Choosing the Right Graphics Tablet

There you are: you have finally decided to purchase a graphics tablet. Whatever your reasons may be for purchasing one, you are now faced with a very major decision: amongst all the numerous graphics tablets out there, which one would best suit your needs and your budget ?

Wacom is without any doubt, a genius when it comes to graphics tablet (also known as pen tablet) technology and is continually improving their products. Due to these frequent upgrades, this article will only touch the following Wacom models: Bamboo, Bamboo Fun (a successor and an improved model over the Graphire series), Intuos3 (the 3rd generation of Intuos) and Cintiq.

The basics

All Wacom graphics tablets are easy to install and use, thanks to Wacom’s Plug & Play technology. Every Wacom tablet is compatible with Macintosh and Windows, supports widescreen format, offers application and tool settings, provides a comfortable design and comes equipped with a detachable USB cable, and a programmable, cordless and battery free ergonomic pen. Therefore, your decision will be based on the main differences between these major models. Those include: pressure sensitivity, resolution and size.

• Pressure sensitivity of the pen tip and its eraser( when present) is measured in levels: 512 levels for the Bamboo line and 1024 levels, the highest thus far, for the Intuos3 and Cintiq models.
• Resolution, measured in lines per square inch, is marked at 2,540 for the Bamboo series and 5,080 for the Intuos3 and Cintiq models. Based on these two differences alone, if one needs or desires more precision and sharper results, the Intuos3 or the Cintiq are by far the better choices.
• Size relates to the active area of the graphics tablet, which is the drawing/writing area and not the actual size of the tablet. If space is really a tight issue, make sure you take into consideration the actual dimensions of the graphics tablet. Since the active area of a tablet matches your computer screen no matter what size it is, don’t let a smaller sized Wacom tablet fool you: the smaller sizes offer just as many features as the larger ones. Size becomes a concern when considering desk space, laptop use, portability, and user preferances. Bamboo, Bamboo Fun Small and Medium, Intuos3 4×6 and 6×8 are all wonderful options for small working environments.

Let’s start by comparing the three Bamboo models.

Bamboo standard (4×6 approx.) with its sleek black piano finish, is a wonderful improvement over the past Wacom models. It is perfect for any office, be it at home or at work and a perfect travelling companion. Specified mostly for office work rather than artistic tasks, it performs very well by working with your computer’s existing software for marking up documents, jotting down notes and writing your signature. So if you do not need any extra art related software, and the budget is as tight as your desk space, this is the perfect graphics tablet for you.

(Bamboo standard is the only Wacom tablet, of the newer models, which does not come with a matching mouse, or any software. The accompanying Bamboo pen does not have an eraser which could prove to be inconvenient.)

Bamboo Fun (Small) (4×6 approx.) is terrific for children and beginners with creative minds. With four colors to choose from, (Blue, White, Black and Silver) you can personalize any office, home or at work, with your preferred color. However, despite the great Wacom quality and advantages, the active area might prove to be too small for elaborate projects.

Bamboo Fun (Medium) (5×9 approx.) which also comes in the same 4 different colors as the Small version, is ideal for beginners and excellent for young students, digital photographers and more creative users. The new possibilities range from personalizing your work with your signature or other creations to touching-up photos.

Wacom released their completely redesigned pen tablet in Canada and the USA on March 25, 2009. This black, sleek upgrade of the Intuos3 series is a long-desired and welcomed addition to the graphic tablet community. The Intuos4 pen tablets, with a 2-year warranty, positions the ExpressKeys (for shortcuts) and the Touch Ring (for quick scrolling and zooming) on the side instead of on top (on the Bamboo and Graphire).

The Intuos4 also adds tilt control and tool recognition (Tool ID) to the mix, added bonuses for any serious user. It even offers more pen tips for different writing and drawing results with the one accompanying latex-free cushioned Grip Pen which provides extra comfort and reduces tension.

Extra accessories are available for the Intuos4 such as an array of different pen types ranging from the classic pen for a more natural, day-to-day work and feel to the sophisticated airbrush for unbelievably realistic paintings and other art designs.

If you are a serious graphic artist or a professional with elaborate artistic ideas who spends long hours using artistic software, an Intuos4 is certainly a worthwhile investment.  Most professionals, be they graphics artists, technicians or designers, with highly detailed expectations would describe it as an essential tool. That said, there are still 4 different sizes to choose from!

–  easier and faster access to editing, navigation, media control

–  improved ergonomic features on both the tablet and the digitizer pen

–  a show-settings function to help you remember your shortcuts and functions assigned to the ExpressKeys,

–  ExpressKeys and a new Touch Ring with Toggle Button situated all on one side, therefore easily accessible to the non-dominant hand,

–  increased precision for working with the finest of details combined with the lowest activation pressure thus far, capturing every nuance with the lightest touch,

–  reversibility accommodating left-handed as well as right handed users without the need to disable ExpressKeys due to accidentally activating them with the dominant hand.

