What Is Image Persistence?
LCD monitors use a different method for producing the image on the screen and are immune to this burn-in effect. Rather than phosphors generating light and color, an LCD uses a white light behind the screen with polarizers and crystals to filter the light to specific colors. While LCDs are not susceptible to burn-in the same way CRT monitors are, LCDs suffer from what manufacturers call image persistence. Like the burn-in on CRTs, image persistence on LCD monitors is caused by the continuous display of static graphics on the screen for extended periods. Long-term-static images prompt the LCD crystals to develop a memory for their location to generate the colors of that graphic. When a different color appears in that location, the color will be off and will display a faint image of what was previously displayed. The persistence is the result of how the crystals in the display work. The crystals move from a position allowing all light through to one that doesn’t allow any. It’s almost like a shutter on a window. When the screen displays an image for an extremely long time, the crystals can switch to a particular position. It may shift a bit to alter the color, but not completely, resulting in a display other than the one intended. This problem is most common for elements of the display that do not change. Items that are likely to generate a persistent image are the taskbar, desktop icons, and background images. These tend to be static in their location and displayed on the screen for an extended period. Once other graphics load over these locations, it might be possible to see a faint outline or image of the previous graphic.
Is It Permanent?
In most cases, no. The crystals have a natural state and could shift depending on the amount of current used to generate the desired color. As long as these colors change periodically, the crystals at that pixel should fluctuate enough, so the image doesn’t imprint into the crystals permanently. However, if the screen is always on the image that doesn’t change, the crystals could obtain a permanent memory.
Can It Be Prevented or Corrected?
Image persistence on LCD screens can be corrected in most cases and easily prevented.
Correcting Image Persistence
Using these items can prevent the image persistence problem from cropping up on a monitor. If the monitor displays image persistence problems, here are a few steps that can be used to correct it:
