devices with screens. https://viascreens.com/

  • atFoliX - These are listed on amazon and eBay for a variety of sizes and products. I've never tried them. These protectors are clear and be used for pen displays.

  • HealingShield - Another brand that can be used for pen displays. Here's one review - Review of the HealingShield Screen Protector for Wacom One DTC133 3/19/2023

3rd-party protectors for pen tablets

iPad protectors

DIY protection

Links

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