Replacing a cracked LCD screen in an otherwise fully functional laptop is great for the environment (and for your wallet).
As we mentioned before, LaptopScreen.com has prevented over 170 thousand tonnes (374,785,846 pounds) of CO2 emissions by providing affordable LCD replacement to its customers who otherwise may have replaced their laptops instead; and this number continues to grow every day.
We are happy to enable our customers to act in an environmentally friendly way and at the same time we also try to reduce our own carbon foot print by using recycled packaging materials, providing paperless billing and shipping documentation and recycling our old electronics in a responsible manner.
But can one go even further and fix a cracked LCD panel?
In a word – no.
We had our graphics department draw up a diagram of the anatomy of a Liquid Crystal Display (this does not apply to AMOLED displays that are used in smaller devices):
Click on the image to expand it
LCD screen consists of a back-light assembly, LCD matrix and may include additional layers in front to add a glossy effect or to diffuse reflections and can also include a touchscreen layer overtop.
Only several years ago replacing a CCFL bulb was in some cases an acceptable way to save money to fix a 5 year old dim LCD, but with the mass adoption of LED back-lit displays and a gradual phase-out of the traditional CCFL bulbs, a modern LED back-light almost never fails.
This brings us to the most commonly broken part of a laptop screen – the LCD Matrix. At the core of the LCD Matrix there are two glass substrates that form a sealed vessel for the solution of liquid crystals which form the image. Each pixel is chemically printed on each of the two glass planes, and each LCD pixel has three transistors in it called sub-pixels which turn transparent (reorient themselves sort of like window blinds) when an electrical current is applied. The light passes from the back-light though the sub-pixel onto a color filter showing one of the three basic colors: Red, Green or Blue. By mixing the intensity and combination of these basic colors each pixel is able to display up to 16.5 million colors individually.
But what happens when the screen is cracked?
The liquid crystal containment vessel is broken, and those black splotches of ink that characterize a physically damaged LCD begin spreading through the cracks and leaking outside of the glass substates.
Unfortunately, even if the glass was to be superglued back together and the liquid crystal solution refilled, the thousands of transistors along the crack have been irreparably severed (1080p display has 2,073,600 pixels and 6,220,800 sub-pixel transistors) – stitching those together is akin to neural surgery. Because there are just so many little connections required to enable an LCD panel to work at all, it is also why there are virtually no fake or counterfeit laptop screens. A leading edge technological facility with cleanrooms and industrial filtration systems is required to create a modern working LCD.
Currently some touchscreens can be replaced separately from the LCD module – but even those are slowly becoming thinner and more sophisticated – some LCD modules already include the touch-screen in its construction – and in those cases the touchscreens can only be replaced together with the LCD.
Replacing an LCD is still a much better alternative to replacing your laptop. Not only is it better for the environment, but you also retain all your files and settings; you get to keep the device that you are used to; and with so many videos posted by our happy customers replacing their screens on their own for the first time in their lives – it is also fair to note that fixing your own stuff can be just as rewarding and exciting as shopping for a new device!
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