If you are a serious graphic artist or a professional with elaborate artistic ideas who spends long hours using artistic software, an Intuos4 is certainly a worthwhile investment.  Most professionals, be they graphics artists, technicians or designers, with highly detailed expectations would describe it as an essential tool. That said, there are still 4 different sizes to choose from!

• Intuos4 Small (6×4) is easily portable with more features than the Bamboo series and perfect for small desk spaces yet affordable. It has less ExpressKeys (6 in all) than the 3 larger Intuos4 models and the ExpressKeys show-settings function is a pop-up display on-screen.

(All the other Intuos4 sizes Medium, Large and Extra Large have 8 ExpressKeys
and an illuminated EspressKeysDisplay directly on the pen tablet.
Forgetting shortcut-settings is now a thing of the past.)

• Intuos4 Medium (9×6) is the most popular Intuos4 pen tablet due to its versatility: it offers a sufficient amount of work space on the drawing area, yet still small enough for cramped spaces. It’s also a perfect traveling companion for the laptop and ideal for serious students on the go.

• Intuos4 Large (13×8) targets the CAD users, and technical illustrators which may desire a larger surface area and artists who are used to drawing or painting with large sweeping motions. It is also optimized for work in single screen or for multiple monitor work stations and is ideal for editing HDTV videos. Remember, the larger your tablet surface, the more you will need to move your arms which may be viewed as a disadvantage to some users.

• Intuo4 Extra Large (18×12) is the only Intuos4 pen tablet with an integrated USB cable. All the other smaller sizes have a detachable cable (detaches from the computer and the tablet for easier storage and portability). Intuos4 XL greatly assists professional photo-retouching artists, illustrators, animators and industrial designers in any industry including automobile, textile and fashion with challenging endeavours, allowing for wider sweeping strokes. It is geared towards sophisticated and high-performance work involving precision and accurate results like digital imagery, audio-visual tasks, graphic arts, and architecture. It offers optimal use of wide screen and double monitors and is excellent for creating HDTV videos.

Since the Intuos4 has new technological components and more powerful upgrades,
the Intuos4 digitizer pens only work with Intuos4 pen tablets.)

Given that the Intuos4 replaces the Intuos3 series, the latter has been discontinued.
However, all Intuos3 accessories will remain in production
because they are also used with the Cintiq pen displays – below.

All of the enhancements and Wacom technological breakthroughs become evident the instant the pen is applied to the tablet.  Every Intuos4 graphic tablet offers:

Cintiq is the combination of the Intuos3 technology with an LCD monitor. The result: a state of the art monitor that allows you to write or draw directly on the screen with unparalleled accuracy! The fact that it is totally adjustable to any angle and for any purpose (on your desk or on your knees) makes it the holy grail of the Wacom graphics tablets and obviously, the most expensive.

The Cintiqseries (which comes with an Intuos3 Grip Pen for optimal comfort and fatigue prevention) will greatly improve work flow and efficiency while providing spectacular, detailed results in any professional field ranging from industrial designers, audio-editors and animators to doctors, educators and story-board creators requiring faster visual effects. This interactive pen display, with leading edge technology, literally becomes your canvas or your easel.

Many claim to have improved productivity by as much as 100% thanks to the ultimate working / drawing freedom and comfort a Cintiq provides.  Yet again, there are 2 Cintiq ’s to choose from.  First,  they differ in size, measured diagonally, from the small 12.1” to the large 21.3”.

Cintiq 12WX (1280 x 800 native resolution) is very light (4.4lbs) and portable thanks to an extra cable and a converter box to keep it small and lightweight. It’s half the price of the other Cintiq model, boasts 2 more Express Keys than it’s larger brother (10 in all), provides a smooth, flat surface, and has an aspect ratio of 16:10, perfect for widescreen monitors. However, due to its small size, you may want to add this to a multi-monitor set-up. If you are a very serious artist or technical designer, it is recommended that you save for the larger Cintiq model.  

Cintiq 21UX (1600 x 1200 native res.) is the top of the line for pixel perfect results and adjustability. Weighing in at 22.4 lbs, it’s has an aspect ratio of 4:3 (standard resolution). This larger Cintiq boasts a textured, durable, scratch-resistant surface (with anti-glare coating) to enhance the pen on paper feeling.  With a variety of available digitizer input devices like the Airbrush, the 6D Art Pen and it’s partner Grip Pen, it easily outperforms any graphic tablet on the market.
When trying to choose between all of these great Wacom contenders, wallet and desk size will always be an issue…

Everyday users for home and basic office duties will delight in Bamboo, andBamboo Fun.

Educators, students, conference hosts and seminar conductors will find the Wireless Graphire Bluetooth graphic tablet an awesome and invaluable cordless device.

Professionals at home or at the office in all fields will require and thoroughly enjoy the Intuos4 Small and Medium (Academic specials for students and schools do exist for the Bamboo Fun and the Intuos4.)

Serious illustrators, educators, technical designers and artists demanding elaborate detail and high pixel perfection will be delighted with the larger Intuos4 pen tablets and will absolutely love the freedom, comfort, efficiency and convenience of drawing directly on the screen with the Cintiq … and for many users – those virtues are priceless.