Product Reviews

Wacom's latest graphics tablet is something of a revelation. By building the pressure-sensitive surface into a large LCD monitor, Wacom has created a tool that radically changes the way we interact with artwork: you can now draw directly on to the screen, a process that completely removes the disparity between looking at the screen and drawing on a desk-mounted surface.

For those used to drawing or painting on paper, the transition to using a tablet will be greatly eased. Adding shading to objects in Photoshop feels far more natural, and painting using the natural media tools of Painter is as close to the real thing as you can get without having to clean up afterwards.

When drawing using the calligraphic or art brushes in Illustrator, it's possible to draw flowing and accurate curves far more smoothly and precisely than with a conventional tablet: using the Cintiq really does feel as natural as drawing directly on to paper.

The ability to render handwriting is a good test of this technology. Using a standard tablet, it's almost impossible to create letter forms that are anything other than jerky and ugly; it's barely better than trying to write with a mouse. But using the Cintiq, the strokes follow the stylus precisely, resulting in perfectly formed letters that are indistinguishable from those drawn on paper and scanned in.

Drawing board

The tablet has a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, displayed on a bright monitor measuring roughly 30cm x 23cm. The viewing angle is a full 160¡. The monitor is housed within a dark grey case that adds a border of between 5cm and 6.5cm all the way round. It's supported by an easel-type stand that enables it to be positioned at any angle from almost flat to virtually vertical, using a simple clip at the back to adjust the angle at will. You can even hold it in your lap. The broad rear foot makes the tablet rock solid at any angle.

Housed within the front casing are the power switch,

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power and status lights, and menu buttons that bring up the on-screen options for changing contrast, brightness, phase, pitch, and vertical and horizontal positioning. The power, monitor and USB cables are tucked away at the back, concealed beneath a clip-on cover that neatly hides them from sight. The Cintiq also supports both analogue and digital video sources.

When using the tablet in its flattest position, it's possible to draw on the screen while holding your arm comfortably above the surface. But when used vertically, the only way to steady your hand is to rest it on the tablet's surface, which could leave grease marks after an extended period. The documentation warns against using detergent to clean the screen, and it remains to be seen if a damp cloth will do the job.

One problem with drawing directly on to a monitor is that your hand inevitably obscures part of the drawing. While this may not be an issue when using painting tools, it becomes more of a problem when you draw Bezier curves. You need to be able to see both ends of the Bezier handles that emanate from each anchor point, and your hand frequently hides the trailing handle. The only solution is to use a rather tortured arm position and twist your hand around the top of the screen.

The tablet/monitor is calibrated using the standard Wacom control panel, which instructs you to click on crosshairs at the top left and bottom right of the monitor to align the stylus precisely with the cursor position. The cursor/stylus alignment is accurate over most of the tablet's surface. However, there are strong disparities when you work very close to the top of the screen where the cursor is several pixels away from the tip of the stylus.

Jumped up

Another issue is the fact that the cursor starts getting twitchy when you move the stylus within about a centimetre of the edge of the monitor: it jumps back and forth two or three pixels at a time, again making it difficult to position points accurately. The solution is to scroll your document so that you're working further from the edge.

The problem becomes more acute when the cursor approaches the corners of the monitor, where it starts dancing about wildly. It's not so bad that you can't select the Apple menu, but it can be disconcerting.

Overall, the Cintiq is a gorgeous piece of technology that's a joy to use. It's the closest yet to drawing digitally on real paper. Some day, perhaps, all PowerBooks will ship with touch-sensitive screens, but until then, the Cintiq is a stunning alternative.