PDF is short for Portable Document Format and it is a versatile file format for sharing documents online. For example, many contracts and documents are signed virtually and saved as PDFs because the format tends to be more secure.
PDF files have been around for over two decades now. There isn’t a single user who has not gone through these as they are ubiquitous. PDF files not only contain text, but they also have media such as audio and videos.
If you’re exchanging and creating PDFs with your peers or coworkers, chances are high you’ll need do some notation. Annotating PDFs refers to adding notes and important remarks to the PDF for other readers. It’s common during the development process, and may be required for you to sign or fill out a PDF as well.
Don’t worry if you don’t have much experience annotating like this on a computer. We’ll go over the easiest ways to annotate a PDF on Windows and Mac OS.
What Is an Annotation?
When you mark up text, you are in fact having a conversation with what you are reading. So, an annotation is important.
Annotation is a fancy word for "marking a sentence, paragraph, page or anything else." There are various markup tools you can use to annotate what you are reading: underline a sentence, use a highlighter, add a comment with an arrow, flag with a symbol, draw a shape around it, tag a Post-It note on it, etc.
Use the selection and the markup tools annotate the PDF. You can use type, sketch, draw, use shapes, add notes, sign, and change the format for all.
7 Best PDF Annotator Software for Mac and Windows Users
Creating or reading a PDF is simple enough, but if you want to edit or annotate a PDF without changing it to a different format (or disturbing its layout), you’ll need to have a dedicated PDF editor on hand.
Conventional PDF readers don’t make it easy to draw or write freehand onto documents.
PDF editors are a different beast than PDF readers or word processors. They’re designed to handle one specific format and perform a limited number of tasks within that format.
The ability to allow single or collaborative annotation and markup is paramount. Good PDF editors should offer helpful annotation tools like highlighting, sticky notes, comment boxes, message stamps (like “approved” or “confidential”), or even freehand notes.
Many – including Adobe’s own Acrobat Reader – make it easy to highlight text or add your signature.
1. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
If there’s something you need to do to a PDF (and if you want to look right and stay secure), Adobe Acrobat is your best choice.
This is the industry standard for PDFs. Adobe makes it easy to create, edit, and sign PDFs (and track their activity) with its modern, intuitive interface.
The software is available for Windows and macOS systems, as iOS and Android apps, and as a Google Drive add-on.
2. Foxit Reader
Foxit PDF Reader allows you to annotate otherwise unmodifiable PDF files using its suite of drawing tools.
These drawing tools feature a variety of shapes, such as arrows, lines, rectangles, ovals, polygons and clouds, but it also offers a freehand Pencil Tool that allows you to draw or write whatever you desire.
If you mess up, don’t worry; Foxit PDF Reader also offers a Rubber Tool which allows you to erase marks made by the Pencil tool.
3. Drawboard
Drawboard PDF is now available for free through the Microsoft Store. Drawboard PDF can open, read, mark up, edit, write, annotate, ink, draw and save multiple large and complex PDF documents.
Millions of engineers, architects, lawyers, students and educators are already using Drawboard PDF every day for fast and collaborative PDF markup.
4. PDF XChange Viewer
The smallest, fastest, most feature-rich FREE PDF editor/viewer available! Create, View, Edit, Annotate, OCR and Digitally Sign PDF files plus much more....
PDF XChange Viewer has lots of features that are only available in paid versions of Acrobat or Foxit.
5. Xodo PDF Reader & Annotator
Xodo is one of many free PDF viewers. It supports annotations that will also work with other PDF viewers such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, and the app makes it easy to mark up documents using digital inking. Best of all, Xodo can save your digital signature for use across multiple documents.
Xodo works on Windows, Android, and ChromeOS, so no matter what you get you’ll have a free, excellent PDF annotation app.
6. OneNote
In the OneNote free note-taking application you can markup, highlight and tag the PDF document and it will be automatically saved to your OneNote Notebook. You can then print it, use it in a presentation, or share it via email and other apps.
Annotating PDFs in OneNote could be a good way to have students highlight parts of speech in a document that they share with you. It could also be a good way to draw attention to a particular passage in a text or make suggestions or improvement.
7. Xournal++
Xournal++ is a free handwriting notetaking software with PDF annotation support. which runs on Linux, macOS and Windows 10.
Xournal can be used to annotate PDF files, by loading the pages of a PDF file as backgrounds for a journal.
Best tablets with a stylus pen for annotating, Writing and Signing PDFs
If you’re going to mark up a PDF, you’ll want a good stylus that come with a tablet. These styli will help you create a clean signature and attractive annotations.
This is just comes down to what features you want and how much you’re willing to pay. Do you need a full OS? Or just something basic that can open PDFs and ink on them.
If marking up PDFs is something that you do a great deal of and a key part of your job, I would recommend getting the portable touch screen device ( such as ipad pro, surface pro, samsung galaxy tab.... ) you can find that supports the use of a highly-sensitive pen stylus.
Just open your document in PDF Reader, and you can begin writing on it with your favorite stylus or use a finger on a touch device.
If you already have a separate mac or pc and don’t need portability I’d recommend a cheaper option - USB drawing tablet.
All graphics tablets, with or without a display, support to write, sign name, comment, highlight on PDF like using a real pen on real paper.
The big time saver is the programmable buttons and dial that allow instant access to any menu feature you frequently use. It’s a huge time saver.
Digital pens are also a step above. it can be used as a mouse as well as a drawing tool. Angle and pressure sensitive as well as two programmable buttons on the pen (I use for single and double click selections).
The drawing board senses pressure so it is recommended to use the least amount of pressure from your hand while writing.
They can be a little unnatural to use at first, hopefully you’ll get used to it. They start cheap enough that you can see if you like them anyway.
One tip - whilst an A4 or larger surface feels like it ought to be a good idea, you end up moving your pen quite a lot and it gets tiring. Try smaller first.
Annotate PDF with Drawing tablet
Connecting a Drawing tablet & pen to your laptop or desktop allows you to write or draw electronically.
The pen tablet connects via USB or wireless. After downloading and installing the necessary driver you can use the pen and tablet to control your computer much like a computer mouse.
Then Use a PDF Annotator software to write, draw, or annotate prepared PDF slides.
How to creat your digital signature on PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
1. Open the Acrobat Reader DC and a PDF file that you want to sign your name.
2. Click ‘Tools’ and then find the item ‘Fill & Sign’ from the ‘Tools’ menu, open it.
3. Click the item ‘Sign’, then choose ‘Add Signature’.
4. Click ‘Draw’, then you can use stylus to draw. After finishing your signature, click ‘Apply’ to save it.
5. The signature can be placed anywhere in the PDF after saving it. For example, put the signature at the place that you want it there: choose ‘Sign’, click that place, then signature comes out.
How to use graphic tablet to draw, handwrite, comment on or highlight PDF files in Adobe Acrobat Reader
1. Connect the tablet and open the Acrobat Reader DC software.
2. Click ‘Tools’ and then find the item ‘Comment’ from the ‘Tools’ menu, open it.
3. Click pen icon that named ‘Draw free form’ pen to draw. you can select a color and line thickness you want from the icon on the toolbar.
The ‘Draw free form’ option makes you can use the tablet pen to draw words freely on PDF files, just like to draw on a canvas.
The ‘Draw free form’ option also makes you can use the tablet pen to draw, line, circle or mark out the important content.
4. Move the cursor on the circled pen and click it. Then you can use the tablet pen to highlight the content you want.
Digital Drawing and Writing in Word, OneNote and PowerPoint with your drawing tablet
With the latest version of Office 365 come some pretty cool features.
In Microsoft Word , OneNote or Microsoft PowerPoint, head over to the Draw tab and simply pick your pen. Then start marking up the doc. An entire menu of options for the electronic pen will then be available in the ribbon.
Both programs also allow you to use Windows Ink to create math equations using a pen instead of a mouse or keyboard and in Word, you can embed a drawing canvas right into your Word doc. Save your doc, and you ink is saved too.
Best XP-Pen drawing tablets Recommendations for annotating pdfs
Several brands exist, XP-Pen are pretty decent too, and hit all budget levels including a small portable model.
XP-Pen is one of the leading graphic tablet manufacturers in the world.
Anything made by XP-Pen would be a good option. They are very highly regarded in the digital art community.
I would recommend the XP-Pen Star G640, I used this for marking up documents but also extensive photoshop use.
1. XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640 / Star G640S
XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640 / Star G640S art tablet is designed with slim and compact sized with an active area of 4x3 inches / 6x4 inches / 6.5x4 inches offering perfect creative space for limited desktop areas.It is easy to carry out and always ready for your creation whenever and wherever.
Battery-free Digital pen P01 features 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity,5080LPI pen resolution and virtually no lag, providing you ultimate precision and control.
The Star G640S has 6 buttons on the tablet that can be set to any art program shortcut keys. It supports Android and Chromebook devices, apart from your windows and mac os ( Star G430S / Star G640 only compatible with windows and mac os ).
With stylus and the tablet ,teachers and studernts can easily handwritten edit,diagram,do math,annotate on virtual whitebord in Zoom, Team and Xsplit while streaming or broadcasting.
It is compatible with Word, Powerpoint, OneNote and more.It is also perfect for taking notes ,jotting down ideas and business signature during web conferencing and remote working.
2. XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 / Mini7w
With 4x3 inches / 7x4 inches / 7x4 inches workspace, XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 / Deco Mini7w graphics tablet is compact and lightweight, which makes it convenient to draw and write outdoors.
The battery-free stylus P05D offers 8192 pressure levels and ±60° tilt recognition ( Deco Mini4 version doesn’t support this function ) for beginners to design and creat.
Built-In 2.4G high-speed wireless connectivity of Deco Mini7w tablet can reach to 10 meters transmission distance. which is more convenient for you to capture your creativity.
XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 / Mini7w pen tablet can be used on various operating system: Windows, Android, Linux , Chrome and Mac OS.
3. XP-Pen Deco Fun XS / S / L
Available in three sizes ( XS - 4.8× 3＂ / S - 6.3 × 4＂ / L - 10 × 6.27＂ ) and four colors ( Classic Black, Space Blue, Apple Green and Carmine Red ), XP-Pen Deco Fun offers more choices to users who pursue individuality.
The battery-free stylus is light and super-accurate which supports up to 8,192 levels of pressure, 60 degrees tilt sensitivity ( XS version not support this function) .
The Deco Fun graphic Tablet works well with Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS and Android devices . Also compatible with all major digital art programs.
4. XP-Pen Artist 12 / Artist 12 Pro / Artist 12 2nd Gen
XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro / Artist 12 2nd Gen tablet features a stunning 11.6-inch full-laminated screen with Full HD 1080P resolution, letting you enjoy immersive viewing in great clarity and fine detail.
full-laminated screen ( Artist 12’s screen is non laminated ) reduces the parallax to the lowest so you can easily control the cursor where you expect to be.
90% NTSC color gamut of Artist 12 2nd Gen ( Artist 12 and Artist 12 Pro are 72% NTSC ) is excellent. which ensures the color of your artwork matching the color that you desire.
The battery-free stylus has a resolution of 5080 LPI and has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. There is a tilt support available in Stylus of Artist 12 Pro and Artist 12 2nd Gen tablets ( the stylus of artist 12 not support this function ).
The Stylus of Artist 12 2nd Gen come with new X3 chip has low activation force which allows the tablets to detect the slightest of touches from the pen. This feature alone massively improves the user experience.
Conclusion
Annotating is a key reading skill that enables you to actively and critically engage with text. Besides using it to comment on and capture your thoughts as you read.
annotation can also be used as an instructional tool with your students. For instance, you can use it for formative assessment purposes, for comprehension checks, to collect students feedback and many more.
There will be times that you have to markup a PDF, highlight specific text, or annotate something. Instead of searching for a dedicated PDF reader, you can perform all of that inside the Microsoft Edge web browser.
XP-Pen tablet does have the ability to write in Microsoft edge. To do this, select the drawing tool in Microsoft Edge and you’ll be able to write over any webpage.
Annotation with the drawing tablet was excellent, and it’s something that cannot be achieved with the typical computer peripherals or even smartphones.
For those who need to read and annotate many PDF documents everyday, the handwriting input device would do wonders and makes the process faster and easier.
Source Link: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-2887.html
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If you are an illustrator who works digitally (like most these days) you have most likely been enticed by the idea of owning a tablet monitor. They allow you to actually draw, paint or vector on the actual screen you’re looking at, rather than dealing with the separation of pen and “paper” that comes with the use of the more primitive artist drawing tablet for pc options without a built-in screen. One obstacle that prevents most digital artists from acquiring a tablet monitor is a simple one: price.
For many artists and designers, the ultimate dream is to have a full-size Wacom Cintiq to draw, sketch and design on. But being arguably the best graphic tablets the market has to offer also means these heavyweight creative pen displays don’t come cheap; they’re usually within the reach of working designers who can offset the cost against tax, but for students and enthusiasts, they’re just a bit too rich.
Wacom held the monopoly on drawing tablet monitors for what has felt like a long time, but I’m personally very excited to introduce you to XP-PEN, a company that is currently making tablet monitors that stand up to the quality and ease of use of Wacom’s Cintiq at a fraction of the cost.
Most of the consumer reviews tell that the XP-Pen Artist 22 ( 2nd Generation ) 22-Inch Pen Display are high-quality product and it is also reasonably priced.
I’ve always owned small tablets and had been wanting to try a bigger one for a bit now, so Artist 22 (2nd Generation) looked just perfect to me.
The product arrived in a very short time, intact and perfectly packaged. After my few days with it, the results were quite impressive.
Unboxing
When you pick up the Artist 22 2nd Generation you get a decent box. The box immediately reveals that you need a decent desk to unpack, place and use the Artist 22 2nd Generation.
After opening it turns out to be mainly a lot of protective material, nevertheless a spacious workplace is recommended. The packaging contains the Display Stand , Power Adapter , drawing glove, the screen itself and a considerable number of connecting cables and the necessary installation and description materials.
Also in the box is a cylindrical holder, which contains the stylus and assorted replacement nibs. The holder’s top contains a pen stand, which you can use to keep your pen when it’s not being used.
Beauty and Brawn
This is a quality product with an elegant design. The hardware is impressive, and feels sturdy and durable. Very sturdy, in fact, which accounts for one of its biggest drawbacks: it’s very, very heavy.
There is a big drawing area with the Artist 22 2nd Generation which taking up too much desk space.
It’s not ideal for travelling with - if you do want something you could move around maybe go for 15.6 inch but this still wont be as flexible as an iPad Pro would be.
On the back of the units are the ports for the tablet and an adjustable stand. Along the top edge, in the center, is the power button. On the top right edge are controls for adjusting picture, color, brightness, and OSD (On-Screen-Display) parameters.
Cables are nicely tucked away to the side under a detachable cover . The stand is easy to adjust and offers a wide range of angles ( 16~90 degrees ). It can even act as a normal monitor set upright.
Just like the XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro , the back of the Artist 22 2nd Generation has mounting holes for a VESA 100mm compatible stand, so you could easily mount this display to an Ergotron Arm instead of using the official stand.
The build quality, resolution and pen response was indistinguishable from that of a Artist 22R Pro.
the biggest difference are that the newer 22 2nd Generation has no ExpressKeys built into the sides like the 22R Pro does.
Keep in mind you will need to get the XP-Pen ExpressKey remote as the tablet itself doesn’t have any buttons on it.
Screen Specs
The drawing tablet has a 22inch large screen ideal for artists working on it for hours and provides a large working area. It can be used by professionals to create animations, illustrations, and industrial designs.
The XP-Pen Artist 22 2nd Generation features a 1,920 x 1,080 full HD display with 800:1 contrast ratio, 86 per cent NTSC colour, 122 per cent sRGB and a 8ms response time.
It has an anti-glare film , making it ideal for sketching and drawing at any time, day or night. The surface felt very nice to draw on, giving a smooth-glass like feel.
At the color gamut of ≥90% Adobe RGB. For someone who’s using this for print it’s a ideal for accurate final colors.
The screen is not laminated. but the gap between the drawing surface and LCD beneath is minimal, and gap can only be seen when looking from the side, not from the front. so you slmost can’t notice the parallax.
The XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro model has a QHD 2560 x 1440 Monitor , This difference is definitely noticeable especially if you are used to working in such high resolution.
The Full HD Resolution screen can feel too low resolution for such a big screen at close distance. However it is something you start to not notice after using the product for a period of time.
Stylus Pen PA6
The PA6 digital pen don’t have batteries and are well balanced with a comfortable feel and never need to be charged. I have used to the fluid drawing experience that the EMR (Electro Magnetic Resonance) pens provide.
Please don’t forget the 8,000 plus levels of pen pressure to execute your painting prowess. It’s pressure sensitivity etc is incredible and a joy to use.
When in Photoshop, there are so many tools that take advantage of pressure sensitivity, that I can’t image drawing or retouching without one.
The 2-button, battery free stylus is very impressive . It is quite responsive, with very little lag. responds perfectly to movement/pressure.
The specs indicate that the pen has tilt sensitivity up to around 60 degrees. I don’t utilize pen tilt much in my digital painting technique, but I tried it briefly with an airbrush and it worked remarkably well.
The stylus moves very smoothly across the surface, and it is a joy to hold and to work with. Plus, I don’t ever have to worry about charging the stylus!
Start up
Assembly is a simple job, the connection itself is also quite obvious.
It uses an HDMI port, and supports USB-C to USB-C connection.
Powered up, the color range and brightness of the tablet are wonderful, the display is bright and sharp, and all of the colors are beautiful.
you can access and download the drivers on the XP-Pen official website . Since I already had the XP-Pen drivers on my PC, adding the Artist 22 2nd Generation to my system was a snap. I just plugged in the cables, turned the device on and it worked right away with no conflicts or drops in PC performance.
Commissioning software is not as obvious as the instruction suggests. To find out how to fine-tune my iMac and Artist 22 2nd Generation through the system preferences, I had to study XP-Pen’s instructional video on YouTube .
But once you have set the preferences in basic, the steering works very smoothly and the settings work well with you. I found the setup and ease of use on the Mac to be very good. Things worked for the most part.
If you’re used to a regular XP-Pen tablet, it runs fairly smoothly and you get excited about the extras that the Artist 22 2nd Generation brings in terms of control and software.
XP-Pen Artist 22 2nd Generation official website：https://www.xp-pen.com/product/855.html
Digital Painting Experience
I’m a graphic designer and it’s an awesome tool for illustrations and photo editing, and works great as secondary monitor for a laptop ( although I use an iMAC ). It’s nice that they included a stand.
The XP-Pen Artist 22 2nd Generation has worked flawlessly from day one, easy setup and registry, no dead pixels, and the pen performance and accuracy are spot on. The tablet can detect the presence of the pen a few cms from the screen.
The screen is great and has a matte film to make it feel like paper. The display itself is beautiful and the colour, contrast and sharpness is spot on. Awesome for digital drawings, sketches, portraits, etc.
I did calibration and at the top left and bottom right corner cursor aligns good. I tried to draw lines using a ruler and get the single straight line. All of them don’t have a little curved or wavy.
Another benefit of the larger screen is that you have much more work space to play with. My layers and tools menus are no longer in the way of the painting which allows me to channel all my focus on the work rather than having to pan constantly because of the menus which becomes rather cumbersome.
When I was painting in the examples below, adding the details on the Artist 22 2nd Generation makes you want to go on forever.you just get drawn into your work. It is getting ever so close to the experience of traditional painting and drawing.
I have used the XP-Pen tablet for years for digital art in Photoshop. I use Photoshop for some my renderings and drawings……some I like to have the sketch as the underly for the rendering or have the sketch over top of it for a more loose look and the line quality is being smoothly.
Photoshop’s pen/painting tools aren’t quite as robust as other art programs that are more designed from the ground up for smooth, natural tablet feel.
When I use Paint Tool SAI ( a great little Japanese program with no bloat, amazing tools and a low footprint) my inking lines are as smooth and defined as when I use a brush.
you can chose one out of three softwares ArtRage 5, openCanvas, or Cartoon Animator 4 which comes with Artist 22 2nd Generation product purchase. but notice that openCanvas 7 is not available for Mac system.
Free digital painting and illustration software options are becoming more available in recent years. Here are some great alternatives to Adobe Photoshop. Krita, MyPaint , GIMP, FireAlpaca & MediBang Paint ,Autodesk Sketchbook.... you can have a try with these.
If you’re one of those people who have a XP-Pen Deco or a Wacom Intuos or any other tablet without the screen I would highly recommend the XP-Pen Artist range. The hand eye coordination is so vital to the artist and the XP-Pen Artist offers that for you . however I wouldn’t suggest a beginner to go out and buy a Artist 22 2nd Generation but rather get confident using a Bamboo or an Intuos first then consider upgrading.
Conclusion
This is a very high quality product. Price-wise it is Affordable. The benefit of the super, large screen and sophisticated inclining stand completely outweighs its price tag ( $499.99 ).
The XP-Pen is a worthy contender of being the best budget graphics tablet out there. When you look at some of the competition coming in at well over one thousand dollars, you can see why this is such an appealing piece of kit.
I feel kind of excited having a much bigger digital workspace.Furthermore the level of engagement I have with my work just makes me want to draw on it all the time! I use this every day. I love the big display and ease of use. Overall, I am happy with the purchase.
I would of loved to had this XP-Pen Artist 22 2nd Generation to be 2K Resolution but that would be more expensive. I can honestly say that the Artist 22 2nd Generation has finally given me the drawing experience I’ve waited my whole life for. This is by far the best and the most comfortable experience that I ever had with a graphics tablet.
If you’ve ever coveted a full-size pen display but haven’t had the budget to make it a reality, the new Artist 22 2nd Generation could very well be the pen display you’ve been waiting for .
So if you are considering upgrading your tablet and you have a couple grand saved up , I say go for it! You won’t regret it!
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XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro Creative Drawing Screen 24nch Review: The Ultimate Tool for Graphic Designers
2021年5月12日 趣味
Are you looking for a Wacom Cintiq digital drawing pad review? You may have just gotten lucky, because Cintiq is no longer the only option on the market. The XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro ( https://www.xp-pen.com/product/602.html ) is a budget alternative to the medium Cintiq, it’s a tablet that lets you draw directly on the surface and can also be used as a third monitor. Read on to find out the nitty-gritty details about this intuitive tablet.
XP-PEN kindly sent me the Artist 24 Pro display tablet to make a review! This is my first display tablet of this size and it’s huge. I’ve had to opportunity to use this tablet on-and-off over the course of the past several weeks, and while there were a few issues my overall impression is positive.
This tablet’s interactive display is reminiscent of Wacom’s Cintiq tablet at a fraction of the price. It works flawlessly in multiple graphics and editing programs. The impressive screen size leaves plenty of room for your most inventive ideas. Though a little bulkier than the competition, being able to draw directly on the screen makes it worth the weight trade-off.
If you want a cheaper alternative to a cintiq, the XP-Pen ( https://www.xp-pen.com ) Drawing Tablet Monitor is a good investment. At a fourth of the cost of a comparable cintiq, this pen display monitor is a great choice for people short of cash.
Unboxing
Apart from the 24” display tablet itself, the package comes with the usual cabling peripherals, plus some bonus extras. If your machine supports a USB-C connection for display, you’ll only need the one cable (plus the power connection). Otherwise, there’s a HDMI and a USB-C to USB converter included as well.
The extras include: an additional stylus, a one-size-fits-all artist’s glove, and a microfiber cloth.
The container for the stylus twists open to reveal 8 extra stylus nibs. Its cap can also be removed to use as a stylus holder.
Despite such weight, the adjustment stand is incredibly easy to use and I was changing the tablet’s position a few times during the day for the first couple of weeks just because I liked the process.
Driver (Installation & General Use)
There were a few issues with installation, mostly tied to interactions between the driver, Windows 10 and Windows Ink.
Initially, brush strokes were offset from the stylus’ point of contact with the screen by about 3-4 centimetres when attempting to draw in Photoshop CS6. Random straight strokes also occurred frequently. This same problem did not occur in MS Paint or Photoshop CC 2019. This was fixed by changing the UI scaling setting for the monitor in Windows settings from 125% (which was apparently the default) to 100%.
Initially, brush strokes had no pen pressure in Photoshop CC 2019. Photoshop CS6, on the other hand, did (but suffered from the previous offset problem). This was fixed by turning on the Windows Ink setting in the XP-Pen driver menu. So in other words: CC 2019 needs Windows Ink on to recognise pen pressure, while CS6 didn’t, but was affected by UI scaling.
Interestingly, if Windows Task Manager was in focus and Windows Ink was not enabled in driver settings, stylus input was not recognised at all. There may be other programs that have this issue, but this was the only one I encountered so far.
I will say that I’ve had many problems with Wacom drivers interacting badly with Windows Ink and other things in the past before, so these types of issues are not exclusive to the XP-Pen drivers.
I’m currently using driver version 3.0.5, a beta build that has a lovely UI; it’s clear and laid out well. I did also try version 1.6.4 initially, which was fine — the UI for that version was similar to the layout you find with Wacom drivers.
Apart from the issues during installation that required troubleshooting, I haven’t had many major complaints with the driver in day-to-day use, I do think that there are a few areas for improvement, however.
The driver stops working correctly each time the computer is set to sleep and woken up again. To fix this the driver must be exited from the system tray and then relaunched.
There also doesn’t seem to be a way to bind WIN+SHIFT+ARROW to any of the express keys. WIN+SHIFT+ARROW (left or right arrow) is the Windows shortcut to quickly move a focused window to another monitor, so it’s something I use a lot if I’m on a multi-monitor setup. Unfortunately, attempting to set this shortcut in the express keys menu will simply move the actual driver window over to the other monitor while the custom input is not properly recognised in the text field.
The driver does offer a “switch monitor” option for the express keys that when clicked will transfer your stylus input to another monitor, which is extremely useful.
Screen
At 24” with a 2560x1440p QHD resolution, images are sharp and crisp even when viewed from a close range while drawing. Genuinely, it feels great to paint on based off this aspect alone.
The colour temperature is set to 6500K by default in the the driver settings. I think initially it felt just a touch too saturated, but overall I’m fairly happy with the colour display.
The monitor has touch-sensitive inputs on the top right corner: a -/+ for quickly adjusting the brightness, a menu for further settings, and power. I found myself using these to adjust the brightness throughout the day frequently. The power input requires a few seconds of continued contact from your finger to react, which prevents you from accidentally brushing it and turning the monitor on/off.
The monitor comes with a built-in stand. I found it easy to adjust to different viewing angles and also incredibly sturdy. I had no problems leaning on the monitor while drawing.
The monitor also comes with a pre-applied anti-glare screen protector. I wasn’t bothered by it and it seems to be holding out well after several weeks of use. I think the screen itself definitely needs the additional anti-glare, as being a display tablet means that it’s significantly more reflective than my main display.
I think that the screen protector also has some oil resistance thing, because even though I wasn’t using the glove that comes with the tablet - it still remains quite clean. It also makes the drawing process very comfortable, providing a paper-like feel.
I highly recommend calibrating the tablet before use with the original software. It’s very easy to do and makes the drawing process very easy and comfortable. When I received the tablet, I was afraid that it would have a big gap between stylus and display, as most tablets of this type do, but Artist 24 Pro is very precise and it’s a great pleasure to draw with it!
Stylus
My first impression of the stylus was that it’s lighter in comparison to the Wacom styluses that I’m used to — there is very little to no weighting on the back end of the stylus, which makes it feel noticeably different when gripped. To be honest, though, I forgot about it when I was actually painting. Still, I would prefer a bit more weighting because I do think it makes the stylus more comfortable to hold overall for long periods of time.
There’s also no eraser nib, but I’ve personally never used those on Wacom tablets (I always use shortcuts to switch between brush and eraser instead) so this was a non-issue for me.
The two shortcut buttons on the side of the stylus sit quite flat to the surface, so I think they would be less likely to bother people who don’t use them. I use them a lot, however, and found that they were still easy to click despite being quite flat.
The buttons seem to otherwise work completely fine for any other functions that don’t require the stylus to send two simultaneous messages, so unless you’re like me and like to bind “alt” to a stylus trigger, this won’t affect you.
Pen Pressure & Activation Force
Most current-gen tablets flash a big number for the pen pressure levels as a selling point. Having used tablets with 512, 2k, 4k and 8k levels of pressure sensitivity, I’d say I noticed the biggest difference when switching from 512 to 2k, but in my opinion beyond 2k the change is minimal and has no real impact on the way I draw.
The XP-Pen Artist Pro 24 comes with 8192 levels of sensitivty, which is a very big number, but in practical application all I can say is that it works the way I expect it to and I don’t have any complaints regarding the transition between pressure levels on the default linear pressure curve.
More importantly I did notice that the IAF (initial activation force) was not as low as I would have liked. Very light input is not recognised, or only partially recognised before dropping off and on again. In a practical sense this doesn’t actually impact me through most of (perhaps 97%) of the painting process, but it did give me pause once in a while when I wanted to make a really light stroke and had to adjust my method.
The drivers for this tablet do come with a pressure curve you can adjust to your preferences, so this can help a little, although after some tests I preferred to leave mine on the default setting.
Digital Art Landscape Painting Step By Step Using Sketchbook With XP-Pen ARTIST 24 PRO By me
Summary of Drawing Experience
I think the mark of a good tool or piece of hardware is that it does not draw attention to itself during the course of its use. An ideal drawing experience allows me to be fully immersed in the act of drawing without having my focus shifted to dealing with the tool. With this in mind the XP-Pen Artist Pro performed very well for the most part, but was held back by a couple of issues.
Pros:
The monitor resolution honestly feels great to look at; the pixel density means that I can basically forget about pixels even with my face positioned closer to the screen.
The parallax between the tip of the stylus and the actual position of input was very minimal and basically not noticeable for me, especially after the simple calibration process offered by the driver.
At normal room temperature (say up to about mid-20’s celsius) the monitor screen stays impressively cool to the touch and I was never bothered by resting my drawing hand on its surface even when painting for long sessions.
The 20 express keys and 2 roller rings are extremely helpful and I actually found myself using all of them, despite initially thinking that I’d only need half of them. The keys are also comfortable and responsive to click (which sounds like it should obviously be so, but having used some Intuos iterations in the past which had some very annoying-to-click express keys, I don’t take this feature for granted anymore).
Cons:
The driver needs to be restarted everytime the computer wakes from sleep in order to work.
Higher IAF was noticeable when very light strokes were desirable. Also, the input will on rare occasions glitch by performing a completely straight max opacity + max brush size stroke. This seemed to happen primarily when I was trying to get light strokes to register.
The issue with eyedropping using “alt” mapped to a stylus trigger as detailed above. Quite unlucky for someone like me who has over a decade of muscle memory for this particular mapping.
Overall, as I said at the beginning, my impression of the tablet is positive. While I think it has room for improvement when it comes to driver performance and the initial activation force especially, it also has a lot to offer at a highly competitive price point ($900USD at retail), and it would’ve been amazing if something like this had been available to me back when I first started digital painting. As I do enjoy using it for the most part I’ll probably continue to use it in future.
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There is also no shortage of brands from cheap points of entry that offer satisfactory performance, to industry-grade staples like Wacom that everybody knows.
Wacom is a quality brand, but also at a price that for many is not viable, especially without having a very cheap entry range, with which new companies have been entering with cheaper alternatives.
From what I’ve read, XP-Pen is one of the leading makers of graphics tablet and that is why I chose to buy their Star G430S tablet.
This does not mean it’s the best and it also doesn’t mean that it’s suitable for every task. It simply means that when we take into consideration price and features, this graphics tablet offers the best deal currently available.
This tablet is available on official store for $29.99 . So for around 30 bucks, you get a very good tablet that’s very comparable to much more expensive tablets like the Wacom intuos.
Although this device is not necessarily innovative, the fact that it costs so little makes it an obvious choice for those who are still testing the waters before deciding on whether they should invest any money on a more expensive graphics tablet.
This is precisely why the Star G430S sells so much. The price is so incredibly low that anyone who buys it can rest assured that even if they don’t love the product, they don’t have much to love.
XP-Pen Star G430S Unboxing & Review : Small But Useful
I just bought the XP-Pen Star G430S recently. When I got I was amazed at the great packaging. I opened the box and unpacked all of the contents.
The XP-Pen G430S tablet comes with a USB cable, 10 pen nibs, one pen clip and a quick guide. Although XP-Pen pen nibs don’t tend to wear out easily, it’s great to have some extra ones.
Specifications :
Active area: 4 x 3 inches
Pressure sensitivity: 8192 levels
Resolution : 5080 lpi
Multitouch : No
Reading Height: 10mm
Report Rate: 266 PPS
Supply Voltage: DC5V
Interface Support: USB
USB Cable Length: 1.5M
Compatibility: Windows 10/8/7 , Mac OS 10.10 above
XP-Pen Star G430S official site: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/52.html
Design
The drawing board has an all-black design. It’s made of lightweight plastic , only 2mm thick.
This drawing pad is slim and compact. You can easily put it on your laps while painting, or use it on limited desk space, take it on a trip, etc.
The Star G430S tablet has no bezels, but not all the area is usable. The active area takes only 4 x 3 inches meaning that you will have to use zooming a lot.
This is most noticeable on higher resolution screens. If you have a high resolution screen it is quite difficult to avoid having a shaking hand because of how small the tablet drawing space is.
Due to the rather small size of the active drawing area, this tablet is known as a “signature device”, meaning that its main function is to allow the user to sign on the board and transfer the signature to the computer in order to use it with digital documents, mostly in PDF format.
In addition, this model does not have quick action keys, since the Deco mini4 / Deco Fun S ( both come with 4 x 3 inches active drawing area ) model will cost us a little more if we want three action buttons on our drawing tablet.
Stylus
XP-Pen Star G430S offers a magical pen that will eradicate all the difficulties while drawing on the tablet . and it’s important to note that the digital pen is not battery powered at all . The pen does not require recharge, so it is always ready to go.
The pen that comes with the XP-Pen G430S tablet is pressure-sensitive, allowing you to make fine lines or bold strokes by varying how hard you press.
The pen provides a resolution of 5080 LPI and 8192 pressure levels that allows you to draw better on the tablet surface. Besides, the report rate of the pen is 266 RPS and is exceptionally lightweight to give you pleasure in whatever task you perform.
With this magical pen, you easily sign any documents, sketch like you sketching on a piece of paper, draw, write and a lot more.
There are two buttons on the pen which are essentially the same as right-click and middle-click on a mouse. You "left-click" by touching the surface of the tablet. And if you browse over the internet by using the digital pen, you can do so by just pressing the button of the pen.
Install and Setup
The setup was quick and easy; connect the tablet via the USB cable, install the drivers, and start having fun! Just line up your screen area with the tablet. I was easily found the driver on XP-Pen’s website ( https://www.xp-pen.com ). The updated driver even had more features!
The options are minimal, such as changing the sensitivity, the functions of the pen buttons, choosing the screen on which we act, testing the pressure of the pen, and advanced settings, which allow us to change the area of the screen that we handle. with the tablet, the ratio and turn the actions if we are left-handed.
The tablet functions quite well. Not only that, but it was compatible with every OS (Windows ,Mac ) I tried it on. There is Linux ,Windows , and Mac OS driver offered for Star G430S on their official page.
The XP-Pen drivers will make it work with any drawing program. It compatible with a lot of programs like CorelDraw, Corel Painter, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Paint tool SAI,Clip Studio Paint, Gimp,Krita, Inkscape, Zbrush , 3D Max, and a lot more. This cheap tablet ultimately helps you achieve your set goals and take the next move in the art world.
Use Experience
Fantastic tablet for osu!
This tablet is comfortable for osu , Really low latency using hovering or drag method. Software for the XP-Pen is not the best but it gets the job done.
This XP-Pen G430S OSU Tablet can both hover and drag , this is my personal opinion but I recommend you to drag ,it really give you a better aim ,at least in my case it did . you can’t lift too high.
You’ll get used to it fast especially if you were a high-sens mouse player (wrist-mainly), it’s not like restarting osu! at all.
Of course you need to adapt from mouse to tablet but it’s not that hard ,it only needs a few hours, and for me it made me instantly better ,like I destroyed all of my previous top scores the same day I got the tablet.
Overall love the product and they supplied so many extra pen tips. If you’re using this for osu! it’s definitely awesome and helped me jump from 4 stars to 5 star beatmaps!
Suitable for digital signature
Oh, and the tablet was good for creating a signature to use in adobe reader to sign documents. As far as a signing pad, it is fantastic. The small size makes it portable and it doesn’t take up much room on my desk at all.
It works as advertised on Adobe Acrobat, Excel, MS Word and PowerPoint, though the pressure sensitivity is pretty much wasted on these things. For example, signing in Acrobat doesn’t show any regard for pressure sensitivity. All the lines are equally as dark and thick no matter how you press.
Best writing solution for online teching
I use it when teaching online and it helps me illustrate concepts. I downloaded the microsoft whiteboard + onenote note taking app and my life is so much easier.
I use it to make my math videos mostly, but it has also been useful in drawing summary pictures for reading, underlining information in articles during video meets, and other things.
If you won’t be using it for digital art, you are paying for features that you won’t use or need.
Perfect for Photo Retouching & Editing
For working with photographs, the precision and ease of a pen beats a mouse any day. The pressure sensitivity allows me to alter the brush size or opacity just by pressing harder or lighter on the tablet as I draw.
Combined with the natural feel of the pen, this allows me to make photograph alterations involving hand-drawn layer masks and dodging/burning with ease. Actions that would have required multiple brush size changes, opacity changes, and tons of clicks of a mouse can literally be done in a single stroke with a tablet. I highly recommend getting a tablet if your mouse makes you frustrated while editing photographs.
Great for Graphic Design and Drawing
The XP-Pen Star G430S tablet is, of course, perfect for those doing graphic design and drawing. Also, the tablet is light and portable which may be important to students, outdoorsmen, artists, and those doing business presentations. It may also provide a great alternative input device for those with mobility issues.
The G430S is great for Illustrator and Photoshop. The sketch part works great. I can’t believe how realistic it is. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t using a real pen.
Using the pen is just like writing with a pencil and paper. It feels very comfortable and very normal. The work surface is slightly textured so it feels much like pencil or pen on paper. The most unusual thing is that the pen movement is detected well before the pen touches the tablet. So you can actually control the movement before the pen and tablet touch.
In some cases, it makes you feel like you are using a magic wand. The response to the pen movements is quick and accurate. It even records levels of pressure sensitivity very accurately.
the hardware and software used in these devices were exactly the same being used in much more expensive drawing tablets, the only difference between them was the fact that the expensive ones had larger drawing areas. If you draw frequently, I suggest around a 10x6 inches for decent drawing space - XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 .
Good for 2D Animation
I found this tablet very useful when I use my 2d animaion software. It’s good for touching up minor breaks in the lines so they can be filled easily and for painting them. Also for adding details that were lost by the scanner or adding simple background animation. In other words it’s great for animators who can’t afford the better ones. The mouse is pretty useless, I just use it as a paper weight but it doesn’t hurt anything.
The mouse also comes in handy if you’re using 3D programs like Maya (in which a mouse has benefits over a pen).
If you are going to need a tablet for a career in professional graphics/animation, I would recommend a professional model or display drawing tablets such as wacom cintiq or xp-pen artist , but would still recommend this product for travel/personal use.
Conclusion
Great XP-PEN product - a must have for artists and digital photographers to create/edit your work that’s easy and fun.
As you can see from the information given in this XP-Pen Star G430S review, this model is simple but suitable for many types of work. You can use it for writing, signing, and working with documents, editing photos, drawing, sketching, and painting.
However, the drawing area is pretty small for some serious drawing projects. It seems like you are drawing on a small piece of paper. The unit is also extremely easy to install and is compatible with the most important programs.
Once I got the hang of using this tablet I was hooked. At first, finding where I was on the screen in relation to the tablet was a little difficult and frustrating. Given some time to practice and learn everything just fell into place.
When it comes to post processing this tablet really improves the speed and accuracy of processing and allows a true "feel" of the work. The whole process of editing seems more natural and the pressure sensitivity really adds a new dimension to the work.
I would definitely recommend the Star G430S to those who want to get a tablet and are just getting into the field of digital art or photo manipulation. Buy One!!!!!!!!!!!! They’re Awesome! I sound like a sales person! YAY!
Buy Here:
You can Get it from United States official Store: https://www.storexppen.com/buy/star-g430s.html , If you live in other regions you can select from official site “Stores” List.
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The countdown for Halloween has just begun, with the passage of each day the event is getting closer. The holiday shopping season would be a perfect time if you are looking for exclusive offers.
Whether you celebrate Halloween by wearing the spookiest costume or by giving out the most candy, being prepared for this ghoulish day is just as important as saving money with the best Halloween deals.
XP-Pen Halloween 2019 Deals & Offers
Halloween is fast approaching and there are a few drawing tablet deals and specials from a well-known brand XP-Pen this year to celebrate.
Gone would be the days once the artists use the pencil and paper to produce the masterpieces. At this time, it is simple to create great-looking artwork pieces just using the Pressure-sensitive apparatus. No, we’re not speaking about your own smartphones, rather, we’re speaking about more art-based apparatus such as those brand Wacom , XP-Pen .
If you’re an artist or adore the technologies, then you’d be familiar with the drawing tablet and also the standard of the goods for your artist. Therefore, to go a little closer into the technology-based artwork, attempt to catch the ideal XP-Pen Halloween bargains this season.
If you are looking to buy this XP-Pen Graphic Tablet during this Halloween Deals 2019. You will save around 30% on the XP-Pen US official Store . So don’t miss this chance and grab the best deals from here - https://www.storexppen.com/topic/17.html . XP-Pen Halloween deals in the US Start on October 25 this year , Close on November 01. not require the deals codes.Other regions also have this deals activity , just choose your region .
This Halloween Sales & Deals is going to be a great opportunity for all who wanna invest in the XP-Pen Graphic Tablet that offers great functions with maximum performance. Most people buy XP-Pen Graphic Tablet in Halloween sales and save a couple of dollars at regular prices.
Create & design your Imaginations with XP-Pen Drawing Tablets ! XP-Pen is a brand specializes in manufacturing graphical & iconic tablets. Get the latest & new upgraded version of XP-Pen Tabs with exciting discount offers. Planning to buy an amazing gift for your techy friends. XP-Pen Artist prove to be an amazing present.
The XP-Pen Artist are a range of premium graphics tablet built for from amateur to professional designers, artists and illustrators. Compared to the more affordable XP-Pen Star / Deco range, the most obvious difference between the two is the integrated LCD display. This enables the XP-Pen Artist to operate as a stand alone monitor. With $200 sliced off each tablet, these appealing tools just got even more attractive.
These graphics tablets differ greatly in their price, size and features. So let’s take a closer look at them below so you have a better idea what model XP-Pen Halloween discounts to keep an eye out for!
Following are some of the deals offered by XP-Pen US official store during their Halloween 2019 Sale.
Up to $100 Off XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro entry-level laminated Screen Drawing Tablet
The XP-Pen 12 Pro is an entry-level pen display in the Artist range. That said, it is still a highly capable tablet and is by no means low range! The device connects to your PC/Mac via USB and mirrors your computer’s display, which can make it a lot easier to work with than the Deco range. This is because you don’t need to keep looking up at a screen whilst drawing – it’s a lot more natural. Here’s the key specs!
KEY FEATURES
Full HD – The LCD is full HD with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a wide color gamut (72% of NTSC).
Portable – Drawing tablet with 11.6 inch fully-laminated IPS Display with a 178-degree viewing angle . This makes it easier to hold it in one hand and draw with the other.
Digital Pen PA2 – Includes the latest stylus, featuring 8192 levels of pen pressure and 60 degrees of tilt function.
Intuitive Navigation – Red Dial allows you to zoom, pan and scroll with your fingers . Also includes 8 customizable shortcut keys, pen buttons and a radial menu that you can set to functions like copy and paste, undo etc. Whatever optimizes your workflow!
Includ with a display Stand – Makes working at an angle easier.
Software – the XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro is compatible with most 2D/3D software applications such as Adobe, Corel, Manga Studio etc.
Up to $130 Off XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro Holiday version professional Display drawing tablet
The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro 15.6" is very similar to the previous model （ Artist 12 Pro ）, but with a couple of additional features. Most obvious is that it has a bigger 15.6 inch screen. Better Color Accuracy – With 88% of NTSC, the colors are rich and vibrant.
Think the extra features justify the price hike? As a designer it will depend on the size you are most comfortable/feel natural designing with.
XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro Holiday version Sales start on October 30 with $100 sliced off ( Compared to normal version), the holiday version will include 1X Greeting Card , 1XMascot Cleaning Cloth, 1X Calendar Featured With Xfans Artworks 1xMascot Badge , 1xMascot Mobile Phone Holder . this would be and affordable choice for digital artists.
Save $57.5 On The XP-Pen Artist 12 Holiday version most affordable pen display dmonitor
XP-Pen Artist 12 Holiday version Sales also start on October 30 with $57.5 sliced off ( Compared to normal price) .
The Artist 12 Pro and Artist 12HD have a lot of the same features as the previous tablets. Let’s run through some of the key differences between the normal and Pro models.
KEY DIFFERENCES
11.6” Screen – Most obviously, they feature a Small 11.6” screen. The Artist 12HD range is an older model and the display is not fully-laminated , although the resolution is still pretty good at 1920 x 1080.
Express Keys – Artist 12 feature 6 User-Assignable shortcut keys and 1 Touch Strip , Artist 12 Pro equipped with 8 shortcut keys and a Red dial for way more control and improved workflow.
Recline – Artist 12 Pro include a AC42 Portable display Stand Works like an easel and rotates up to 20 degrees while normal version have not .
tilt recognition – Artist 12 Pro Comes with the PA2 Grip Pen, featuring 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition. while normal version P06 battery-free stylus not support pen tilt function but featuring digital eraser .
Save $45 On The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Portable Drawing Tablet Monitor
XP-Pen Artist 15.6 was released earlier than Artist 15.6 Pro drawing tablet, but designers often get confused between the two when it comes to purchasing as both are unique in their own way.
Design : If we talk about the design of both the tablets, well, both are very slim and sleek, measuring 11mm. Unlike previous version Artist 15.6 , Artist 15.6 pro drawing tablet has 8 personalized whereas 6 keys.
Artist 15.6 pro also offer a red dial between the keys, breaking the tradition pen display design, which is missing in Artist 15.6 version. You can easily zoom in and out the images, program things as per your convenience in the pro version and do anything at your fingertips.
Display : Artist 15.6 Pro offers laminated Screen , One of the main advantages of the laminated screens is they are very thin, No air gap between layers means to room for light refraction or light interference, making the screen clear and vibrant. The image on the laminated screens appears as they have been painted on the top glass. They look more inviting and real.No parallax , Laminated screens have improved visibility in strongly lit environments and under the sun. which is not the case in Artist 15.6.
Stylus : So Artist 15.6 pro provides you with an advanced version of the pen as compared to Artist 15.6 drawing tablet. Artist 15.6 pro comes with P05R battery-free stylus whereas Artist 15.6 offers PO5 battery-free stylus. More so, Artist 15.6 pro supports 60 degrees of tilt activities, enabling the tablet surface to quickly and easily sense the gesture of each movement with the pen. The pen gives a natural feeling, which is missing in Artist 15.6 .
However, the pressure levels in both the tablets are same, which is 8192 that provides you accuracy, sensitivity and fluidity with better control to draw fine lines on the screen, enhancing your overall performance. But the report rate is higher in XP-Pen Artist 15.6, which is 266 and Artist 15.6 pro 200 report rate.
Accessories : Only Artist 15.6 Pro offers a unique thing in accessories that is built-in AC 41 stand that allows you to keep your tablet as a paper attached to the stand, which gives you mobility and easiness to draw or design anything you want seamlessly. However, XP-Pen Artist 15.6 doesn’t offer such an accessory they offer basic one, which is same in both the drawing tablets like 3 in 1 cable, HDMI to Mac adapter cable, Quick guide, cleaning cloth, drawing anti fouling glove in 15.6 and in Artist 15.6 pro you’ll get general drawing glove. Both the drawing tablets also offer 8 nibs to make your life more stress-free from the upcoming purchases of nibs.
Bottom line
Well, in the end, everything heavily relies upon your usage, budget, and choices. Overall, we can say that there’s not a vast difference between XP-Pen Artist 15.6 and Artist 15.6 pro drawing tablets, just a bit of difference, which is acceptable. As I have already mentioned that both the tablets were hit in the market their specifications also prove this statement. We would recommend all the users to first prepare a checklist of their requirements, compare with the mentioned specifications and then make a decision between the two, which means to find the one that best suits your needs.
Save 20% off On The XP-Pen Deco Pro Android professional digital Art tablet with tilt recognition
XP-Pen Deco Pro helps you find new ways to create. Designed for those professional digital artists who are drawing, painting and photo editing with their Mac or PC .
The XP-Pen Deco Pro Series is crafted with an aluminum casing and features a 7mm thin curved casing. The black and silver color scheme blends well into its streamlined design, making it both smooth to use and sleek in appearance. As such a professional designed tablet, Deco Pro has been awarded as the 2019 Red Dot Design Award Winner and the 2018 Good Design Award Winner!
It’s great for working in Spacious spaces, where you can dedicate the roughly 11x6 inches (278.9x157 mm) needed for the Medium version; the small is 9x5 inches (230.76x130.16 mm).
Meet the groundbreaking double wheel design paired with trackpad functionality! With a bigger wheel, it is easier to control and operate more accurately. Use the outer mechanic wheel to zoom in /out of your canvas, adjust brush size, etc, while the inner virtual wheel can be used as a trackpad/mouse mode, scroll up and down, and more. Both wheels can also be programmed to customize copy, space, and other common functions.
The pen tablet includes the digital Pen PA1 , the pen uses 8,192 levels of pressure and also recognizes tilt.
The XP-Pen Deco Pro series supports connection with Android tablets and mobile phones. compatible with Windows® 7/8/10, Mac OS X® 10.10 and above .
The XP-Pen Deco Pro Best drawing tablet for android is easy to setup and use,Plus, with plenty of other compatible software available, there are many ways you can perfect your passion.
Save $25 On The XP-Pen Deco 03 A4 Large Wireless Drawing Tablet
Deco 3 provides an impressive amount of specs at under 100 dollars along with that dial which is very impressive… the red dial to be quite useful .
The drivers have a nice interface, letting you change active area size, pressure sensitivity, etc. Very good pen case, which doubles as a pen stand. Great if you want to travel.
Large Drawing Area - 10 x 5.62 inches with 5080LPI resolution and 266RPS report rate. Provide larger space for creation and make lines flow smoother, work faster and perform better.
Wired & Wireless Connection - Simply plug the included USB receiver into your computer to draw wirelessly, or connect to your computer with the included Type-C cable for standard wired use.
6 Customizable Shortcut Keys - Creates a highly ergonomic and convenient work platform. Features Type-C input design, easy to plug in and out.
Battery-free Passive Stylus - No delay, no chopping. 8192 levels of instant pen pressure sensitivity, providing you with groundbreaking control and fluidity to expand your creative output.
Strong Compatibility - Compatible with Windows 10/8/7/Vista (32/64bit) and MAC OS 10.8 above.
Save $12 On The XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 beginner digital art Tablet with tilt recognition
Sufficient Working Space-The Deco 01 V2’s expansive tablet is big and brilliant, yet still designed to break through the limit between shortcut keys and drawing area. 10 x 6.25-inch working area, so you get more space to create or get work done.
XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 supports up to 60 degrees of tilt brush effect and delivers smoother and more natural lines and strokes, while also giving you the ability to add shading to your creation. which is not Supported this tilt function in old version XP-Pen Deco 01 drawing tablet for animation .
Android Supported-supports connections with Android Phones and Tablets 6.0 and above. It is compatible with most major software including: ibis Paint X, FlipaClip, Medibang, Autodesk Sketchbook, Zenbrush, Artrage, and more.
Battery-free Stylus and 8 shortcut keys-The 8192 levels of instant pen pressure sensitivity―Providing you with groundbreaking control and fluidity to expand your creative output. No charging required. The eight, round, customizable shortcut keys that fits easily to your finger tip. With its blind spot reduction design, you can find the position of your express keys efficiently and the shortcut keys can be programmed to many different software programs.
Wide Compatibility-The Deco 01 V2 can be used with Windows 10/8/7, MAC OS X 10.10 and above and Android 6.0 and above. This tablet is compatible with many major designer software such as Photoshop, SAI, Painter, Illustrator, Clip Studio, and more.
Save $12 On The XP-Pen Deco 02 A4 Large Drawing Pad Tablet
XP-Pen has basically improved upon their previous models and made the more modernised version of Deco 02 …
A sleek newly designed silver roller with hollow mirror plating conveniently placed in the lateral center of the tablet making the roller easily accessible for left and right handed users. The Roller Wheel is designed to streamline your workflow and operate non intrusively through it’s silent dial roll. Roll the dial on both sides to make your adjustments and navigate around your work space effortlessly.
Deco 02 is all about cramming in more specs and providing features which are in some case only available in much pricier version…
The XP-Pen Deco 02 digital art tablet comes with an active canvas area of 10 x 5.63 inches. Provide encough space for illustrators who are going to be doing extensive detail-focused work,
Being wirelessly charged as you use it, the XP-Pen digital pen P06 is relatively fuss free. The pen also provides over 8,000 levels of pressure and tilt sensitivity, giving a smooth line from start to finish.
The P06 Pen features two buttons on the side, allowing you to set common shortcuts such as changing a brushes opacity. Flipping the pen over will allow users to erase in programs that support that feature.
Final thoughts
Overall, the XP-Pen Graphics Tablets is a great tool for artists, designers, and photography editors. The small size allows the tablet to easily be slipped in a bag with a laptop for use on the go, and its ability to connect wirelessly keeps everything tidy. While I think that illustrators may benefit from a larger size, this small one such as XP-Pen Star G430 Drawing Tablet for OSU is a great way to get started with digital art or photo editing, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better digital tablet for on-the-move.
Join in for the Annual Halloween Bash in the XP-Pen ! Create & design your Imaginations with XP-Pen Drawing Tablets !
Whether you celebrate Halloween by wearing the spookiest costume or by giving out the most candy, being prepared for this ghoulish day is just as important as saving money with the best Halloween deals.
XP-Pen Halloween 2019 Deals & Offers
Halloween is fast approaching and there are a few drawing tablet deals and specials from a well-known brand XP-Pen this year to celebrate.
Gone would be the days once the artists use the pencil and paper to produce the masterpieces. At this time, it is simple to create great-looking artwork pieces just using the Pressure-sensitive apparatus. No, we’re not speaking about your own smartphones, rather, we’re speaking about more art-based apparatus such as those brand Wacom , XP-Pen .
If you’re an artist or adore the technologies, then you’d be familiar with the drawing tablet and also the standard of the goods for your artist. Therefore, to go a little closer into the technology-based artwork, attempt to catch the ideal XP-Pen Halloween bargains this season.
If you are looking to buy this XP-Pen Graphic Tablet during this Halloween Deals 2019. You will save around 30% on the XP-Pen US official Store . So don’t miss this chance and grab the best deals from here - https://www.storexppen.com/topic/17.html . XP-Pen Halloween deals in the US Start on October 25 this year , Close on November 01. not require the deals codes.Other regions also have this deals activity , just choose your region .
This Halloween Sales & Deals is going to be a great opportunity for all who wanna invest in the XP-Pen Graphic Tablet that offers great functions with maximum performance. Most people buy XP-Pen Graphic Tablet in Halloween sales and save a couple of dollars at regular prices.
Create & design your Imaginations with XP-Pen Drawing Tablets ! XP-Pen is a brand specializes in manufacturing graphical & iconic tablets. Get the latest & new upgraded version of XP-Pen Tabs with exciting discount offers. Planning to buy an amazing gift for your techy friends. XP-Pen Artist prove to be an amazing present.
The XP-Pen Artist are a range of premium graphics tablet built for from amateur to professional designers, artists and illustrators. Compared to the more affordable XP-Pen Star / Deco range, the most obvious difference between the two is the integrated LCD display. This enables the XP-Pen Artist to operate as a stand alone monitor. With $200 sliced off each tablet, these appealing tools just got even more attractive.
These graphics tablets differ greatly in their price, size and features. So let’s take a closer look at them below so you have a better idea what model XP-Pen Halloween discounts to keep an eye out for!
Following are some of the deals offered by XP-Pen US official store during their Halloween 2019 Sale.
Up to $100 Off XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro entry-level laminated Screen Drawing Tablet
The XP-Pen 12 Pro is an entry-level pen display in the Artist range. That said, it is still a highly capable tablet and is by no means low range! The device connects to your PC/Mac via USB and mirrors your computer’s display, which can make it a lot easier to work with than the Deco range. This is because you don’t need to keep looking up at a screen whilst drawing – it’s a lot more natural. Here’s the key specs!
KEY FEATURES
Full HD – The LCD is full HD with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a wide color gamut (72% of NTSC).
Portable – Drawing tablet with 11.6 inch fully-laminated IPS Display with a 178-degree viewing angle . This makes it easier to hold it in one hand and draw with the other.
Digital Pen PA2 – Includes the latest stylus, featuring 8192 levels of pen pressure and 60 degrees of tilt function.
Intuitive Navigation – Red Dial allows you to zoom, pan and scroll with your fingers . Also includes 8 customizable shortcut keys, pen buttons and a radial menu that you can set to functions like copy and paste, undo etc. Whatever optimizes your workflow!
Includ with a display Stand – Makes working at an angle easier.
Software – the XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro is compatible with most 2D/3D software applications such as Adobe, Corel, Manga Studio etc.
Up to $130 Off XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro Holiday version professional Display drawing tablet
The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro 15.6" is very similar to the previous model （ Artist 12 Pro ）, but with a couple of additional features. Most obvious is that it has a bigger 15.6 inch screen. Better Color Accuracy – With 88% of NTSC, the colors are rich and vibrant.
Think the extra features justify the price hike? As a designer it will depend on the size you are most comfortable/feel natural designing with.
XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro Holiday version Sales start on October 30 with $100 sliced off ( Compared to normal version), the holiday version will include 1X Greeting Card , 1XMascot Cleaning Cloth, 1X Calendar Featured With Xfans Artworks 1xMascot Badge , 1xMascot Mobile Phone Holder . this would be and affordable choice for digital artists.
Save $57.5 On The XP-Pen Artist 12 Holiday version most affordable pen display dmonitor
XP-Pen Artist 12 Holiday version Sales also start on October 30 with $57.5 sliced off ( Compared to normal price) .
The Artist 12 Pro and Artist 12HD have a lot of the same features as the previous tablets. Let’s run through some of the key differences between the normal and Pro models.
KEY DIFFERENCES
11.6” Screen – Most obviously, they feature a Small 11.6” screen. The Artist 12HD range is an older model and the display is not fully-laminated , although the resolution is still pretty good at 1920 x 1080.
Express Keys – Artist 12 feature 6 User-Assignable shortcut keys and 1 Touch Strip , Artist 12 Pro equipped with 8 shortcut keys and a Red dial for way more control and improved workflow.
Recline – Artist 12 Pro include a AC42 Portable display Stand Works like an easel and rotates up to 20 degrees while normal version have not .
tilt recognition – Artist 12 Pro Comes with the PA2 Grip Pen, featuring 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition. while normal version P06 battery-free stylus not support pen tilt function but featuring digital eraser .
Save $45 On The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Portable Drawing Tablet Monitor
XP-Pen Artist 15.6 was released earlier than Artist 15.6 Pro drawing tablet, but designers often get confused between the two when it comes to purchasing as both are unique in their own way.
Design : If we talk about the design of both the tablets, well, both are very slim and sleek, measuring 11mm. Unlike previous version Artist 15.6 , Artist 15.6 pro drawing tablet has 8 personalized whereas 6 keys.
Artist 15.6 pro also offer a red dial between the keys, breaking the tradition pen display design, which is missing in Artist 15.6 version. You can easily zoom in and out the images, program things as per your convenience in the pro version and do anything at your fingertips.
Display : Artist 15.6 Pro offers laminated Screen , One of the main advantages of the laminated screens is they are very thin, No air gap between layers means to room for light refraction or light interference, making the screen clear and vibrant. The image on the laminated screens appears as they have been painted on the top glass. They look more inviting and real.No parallax , Laminated screens have improved visibility in strongly lit environments and under the sun. which is not the case in Artist 15.6.
Stylus : So Artist 15.6 pro provides you with an advanced version of the pen as compared to Artist 15.6 drawing tablet. Artist 15.6 pro comes with P05R battery-free stylus whereas Artist 15.6 offers PO5 battery-free stylus. More so, Artist 15.6 pro supports 60 degrees of tilt activities, enabling the tablet surface to quickly and easily sense the gesture of each movement with the pen. The pen gives a natural feeling, which is missing in Artist 15.6 .
However, the pressure levels in both the tablets are same, which is 8192 that provides you accuracy, sensitivity and fluidity with better control to draw fine lines on the screen, enhancing your overall performance. But the report rate is higher in XP-Pen Artist 15.6, which is 266 and Artist 15.6 pro 200 report rate.
Accessories : Only Artist 15.6 Pro offers a unique thing in accessories that is built-in AC 41 stand that allows you to keep your tablet as a paper attached to the stand, which gives you mobility and easiness to draw or design anything you want seamlessly. However, XP-Pen Artist 15.6 doesn’t offer such an accessory they offer basic one, which is same in both the drawing tablets like 3 in 1 cable, HDMI to Mac adapter cable, Quick guide, cleaning cloth, drawing anti fouling glove in 15.6 and in Artist 15.6 pro you’ll get general drawing glove. Both the drawing tablets also offer 8 nibs to make your life more stress-free from the upcoming purchases of nibs.
Bottom line
Well, in the end, everything heavily relies upon your usage, budget, and choices. Overall, we can say that there’s not a vast difference between XP-Pen Artist 15.6 and Artist 15.6 pro drawing tablets, just a bit of difference, which is acceptable. As I have already mentioned that both the tablets were hit in the market their specifications also prove this statement. We would recommend all the users to first prepare a checklist of their requirements, compare with the mentioned specifications and then make a decision between the two, which means to find the one that best suits your needs.
Save 20% off On The XP-Pen Deco Pro Android professional digital Art tablet with tilt recognition
XP-Pen Deco Pro helps you find new ways to create. Designed for those professional digital artists who are drawing, painting and photo editing with their Mac or PC .
The XP-Pen Deco Pro Series is crafted with an aluminum casing and features a 7mm thin curved casing. The black and silver color scheme blends well into its streamlined design, making it both smooth to use and sleek in appearance. As such a professional designed tablet, Deco Pro has been awarded as the 2019 Red Dot Design Award Winner and the 2018 Good Design Award Winner!
It’s great for working in Spacious spaces, where you can dedicate the roughly 11x6 inches (278.9x157 mm) needed for the Medium version; the small is 9x5 inches (230.76x130.16 mm).
Meet the groundbreaking double wheel design paired with trackpad functionality! With a bigger wheel, it is easier to control and operate more accurately. Use the outer mechanic wheel to zoom in /out of your canvas, adjust brush size, etc, while the inner virtual wheel can be used as a trackpad/mouse mode, scroll up and down, and more. Both wheels can also be programmed to customize copy, space, and other common functions.
The pen tablet includes the digital Pen PA1 , the pen uses 8,192 levels of pressure and also recognizes tilt.
The XP-Pen Deco Pro series supports connection with Android tablets and mobile phones. compatible with Windows® 7/8/10, Mac OS X® 10.10 and above .
The XP-Pen Deco Pro Best drawing tablet for android is easy to setup and use,Plus, with plenty of other compatible software available, there are many ways you can perfect your passion.
Save $25 On The XP-Pen Deco 03 A4 Large Wireless Drawing Tablet
Deco 3 provides an impressive amount of specs at under 100 dollars along with that dial which is very impressive… the red dial to be quite useful .
The drivers have a nice interface, letting you change active area size, pressure sensitivity, etc. Very good pen case, which doubles as a pen stand. Great if you want to travel.
Large Drawing Area - 10 x 5.62 inches with 5080LPI resolution and 266RPS report rate. Provide larger space for creation and make lines flow smoother, work faster and perform better.
Wired & Wireless Connection - Simply plug the included USB receiver into your computer to draw wirelessly, or connect to your computer with the included Type-C cable for standard wired use.
6 Customizable Shortcut Keys - Creates a highly ergonomic and convenient work platform. Features Type-C input design, easy to plug in and out.
Battery-free Passive Stylus - No delay, no chopping. 8192 levels of instant pen pressure sensitivity, providing you with groundbreaking control and fluidity to expand your creative output.
Strong Compatibility - Compatible with Windows 10/8/7/Vista (32/64bit) and MAC OS 10.8 above.
Save $12 On The XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 beginner digital art Tablet with tilt recognition
Sufficient Working Space-The Deco 01 V2’s expansive tablet is big and brilliant, yet still designed to break through the limit between shortcut keys and drawing area. 10 x 6.25-inch working area, so you get more space to create or get work done.
XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 supports up to 60 degrees of tilt brush effect and delivers smoother and more natural lines and strokes, while also giving you the ability to add shading to your creation. which is not Supported this tilt function in old version XP-Pen Deco 01 drawing tablet for animation .
Android Supported-supports connections with Android Phones and Tablets 6.0 and above. It is compatible with most major software including: ibis Paint X, FlipaClip, Medibang, Autodesk Sketchbook, Zenbrush, Artrage, and more.
Battery-free Stylus and 8 shortcut keys-The 8192 levels of instant pen pressure sensitivity―Providing you with groundbreaking control and fluidity to expand your creative output. No charging required. The eight, round, customizable shortcut keys that fits easily to your finger tip. With its blind spot reduction design, you can find the position of your express keys efficiently and the shortcut keys can be programmed to many different software programs.
Wide Compatibility-The Deco 01 V2 can be used with Windows 10/8/7, MAC OS X 10.10 and above and Android 6.0 and above. This tablet is compatible with many major designer software such as Photoshop, SAI, Painter, Illustrator, Clip Studio, and more.
Save $12 On The XP-Pen Deco 02 A4 Large Drawing Pad Tablet
XP-Pen has basically improved upon their previous models and made the more modernised version of Deco 02 …
A sleek newly designed silver roller with hollow mirror plating conveniently placed in the lateral center of the tablet making the roller easily accessible for left and right handed users. The Roller Wheel is designed to streamline your workflow and operate non intrusively through it’s silent dial roll. Roll the dial on both sides to make your adjustments and navigate around your work space effortlessly.
Deco 02 is all about cramming in more specs and providing features which are in some case only available in much pricier version…
The XP-Pen Deco 02 digital art tablet comes with an active canvas area of 10 x 5.63 inches. Provide encough space for illustrators who are going to be doing extensive detail-focused work,
Being wirelessly charged as you use it, the XP-Pen digital pen P06 is relatively fuss free. The pen also provides over 8,000 levels of pressure and tilt sensitivity, giving a smooth line from start to finish.
The P06 Pen features two buttons on the side, allowing you to set common shortcuts such as changing a brushes opacity. Flipping the pen over will allow users to erase in programs that support that feature.
Final thoughts
Overall, the XP-Pen Graphics Tablets is a great tool for artists, designers, and photography editors. The small size allows the tablet to easily be slipped in a bag with a laptop for use on the go, and its ability to connect wirelessly keeps everything tidy. While I think that illustrators may benefit from a larger size, this small one such as XP-Pen Star G430 Drawing Tablet for OSU is a great way to get started with digital art or photo editing, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better digital tablet for on-the-move.
Join in for the Annual Halloween Bash in the XP-Pen ! Create & design your Imaginations with XP-Pen Drawing Tablets !
There are but a few days ahead of Christmas, and one of the few people remaining on your shopping list is a digital artist of sorts.Your best friend, or close relative, is a digital artist. The best present you’ve ever managed to think of for them was a graphic novel, or perhaps a framed print.Or socks.Now is the time to right these previous wrongs and find some incredible gifts that the digital artist in your life will really appreciate and be able to use. Want to stand out? This is how you do it — and they’ll love you for it, guaranteed.
How does your digital artist want to express themselves? Do they first draw on paper, scan, and import into their favorite package? Or do they want to be able to draw directly into the software? Graphics tablets come in all shapes and sizes, and they make great gifts for digital artists. For instance, the good quality but low budget XP-Pen graphics tablet makes a good gift.
Or perhaps you decide that the interactive displays of the high-end tools, such as the Wacom Cintiq 13HD Interactive Pen Display, are more suited to the person you’re buying for (like a standard tablet, it plugs into your computer as a stylus-sensitive touch display).
As the one of largest consumer digital graphics tablet brand in the world, XP-Pen has received a lot of support from their customers since founded. It can be said that XP-Pen’s achievements cannot be separated from the support and love of customers. So, XP-Pen have attached great importance to customers’ opinions and feedback which are conducive to optimize XP-Pen products.
In order to thank customers for their valuable advice and love for XP-Pen , XP-Pen would like to express their thanks to dearest customers by giving some special offers in the upcoming Christmas Day. you can get a coupon code from $5 off ~ $30 off and use it in the XP-Pen offical Store . you can get the code in this page : https://www.storexppen.com/coupon/index . the christmas Promotion day : from December 07 to December 31, 2018 .
XP-Pen is an artist specific company which only makes artist supplies such as tablets and display monitors. They are the only Wacom alternative that I have come across which offers battery-free pens consistently for all their graphic tablets. Not all of their drawing monitors (Artist 16 Pro / Artist 22 Pro / Artist 22E Pro ) use battery-free pens though.
Personal Notes
-XP-Pen is fairly established company in year 2005 , so they are quite trustworthy.
-Their graphic tablets are all quite good and the “age” of each tablet is fairly easy to figure out as they are named in order from oldest to newest (ex. Star 03 is older than Star 04).
-Their drawing monitors are all quite respectable, but I have heard that the monitor colours are not very well calibrated out-of-the-box.
-XP-Pen is currently the only company which offers company-developed Linux drivers (still in beta testing). Wacom’s Linux drivers are community-developed, and are not actually official drivers, so XP-Pen is the first to do this.
Is XP-Pen worth looking at for graphic tablets?
-Yes.
Their offical Site: https://www.xp-pen.com
Their offical Store: https://www.storexppen.com
Well, if you’re a digital artist and planning to buy the best drawing tablet, then pressure sensitivity, size and accuracy are the key specifications to look for and it’s probably not an easy task to figure out what fits in your requirements.
I see the XP-Pen coupon page , now about ten products participated in this deals event . below is the list of them .please notice that all of xp-pen drawing monitors already have a matte screen protection so you don’t need to buy it alone. all of xp-pen drawing tablets that with or without screen have a drawing glove .
1. Up to $30 off XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro 15.6" IPS Drawing Monitor( 92% of Adobe RGB Wide Color Gamut)
15.6″ Full HD dust-free display with 1920x1080 full HD resolution and wide viewing angle, enhanced visual experience is what XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro offers you on its first sight. A well protected high strength toughened glass and rubber covers, anti-scratch and shockproof outer structure would simply make you fall for it and its convenient utilization which allows you to naturally and intuitively sketch paint, design, and edits on the screen is also a treat for the artists.
Precise and natural pen pressure control and speed up the boost to your drawing efficiency would definitely interest you as this tablet has an 8192-level pressure sensitive rechargeable pen to do so. A simple set-up with your PC or Mac which is compatible with most of the graphics software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator CC, Corel Painter and Autodesk Sketchbook etc., ergonomically makes it more comfortable and provides you with a distinguished drawing experience. Overall, the XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro is a complete package and best value for money tablet for artists.
the difference between Artist 16 Pro and Artist 15.6 is that : The Artist 16 Pro has 92% Adobe RGB, the Artist 15.6 has 75%. you can use artist15.6 without display stand . but artist 16 pro was come with a display Stand . the input connect is also not same , the artist 16 pro / artist 22 pro / artist 22e pro was connect by HDMI , VGA ,USB , the artist 12/ artist 13.3/ artist 15.6 was connect to computer by 3-1 cable .this three are portable display monitors .
XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro customers review
AMAZING product! I’ll admit I was a bit worried before ordering because of some bad reviews but I honestly couldn’t be happier with it. Arrived on time and was packaged well, everything came a-okay.
I had been wanting a Wacom cintiq for a long while but of course can’t afford it, and heard about xp-pen through a YouTube artist I watch. Definitely money well spent! Been drawing non stop on this thing!
Shipping was fast and package arrive perfectly. I was planning on the 10s but the screen size look to small for me so I went and got the artist 16 pro and it’s perfect. Installing it wasn’t too bad, it was my first display tablet so I had a few trouble starting to set it up but once I did a few google searches I was set.
Overall it’s a very affordable and a nice drawing tablet for beginners like me and would recommend to anyone that wants a display drawing tablet that are on a budget!
So I had everything calibrating and spent about 4-5 hours drawing and coloring on paint sai and so far it’s good! Loving it so far! I was messing around with bright/contrast and rubbing it with my glove all over the place lol .
2. Up to $30 off XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro 21.5" IPS Pen Display Monitor
the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro enables you to draw direct onto its screen. It’s generously sized so you can go large with your brush strokes, but the stylus is sensitive enough to cope with your most subtle expressions, too. The stand takes some getting used to, but enables you to switch between a near-flat configuration for drawing and an upright position for when you want to use the Artist 22E Pro as a regular monitor.
the difference between Artist 22 Pro and Artist 22 Pro is that Artist22 Pro doesn’t have 16 hotkeys .
XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro customers review
I took a serious chance on this tablet. I’m a professional sculptor and digital painter, so this is how I make my money and dropping $600 on anything isn’t something I’d do lightly. I also don’t have an overabundance of free time. Also, I’m trying to make a move away from WACOM products because of how overpriced their goods are compared to the recent decline in build quality.
The XP-Pen Artist 22 is a fantastic tablet. Hands down. If you’re in the market for a Cintiq, get this instead. It’s far less expensive and from what I can see, really, really well made. I’ve had mine since the beginning of May and it’s drastically sped up my work.
**Pros:**
* Amazing. I’m not even going to say "amazing for the price" because this thing is pretty damn awesome.
* Extremely responsive, very slight parallax and super easy to get used to drawing on.
* Colours are extremely true.
* Calibration is just fine out of the box but you can mess with it if you want.
* Doubles really nicely as a second monitor
* HD really is HD. Stuff looks great on here. Being able to work at full resolution is nice too.
* Comfy, solid pens that feel nice in the hand and are nice to draw with. (When you are at this thing for 8 hours a day, you begin to appreciate the small things!)
* Puts off a tiny, tiny amount of heat. Less than my "actual" monitor next to it!
* VESA conversion was super easy. Just pop off the stand on the back and throw the VESA mount bracket on and you’re good to go.
**Cons / really should be called "minor annoyances."**
These are in no particular order. Just as they come to me. I’m also being super specific so people know what they are getting into, but none of this wall of text outweighs how good this tablet is.
* Pen charging. I mean. It’s not a big deal, you get two pens and a bajillionty replacement nibs in a nifty holder. A charge has lasted me the better part of a month. I think there’s a passive pen floating around but I’m really not bothered by it.
* You will have to futz with this thing a bit to get it to talk to Windows 10.This is, as I understand it, not XPPEN’s fault and a result of Windows’ s***ty tablet PC protocols. What you need to do: **DO NOT PLUG IN THE TABLET BEFORE INSTALLING THE DRIVERS OFF OF THE XPPEN WEBSITE.** Get the most recent ones. Install them. THEN plug the unit in. If you’re using it as a second monitor, make sure the driver recognizes where you’ve got the tablet set up.
* Drivers are a little barebones, but I have the feeling they’ll get better with time.
* If you have a light touch like I do with tablets, you will need to turn the pressure sensitivity in the drivers all the way down. Still a little firm for my tastes but I got used to it. Wish I could make it a little more sensitive, but tbh messing with brush settings in Photoshop appears to have helped a bit.
* Screen cover is kind of a pain to put on, but what giant sticky plastic sheet wouldn’t be. Put it on, btw. Scratches are no bueno.
* No side buttons / hotkeys. Not at all a big deal for me.
* You’re absolutely gonna need a VESA mount. Good thing this thing is VESA compatible. Anyway, if you’re using one of these you should just have one anyway. Maybe it’s just my desk setup, but I prefer having the thing on a swingy arm.
* Bottom-mounted cables. Sort of annoying. Not really a big deal with a VESA mount.
Shipping was great, tablet arrived with absolutely no dead pixels and was securely, neatly packed in its own little box. You get a bunch of free stuff with it too; it includes all of the cables you could possibly need as far as I know, a neato anti-fouling glove, two tablet pens, a dust brushy thing and a screen cover. Some other stuff too. The company was very friendly and lovely to work with. I didn’t need to use their customer service but word is they’re very helpful.
3. Up to $30 off XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro 21.5" IPS Drawing Tablet Monitor
Upgraded Firmware – Provides a more accurate and responsive cursor positioning experience for drawing; It fulfills users the efficiency needed for greater productivity.
21.5” IPS Monitor – With 16.7 million colors and 1920×1080 resolution, the new Artist 22 Pro gives you the most colorful screen display. The aspect ratio of is 16:9, the contrast ratio 1000:1, brightness 250 cd/m2, and 14ms response time.
Newly Designed Pen – Comes with the same stylus as Artist 22E Pro that recognizes 8192 pressure levels; It is lightweight and fully covered by very fine rubber.
Viewing Angle: Vertical 178° Horizontal 178°, 5080LPI, 266PPS, VGA/DVI/HDMI ports available; OS compatibility: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Mac 10.10.0 or above; 1 year warranty.
XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro customers review
Living in Australia, we pretty much only have 1 visual tablet choice: Wacom. I couldn’t justify the insane price in AUD so went looking for other options. After doing a hell of a lot of research on the previous model of XP-Pen (Artist 22 Pro) and seeing the 22E Pro was about to come out, I decided to jump in and purchase one based on the otherwise great reviews of the Artist22 Pro. I’ll try and keep this short.
PRO’S:
- Product shipped to Australia in perfect condition 5 days after making payment (Inc 3 days for AUD to clear to USD).
- All express buttons work, are responsive and are able to be remapped.
- No dead pixels.
- Easy to set up, install & configure. No driver issues .
- Great pixel quality, contrast, depth of color & response time.
- Great level of pen sensitivity and accuracy.
- Pens charge quite fast and seem to last 50 hours+ (time used, so far...)
- Heaps of additional chords and accessories.
- Chord connections on the side, unlike the previous model meaning there is no bending and stressing on the chords or connections when angle is changed.
- Doubles perfectly as a second or third monitor for other general use.
- Sturdy build quality, easy to adjust stand, solid and responsive buttons.
CON’S
- No DVI cable included. VGA is so outdated, I don’t know why they include one of those in preference to DVI.
- Going from max horizontal to max vertical seating, I’d recommend a pen tracking re-calibration due to the angle change. This is literally a 15 second process though, so once again, a very minor complaint.
Overall this is an amazing tablet for the price - The pro’s vastly outweigh the con’s as the con’s are only minor quality of life annoyances. I’m so glad I did my research on the previous model in order to cement risking giving this a go. I do not regret it at all .
4. Up to $20 off XP-Pen Artist 15.6 15.6" IPS Display Tablet Monitor
The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 is the best seller of xp-pen drawing tablets with screen . Featuring a sharp 15.6 inch IPS display, the Artist 15.6 is really very comfortable to work with, the size of texts and palettes didn’t felt too small when our experts at Tablet Under Budget tested out. With 16.7 million colors, the Artist 15.6 gives you probably the most color-rich experience while drawing on its Full HD screen.
Along with the new design and display, the firmware has also been upgraded which provides responsive and accurate cursor positioning to make drawing experience sharper. Talking about Pen, the generation ergonomically designed Pen P05 has the ability to sense 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which will enable you to draw a variety of lines depending on the amount of pressure you apply. Its compatibility with Windows and Mac operating system makes this one of the most widely used devices by artists and graphic designers for their work as it provides Wacom Cintiq level of features at an affordable price of $430.
XP-Pen Artist 15.6 customers review
Just unboxed earlier today, it’s so smooth and nice but it did take forever to get the drivers and everything calibrated. I love the fact that it’s only 0.4 inches smaller than the Xp-pen Artist 16 but it’s like $140 bucks less??
Calibation of color and pen to screen is a must out of the box. Express keys feel solid. Matte finish screen protector is applied to screen already. Matte protector Dilutes colors a bit but adds a feel of grip you get when drawing on paper. Small offset between pen and cursor. Light weight but sturdy. 15.6 is huge for me even though i upgraded from a medium intous pro 5. Easy to set up. Works great in Clip Studio, mischeif, sketchbook(some strokes wobble), and medibang. The 8000 lvl of pressure sense is nice but if you want an even pressure on the low end that feels evenly distributed youll never get to use all 8000 unless you press so hard you break the screen i imagine. Im sure drivers in the future will fix this. Love mine.
If you’re a student, hobbyist, amateur artist, or just looking to get your first graphics display tablet, I would definitely recommend considering this product. For the price, this tablet works great and its size and quality is quite nice. I’ve had this tablet for roughly a month and so far I haven’t had any issues. I run Windows 10 and mainly use Paint Tool SAI, Clip Studio Paint, and Photoshop CC. Just make sure that you uninstall any tablet drivers on your PC before setup and that you download the latest drivers from XP-Pen’s website.
Setting up the tablet is very easy. Just follow the instructions and you should have no issue. Calibration and color configuration is also pretty simple.
Pros:
Installation and setup is simple
Good size and quality for price
Nice resolution
Comes with accessories such as pen charger, extra nibs, artist glove, cloth to clean screen, and extra cables
Express keys
Parallax is minimal for a cintiq alternative
Good build quality
Not a pro for the tablet, but XP-Pen has a pretty in-depth FAQ on their website for troubleshooting. Look here for getting the tablet to work with SAI.
Cons:
Pressure level needed to activate the pen is higher than I’m used to
No pen tilt functionality
Wires to connect tablet to PC can be kinda annoying
Colors could be better
How does your digital artist want to express themselves? Do they first draw on paper, scan, and import into their favorite package? Or do they want to be able to draw directly into the software? Graphics tablets come in all shapes and sizes, and they make great gifts for digital artists. For instance, the good quality but low budget XP-Pen graphics tablet makes a good gift.
Or perhaps you decide that the interactive displays of the high-end tools, such as the Wacom Cintiq 13HD Interactive Pen Display, are more suited to the person you’re buying for (like a standard tablet, it plugs into your computer as a stylus-sensitive touch display).
As the one of largest consumer digital graphics tablet brand in the world, XP-Pen has received a lot of support from their customers since founded. It can be said that XP-Pen’s achievements cannot be separated from the support and love of customers. So, XP-Pen have attached great importance to customers’ opinions and feedback which are conducive to optimize XP-Pen products.
In order to thank customers for their valuable advice and love for XP-Pen , XP-Pen would like to express their thanks to dearest customers by giving some special offers in the upcoming Christmas Day. you can get a coupon code from $5 off ~ $30 off and use it in the XP-Pen offical Store . you can get the code in this page : https://www.storexppen.com/coupon/index . the christmas Promotion day : from December 07 to December 31, 2018 .
XP-Pen is an artist specific company which only makes artist supplies such as tablets and display monitors. They are the only Wacom alternative that I have come across which offers battery-free pens consistently for all their graphic tablets. Not all of their drawing monitors (Artist 16 Pro / Artist 22 Pro / Artist 22E Pro ) use battery-free pens though.
Personal Notes
-XP-Pen is fairly established company in year 2005 , so they are quite trustworthy.
-Their graphic tablets are all quite good and the “age” of each tablet is fairly easy to figure out as they are named in order from oldest to newest (ex. Star 03 is older than Star 04).
-Their drawing monitors are all quite respectable, but I have heard that the monitor colours are not very well calibrated out-of-the-box.
-XP-Pen is currently the only company which offers company-developed Linux drivers (still in beta testing). Wacom’s Linux drivers are community-developed, and are not actually official drivers, so XP-Pen is the first to do this.
Is XP-Pen worth looking at for graphic tablets?
-Yes.
Their offical Site: https://www.xp-pen.com
Their offical Store: https://www.storexppen.com
Well, if you’re a digital artist and planning to buy the best drawing tablet, then pressure sensitivity, size and accuracy are the key specifications to look for and it’s probably not an easy task to figure out what fits in your requirements.
I see the XP-Pen coupon page , now about ten products participated in this deals event . below is the list of them .please notice that all of xp-pen drawing monitors already have a matte screen protection so you don’t need to buy it alone. all of xp-pen drawing tablets that with or without screen have a drawing glove .
1. Up to $30 off XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro 15.6" IPS Drawing Monitor( 92% of Adobe RGB Wide Color Gamut)
15.6″ Full HD dust-free display with 1920x1080 full HD resolution and wide viewing angle, enhanced visual experience is what XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro offers you on its first sight. A well protected high strength toughened glass and rubber covers, anti-scratch and shockproof outer structure would simply make you fall for it and its convenient utilization which allows you to naturally and intuitively sketch paint, design, and edits on the screen is also a treat for the artists.
Precise and natural pen pressure control and speed up the boost to your drawing efficiency would definitely interest you as this tablet has an 8192-level pressure sensitive rechargeable pen to do so. A simple set-up with your PC or Mac which is compatible with most of the graphics software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator CC, Corel Painter and Autodesk Sketchbook etc., ergonomically makes it more comfortable and provides you with a distinguished drawing experience. Overall, the XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro is a complete package and best value for money tablet for artists.
the difference between Artist 16 Pro and Artist 15.6 is that : The Artist 16 Pro has 92% Adobe RGB, the Artist 15.6 has 75%. you can use artist15.6 without display stand . but artist 16 pro was come with a display Stand . the input connect is also not same , the artist 16 pro / artist 22 pro / artist 22e pro was connect by HDMI , VGA ,USB , the artist 12/ artist 13.3/ artist 15.6 was connect to computer by 3-1 cable .this three are portable display monitors .
XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro customers review
AMAZING product! I’ll admit I was a bit worried before ordering because of some bad reviews but I honestly couldn’t be happier with it. Arrived on time and was packaged well, everything came a-okay.
I had been wanting a Wacom cintiq for a long while but of course can’t afford it, and heard about xp-pen through a YouTube artist I watch. Definitely money well spent! Been drawing non stop on this thing!
Shipping was fast and package arrive perfectly. I was planning on the 10s but the screen size look to small for me so I went and got the artist 16 pro and it’s perfect. Installing it wasn’t too bad, it was my first display tablet so I had a few trouble starting to set it up but once I did a few google searches I was set.
Overall it’s a very affordable and a nice drawing tablet for beginners like me and would recommend to anyone that wants a display drawing tablet that are on a budget!
So I had everything calibrating and spent about 4-5 hours drawing and coloring on paint sai and so far it’s good! Loving it so far! I was messing around with bright/contrast and rubbing it with my glove all over the place lol .
2. Up to $30 off XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro 21.5" IPS Pen Display Monitor
the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro enables you to draw direct onto its screen. It’s generously sized so you can go large with your brush strokes, but the stylus is sensitive enough to cope with your most subtle expressions, too. The stand takes some getting used to, but enables you to switch between a near-flat configuration for drawing and an upright position for when you want to use the Artist 22E Pro as a regular monitor.
the difference between Artist 22 Pro and Artist 22 Pro is that Artist22 Pro doesn’t have 16 hotkeys .
XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro customers review
I took a serious chance on this tablet. I’m a professional sculptor and digital painter, so this is how I make my money and dropping $600 on anything isn’t something I’d do lightly. I also don’t have an overabundance of free time. Also, I’m trying to make a move away from WACOM products because of how overpriced their goods are compared to the recent decline in build quality.
The XP-Pen Artist 22 is a fantastic tablet. Hands down. If you’re in the market for a Cintiq, get this instead. It’s far less expensive and from what I can see, really, really well made. I’ve had mine since the beginning of May and it’s drastically sped up my work.
**Pros:**
* Amazing. I’m not even going to say "amazing for the price" because this thing is pretty damn awesome.
* Extremely responsive, very slight parallax and super easy to get used to drawing on.
* Colours are extremely true.
* Calibration is just fine out of the box but you can mess with it if you want.
* Doubles really nicely as a second monitor
* HD really is HD. Stuff looks great on here. Being able to work at full resolution is nice too.
* Comfy, solid pens that feel nice in the hand and are nice to draw with. (When you are at this thing for 8 hours a day, you begin to appreciate the small things!)
* Puts off a tiny, tiny amount of heat. Less than my "actual" monitor next to it!
* VESA conversion was super easy. Just pop off the stand on the back and throw the VESA mount bracket on and you’re good to go.
**Cons / really should be called "minor annoyances."**
These are in no particular order. Just as they come to me. I’m also being super specific so people know what they are getting into, but none of this wall of text outweighs how good this tablet is.
* Pen charging. I mean. It’s not a big deal, you get two pens and a bajillionty replacement nibs in a nifty holder. A charge has lasted me the better part of a month. I think there’s a passive pen floating around but I’m really not bothered by it.
* You will have to futz with this thing a bit to get it to talk to Windows 10.This is, as I understand it, not XPPEN’s fault and a result of Windows’ s***ty tablet PC protocols. What you need to do: **DO NOT PLUG IN THE TABLET BEFORE INSTALLING THE DRIVERS OFF OF THE XPPEN WEBSITE.** Get the most recent ones. Install them. THEN plug the unit in. If you’re using it as a second monitor, make sure the driver recognizes where you’ve got the tablet set up.
* Drivers are a little barebones, but I have the feeling they’ll get better with time.
* If you have a light touch like I do with tablets, you will need to turn the pressure sensitivity in the drivers all the way down. Still a little firm for my tastes but I got used to it. Wish I could make it a little more sensitive, but tbh messing with brush settings in Photoshop appears to have helped a bit.
* Screen cover is kind of a pain to put on, but what giant sticky plastic sheet wouldn’t be. Put it on, btw. Scratches are no bueno.
* No side buttons / hotkeys. Not at all a big deal for me.
* You’re absolutely gonna need a VESA mount. Good thing this thing is VESA compatible. Anyway, if you’re using one of these you should just have one anyway. Maybe it’s just my desk setup, but I prefer having the thing on a swingy arm.
* Bottom-mounted cables. Sort of annoying. Not really a big deal with a VESA mount.
Shipping was great, tablet arrived with absolutely no dead pixels and was securely, neatly packed in its own little box. You get a bunch of free stuff with it too; it includes all of the cables you could possibly need as far as I know, a neato anti-fouling glove, two tablet pens, a dust brushy thing and a screen cover. Some other stuff too. The company was very friendly and lovely to work with. I didn’t need to use their customer service but word is they’re very helpful.
3. Up to $30 off XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro 21.5" IPS Drawing Tablet Monitor
Upgraded Firmware – Provides a more accurate and responsive cursor positioning experience for drawing; It fulfills users the efficiency needed for greater productivity.
21.5” IPS Monitor – With 16.7 million colors and 1920×1080 resolution, the new Artist 22 Pro gives you the most colorful screen display. The aspect ratio of is 16:9, the contrast ratio 1000:1, brightness 250 cd/m2, and 14ms response time.
Newly Designed Pen – Comes with the same stylus as Artist 22E Pro that recognizes 8192 pressure levels; It is lightweight and fully covered by very fine rubber.
Viewing Angle: Vertical 178° Horizontal 178°, 5080LPI, 266PPS, VGA/DVI/HDMI ports available; OS compatibility: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Mac 10.10.0 or above; 1 year warranty.
XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro customers review
Living in Australia, we pretty much only have 1 visual tablet choice: Wacom. I couldn’t justify the insane price in AUD so went looking for other options. After doing a hell of a lot of research on the previous model of XP-Pen (Artist 22 Pro) and seeing the 22E Pro was about to come out, I decided to jump in and purchase one based on the otherwise great reviews of the Artist22 Pro. I’ll try and keep this short.
PRO’S:
- Product shipped to Australia in perfect condition 5 days after making payment (Inc 3 days for AUD to clear to USD).
- All express buttons work, are responsive and are able to be remapped.
- No dead pixels.
- Easy to set up, install & configure. No driver issues .
- Great pixel quality, contrast, depth of color & response time.
- Great level of pen sensitivity and accuracy.
- Pens charge quite fast and seem to last 50 hours+ (time used, so far...)
- Heaps of additional chords and accessories.
- Chord connections on the side, unlike the previous model meaning there is no bending and stressing on the chords or connections when angle is changed.
- Doubles perfectly as a second or third monitor for other general use.
- Sturdy build quality, easy to adjust stand, solid and responsive buttons.
CON’S
- No DVI cable included. VGA is so outdated, I don’t know why they include one of those in preference to DVI.
- Going from max horizontal to max vertical seating, I’d recommend a pen tracking re-calibration due to the angle change. This is literally a 15 second process though, so once again, a very minor complaint.
Overall this is an amazing tablet for the price - The pro’s vastly outweigh the con’s as the con’s are only minor quality of life annoyances. I’m so glad I did my research on the previous model in order to cement risking giving this a go. I do not regret it at all .
4. Up to $20 off XP-Pen Artist 15.6 15.6" IPS Display Tablet Monitor
The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 is the best seller of xp-pen drawing tablets with screen . Featuring a sharp 15.6 inch IPS display, the Artist 15.6 is really very comfortable to work with, the size of texts and palettes didn’t felt too small when our experts at Tablet Under Budget tested out. With 16.7 million colors, the Artist 15.6 gives you probably the most color-rich experience while drawing on its Full HD screen.
Along with the new design and display, the firmware has also been upgraded which provides responsive and accurate cursor positioning to make drawing experience sharper. Talking about Pen, the generation ergonomically designed Pen P05 has the ability to sense 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which will enable you to draw a variety of lines depending on the amount of pressure you apply. Its compatibility with Windows and Mac operating system makes this one of the most widely used devices by artists and graphic designers for their work as it provides Wacom Cintiq level of features at an affordable price of $430.
XP-Pen Artist 15.6 customers review
Just unboxed earlier today, it’s so smooth and nice but it did take forever to get the drivers and everything calibrated. I love the fact that it’s only 0.4 inches smaller than the Xp-pen Artist 16 but it’s like $140 bucks less??
Calibation of color and pen to screen is a must out of the box. Express keys feel solid. Matte finish screen protector is applied to screen already. Matte protector Dilutes colors a bit but adds a feel of grip you get when drawing on paper. Small offset between pen and cursor. Light weight but sturdy. 15.6 is huge for me even though i upgraded from a medium intous pro 5. Easy to set up. Works great in Clip Studio, mischeif, sketchbook(some strokes wobble), and medibang. The 8000 lvl of pressure sense is nice but if you want an even pressure on the low end that feels evenly distributed youll never get to use all 8000 unless you press so hard you break the screen i imagine. Im sure drivers in the future will fix this. Love mine.
If you’re a student, hobbyist, amateur artist, or just looking to get your first graphics display tablet, I would definitely recommend considering this product. For the price, this tablet works great and its size and quality is quite nice. I’ve had this tablet for roughly a month and so far I haven’t had any issues. I run Windows 10 and mainly use Paint Tool SAI, Clip Studio Paint, and Photoshop CC. Just make sure that you uninstall any tablet drivers on your PC before setup and that you download the latest drivers from XP-Pen’s website.
Setting up the tablet is very easy. Just follow the instructions and you should have no issue. Calibration and color configuration is also pretty simple.
Pros:
Installation and setup is simple
Good size and quality for price
Nice resolution
Comes with accessories such as pen charger, extra nibs, artist glove, cloth to clean screen, and extra cables
Express keys
Parallax is minimal for a cintiq alternative
Good build quality
Not a pro for the tablet, but XP-Pen has a pretty in-depth FAQ on their website for troubleshooting. Look here for getting the tablet to work with SAI.
Cons:
Pressure level needed to activate the pen is higher than I’m used to
No pen tilt functionality
Wires to connect tablet to PC can be kinda annoying
Colors could be better
Hello! Last Month I finally decided to splurge on an XP-Pen Artist 12 display drawing tablet Monitor . I had purchased a XP-Pen Star 03 ages ago and continued using that for years (over three years to be precise). The Star 03 served me well and I used it on both my Mac and the PC successfully for quite some time with relatively good results. Of course, I didn’t know what I was missing. Those $49 definitely went a long way.
I did quite a bit of research before settling on the XP-Pen Artist 12 . the Artist 12 Pen Display offered unparalleled freedom and flawless hand/eye coordination (you draw directly on the screen) .Today I’ll take a closer look at the XP-Pen Artist 12 display tablet, It was both fun and challenging, Hope you’ll enjoy the Article .
The XP-Pen Artist 12 is XP-Pen’s newest tablet with a fully-laminated textured screen, 72% NTSC colour gamut, battery-free pen, and pen tilt functionality. From just looking at the specs, this tablet is quite appealing with top of the line features across the board and a competitive price.
While the small form factor makes it easy to carry the drawing monitor around in a normal size laptop bag, there are a lot more awesome features too which makes the and undeniable deal.
A 22-inch monitor like the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro takes up a lot of desk space. If you don’t have much desk space in the first place, you might need to buy a mount or arm to hold up the monitor in a comfortable position to draw on. If you have an L-shaped table layout, then you could put the drawing monitor on the side table, and the main keyboard and computer on the main table, but for a single table it’s hard to imagine where you can put a 22-inch monitor without it getting in the way.
On the other hand, a 12-inch tablet like the XP-Pen Artist 12 will be much easier to make desk space for. You’ll probably just need to put the Star 03 away and that should be almost enough space for the Artist 12 , plus you will be able to comfortably reach other a 12-inch monitor to type on the keyboard behind it.
It feels nice having a big 22-inch monitor, but unless you’ve figured out a space for it, it’s really hard to include it in your workspace .because I personally never really needed drawing monitors larger than 15.6-inch, especially while they still only offer 1920x1080p resolution which can look pixellated on larger monitors when viewed up close to draw.
Other 13-inch Wacom alternative tablets actually do come a bit cheaper at ~460 USD (tablet stand price included) compared to the XP-Pen Artist 12’s 250 USD price However, I believe the Artist 12 completely justifies its higher price with its quality and features.If you’re looking for a good drawing monitor, I think the Artist 12 is a very compelling option , you can get it from Amazon USA : https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist12-Battry-Free-Multi-Function-Sensitivity/dp/B07GNK18VJ .
Since its conception in 2005, XP-Pen has been dedicated to research, design, production, and marketing of digital tablets. Their team is committed to endless innovation with the goal of bringing every artist into the digital age with tools and technology to suit their individual needs. They believe that their products should adapt to the needs of our clients—not the other way around.
XP-Pen utilizes proprietary electromagnetic handwriting input technology as a core technology and it has developed application products in various fields such as digital panels, digital screens, copy boards, electronic school bags and electronic endorsements. They already a long running sales network and with Shenzhen at the core.
First impression
Starting off with the sleek design, the tablet is really thin which makes it easy to use and carry. It has a sturdy build which screams quality. Also, the display is laminated and has good colors which is necessary for a drawing monitor. It comes with multiple programmable keys so you can always program a particular button to perform a specific function. On the tablet, there is only one single USB Type-C port for connection which is awesome. Kudos to XP-Pen for following the latest USB Type-C standard.
The pen which the tablet comes with is battery free so there is no hassle to charge the pen up before using it. There is a pen holder in the box which also houses 8 extra pen tips and a tip replacement mechanism. The drawing pen works really well and the pressure sensitivity is amazing which I will discuss late in the review. All the necessary stuff comes right in the package which means you don’t have to spend extra buck for cables or stuff.
Specifications:
Dimension- 364*218*10mm
Active Area- 256 × 144mm 11.6 inch diagonal
Screen Resolution- 1920x1080
Display Type- IPS LCD
NTSC Color Gamut- 72% (roughly 100% sRGB)
Contrast- 700:1
Video Interface- Type-C
Viewing Angle- 178°
Response Time- 14ms
Resolution- 5080 LPI
Pen Type- Battery-less Pen
Pen Buttons: 2 side buttons, have eraser
Pen Pressure- 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity
Reading Height- 12mm
Multi-touch: No
Pen Tilt Sensitivity: No
OS Compatibility- MacOS 10.8 or above, Windows 7 or above
Unboxing
Artist 12 Pen Display Drawing Monitor comes in a wide White color box. On the front, there is an image of the drawing tablet itself along with branding and stuff. The box is made out of good quality material and the overall package weighs around 2.36KG. Removing the upper lid of the box reveals the tablet covered in a transparent sheet which gives a sense of quality.
Talking out the tablet and opening up the dividing lid reveals the accessories which comes with the tablet. Take a look at the list of accessories
Digital Pen P06 , 3-in-1 Cable ,HDMI to Mac Adapter Cable ,Adjustable Tablet Stand,Pen Holder, Pen Nibs x 8 (inside the holder) ,Nib Clip (inside the holder) ,Cleaning Cloth ,Drawing Glove ,Quick Start Guide .
All the stuff inside the box from cable to stand screams quality. XP-Pen took extra efforts to design all accessories with high quality material. The drawing tablet come with a screen protector pre-installed which you need to remove before you start using the tablet.
The tablet feels decently sturdy when twisting it between my hands, and I do not think it will break easily from normal use. It should be noted that I do not see any scratches or worn out areas on the screen despite drawing on it intensively for almost 2 weeks. The pen nib also has not worn down at all despite the screen being textured.
Also, the extra tips for the pen (8 to be specific) can be used when the one of the pen wears out. Artist 12 comes with all the useful stuff right in the box so you don’t have to buy anything separately. Overall, the unboxing experience is pretty decent for the price.
Design and Build
XP-Pen Artist 12 is no doubt a sleek and stylish drawing monitor. It has the perfect displays size and dimensions to be carried around easily in a regular laptop bag. The tablet is quite slim considering that it doesn’t comes with a stand built in, rather it has one in the box. To be exact, the dimensions of the are 14.3 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches and the weight of the tablet is around 0.8KG.
Artist 12 is made out of smooth plastic on the front, the rear panel is the same . The plastic panel provides more durability to the tablet in case of accidental fall. There is only a single color option available. Talking about the front of the drawing tablet, it has a Full HD screen on the front along with six keys and 1 touch bar.
On the back are four round rubber feet on both sides of the tablet. If you are using this tablet without the tablet stand, those rubber feet will keep the tablet in place on your desk.
the six keys are programmable which means you can assign them to perform a particular function. All the buttons are click and have nice tactile feedback to them. The touch bar isn’t actually programmable but has various mode like pen size, zoom in or out etc.
Display Quality
Having a screen on a drawing tablet really helps to draw better since you can actually see the place you are going to draw. This provides an experience like drawing on a notebook. XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with a 13 inch IPS LCD display which look pretty great.
Talking about the resolution, the display on the Artist 12 has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. While there are other big tablets with similar resolution too, the screen of the is much sharper because of the compact display which means higher pixel density. Viewing angles are great, however, sometimes the display appears dark when looked from some extreme angles. This is a non-issue though because you won’t be looking at it from any extreme angles while drawing. Overall, the IPS screen is very good. One thing to remember is that the display doesn’t support touch input.
According to XP-Pen, the display on the Artist 12 covers 72% NTSC color gamut which when tested turns out to be true. This means that the drawing tablet can be used for color accurate works. The color setting out of the box look good, although, if you are not happy with the settings you can always manually tweak the colors by going through the OSD options.
Features
XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with plenty of useful features which makes drawing really fun. While some of the functions are really helpful, other are there to be used when felt necessary. While using the tablet, we never felt that any major or necessary feature was missing. Let’s take a look at some of the key features of the drawing tablet.
Battery Free Pen
The Artist 12 comes with a battery-less pen P06. Since there is no battery, the pen doesn’t need recharging or battery replacement. What’s really impressing is that the pen works really well and is on the same level as the other high quality battery powered drawing pens. The pen have a plastic body but still provides smooth grip.
Also, the tablet comes with a doughnut shaped pen holder P06 which hold the pen in a vertical position.There are 8 extra nibs in the pen stand along with a nib remover in the middle.
Surprisingly, the rubber which they used for the grip did not become slippery despite me using it after applying hand cream. It also does not collect dust and can easily be cleaned off.
The top of the pen have a digital eraser. you can use this function by rotate the pen . Same applies here its really hard to estimate whether or not somebody preference is actually useful or not. Personally i do not use the eraser much in PS. But I do use it quite much in sketchbook pro.
Highest Product Configuration
8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 266PPS report rate, 5080 LPI handwriting resolution, 72% NTSC color gamut, a brightness of 250cd/m2, 10mm sensor height, 178°full viewing angles, 14ms response time and 14g initial activation force are all the highest configurations in the industry. You can make all your creations come alive on the canvas like drawing on real paper.
Customizable Keys
XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with 6 Keys on the front are reprogrammable. With the desktop app you can configure the particular keys to perform the desired function when pressed
Compatibility
XP-Pen Artist 12 supports almost all the latest and old operating systems. It supports Windows 7 or above and Mac OS 10.12 or above. The connection interface on the Tablet is Type-C.
Tablet drivers
The tablet drivers are extremely easy to install. You don’t even need to have your tablet plugged in to install them! Just go download the latest version from XP-Pen.com and remove all other tablet drivers you have on your computer before installing it.
Once you’ve installed the driver, the icon shows up in your taskbar, and the driver also creates a shortcut on your desktop so you don’t have to go searching for it in your apps.
Although the installer doesn’t prompt you to restart your computer after it finishes, I wholeheartedly suggesting restarting your computer anyways to allow Windows to properly update the files necessary for the driver to run smoothly.
In the driver, you can configure your tablet expresskeys, pen buttons, pen pressure curve, and work area.
There’s also an option to save different profiles manually using the import and export buttons in the “About” section.
Currently, the XP-Pen drivers do not have a feature for automatically switching profiles based on your currently open application, so you can only change your profiles manually when switching between programs.
The Press Keys tab allows you to customize the functions mapped to your expresskeys. As you can see above, the hotkeys menu has keyboard shortcuts, pen clicks, and some “switch” functions available. The drop down menu for the keyboard shortcuts has every keyboard key that I can think of.
The only thing that I notice is missing is the double click function, but I guess it’s pretty easy to just double tap your pen instead so that can’t even be considered a problem. However, it would be a nice addition either way.
The touch bar is non-customizable, and according to the user manual it has 3 preset functions (brush size +/-, zoom in/out, and scroll up/down) which can be toggled using the bottom shortcut key.
I have suggested making the touch bar customizable to XP-Pen though, so future driver updates may make the touch bar more flexible. However, I believe you should be buying this tablet expecting to use a keyboard for your shortcuts.
I personally need at least 8 shortcut keys to do my full drawing process on the tablet, so the 6 shortcut keys and 1 touch bar on the XP-Pen Artist 12 were not even close to enough for me. With this tablet, I opted to use my keyboard for all my shortcuts instead.
It is important to note that the ‘Enable Touch’ option is referring to the touchbar, not finger touch functions. This tablet does not have finger touch capabilities.
The Digital Pen tab allows you to customize the pen buttons and the pen pressure curve. The pen buttons have the same amount of configuration as the expresskeys.
Usually you will need to uncheck the “Enable Windows Ink” option to prevent Windows Ink from messing with your drawing. That said, some programs such as Photoshop usually do not work if it is not turned on, so play with that option as you see fit.
The Work Area tab allows you to customize the monitor your tablet is mapped to, the pen calibration, and the orientation of your pen inputs.
To use this tablet in left-handed mode, right-click on your desktop and select ‘Display settings’, then scroll down and change the Orientation to “landscape (flipped)’. Then go into the XP-Pen driver and go to the Work Area tab, and select 180 degrees under the Rotate settings.
As a note for Windows 10 users, the default scaling in the Windows Display Settings is set to 150%, so you should go and change that to 72%. With Windows 8.1, the default was 72%. I’m not sure why Windows 10 defaults to 150%.
Setting up
XP-Pen Artist 12 Pen Tablet Monitor Digital Tablet has a 3-in-1 port to connect with laptop, and power. 2 for laptop, HDMI port and USB port, and the rest one is for power.
The tablet has a single USB type-C connection port on it. This is a great design choice because this means that the L-shaped cable can be flipped for left-handed use. This is because USB type-C ports are symmetrical and can be plugged in either direction.
The included cable is a combined cable which goes from the USB type-C on the tablet to USB type-A and HDMI on the computer, and a longer cable to a power outlet. The cable must be connected to a power outlet or else the tablet will not power on.After that turn on the tablet, then you’ll see the desktop of your laptop. The display quality is very good.
Drawing Experience
With all the high value features, the drawing experience on the XP-Pen Artist 12 was really great. The pressure sensitivity of the pen can be felt immediately when the pen touched the surface. This helps on making the desired pressure strokes like on an actual paper.
It is easy to say that the drawing tablet is compatible with almost all the well-known drawing software like Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint etc. Although, if you still have any doubt regarding the software compatibility, you can contact the XP-Pen customer support.
Looking at the slow diagonal line test ( I only truly test my tablets on Clip Studio Paint ) , While drawing straight, no wobble in the lines can be seen that’s pretty good. Which ensure the accuracy of each movement you make on the screen.
If you don’t like the color calibration on the screen, you can always calibrate the colors by going in the OSD settings. After using the tablet continuously for quite some time, the temperature remains in the normal limit thus making it easy to complete your drawing projects ASAP. It can be easily said that the Artist 12 provides one of the best drawing experience in its segment.
The temperature on the tablet stayed quite consistently cool despite drawing on it for hours on end. The only part that gets warm is the top middle part above the screen where it shouldn’t affect anyone, even left-handed people.
I noticed that the pen calibration is pretty good everywhere else even on the edges of the screen.There’s really nothing else I can say about the drawing experience aside from, “it felt really good drawing on it!”
Parallax:
As you know, the XP-Pen has some parallax, while the Cintiq Pro is advertised to have basically none. I experienced "no parallax" with a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 in the past, and I honestly disliked not having any parallax because I couldn’t see the cursor under the pen when using very small brush sizes. I am someone who wasn’t ever much of a traditional artist, so I’ve become extremely used to watching the cursor instead of the pen while drawing, so not being able to see the cursor is unfortunately a problem for me. I’ve found that I actually depend on parallax to be able to see the cursor under the pen.
This obviously may not apply to you, but I figured I would mention it as a personal opinion.
I did quite a bit of research before settling on the XP-Pen Artist 12 . the Artist 12 Pen Display offered unparalleled freedom and flawless hand/eye coordination (you draw directly on the screen) .Today I’ll take a closer look at the XP-Pen Artist 12 display tablet, It was both fun and challenging, Hope you’ll enjoy the Article .
The XP-Pen Artist 12 is XP-Pen’s newest tablet with a fully-laminated textured screen, 72% NTSC colour gamut, battery-free pen, and pen tilt functionality. From just looking at the specs, this tablet is quite appealing with top of the line features across the board and a competitive price.
While the small form factor makes it easy to carry the drawing monitor around in a normal size laptop bag, there are a lot more awesome features too which makes the and undeniable deal.
A 22-inch monitor like the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro takes up a lot of desk space. If you don’t have much desk space in the first place, you might need to buy a mount or arm to hold up the monitor in a comfortable position to draw on. If you have an L-shaped table layout, then you could put the drawing monitor on the side table, and the main keyboard and computer on the main table, but for a single table it’s hard to imagine where you can put a 22-inch monitor without it getting in the way.
On the other hand, a 12-inch tablet like the XP-Pen Artist 12 will be much easier to make desk space for. You’ll probably just need to put the Star 03 away and that should be almost enough space for the Artist 12 , plus you will be able to comfortably reach other a 12-inch monitor to type on the keyboard behind it.
It feels nice having a big 22-inch monitor, but unless you’ve figured out a space for it, it’s really hard to include it in your workspace .because I personally never really needed drawing monitors larger than 15.6-inch, especially while they still only offer 1920x1080p resolution which can look pixellated on larger monitors when viewed up close to draw.
Other 13-inch Wacom alternative tablets actually do come a bit cheaper at ~460 USD (tablet stand price included) compared to the XP-Pen Artist 12’s 250 USD price However, I believe the Artist 12 completely justifies its higher price with its quality and features.If you’re looking for a good drawing monitor, I think the Artist 12 is a very compelling option , you can get it from Amazon USA : https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist12-Battry-Free-Multi-Function-Sensitivity/dp/B07GNK18VJ .
Since its conception in 2005, XP-Pen has been dedicated to research, design, production, and marketing of digital tablets. Their team is committed to endless innovation with the goal of bringing every artist into the digital age with tools and technology to suit their individual needs. They believe that their products should adapt to the needs of our clients—not the other way around.
XP-Pen utilizes proprietary electromagnetic handwriting input technology as a core technology and it has developed application products in various fields such as digital panels, digital screens, copy boards, electronic school bags and electronic endorsements. They already a long running sales network and with Shenzhen at the core.
First impression
Starting off with the sleek design, the tablet is really thin which makes it easy to use and carry. It has a sturdy build which screams quality. Also, the display is laminated and has good colors which is necessary for a drawing monitor. It comes with multiple programmable keys so you can always program a particular button to perform a specific function. On the tablet, there is only one single USB Type-C port for connection which is awesome. Kudos to XP-Pen for following the latest USB Type-C standard.
The pen which the tablet comes with is battery free so there is no hassle to charge the pen up before using it. There is a pen holder in the box which also houses 8 extra pen tips and a tip replacement mechanism. The drawing pen works really well and the pressure sensitivity is amazing which I will discuss late in the review. All the necessary stuff comes right in the package which means you don’t have to spend extra buck for cables or stuff.
Specifications:
Dimension- 364*218*10mm
Active Area- 256 × 144mm 11.6 inch diagonal
Screen Resolution- 1920x1080
Display Type- IPS LCD
NTSC Color Gamut- 72% (roughly 100% sRGB)
Contrast- 700:1
Video Interface- Type-C
Viewing Angle- 178°
Response Time- 14ms
Resolution- 5080 LPI
Pen Type- Battery-less Pen
Pen Buttons: 2 side buttons, have eraser
Pen Pressure- 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity
Reading Height- 12mm
Multi-touch: No
Pen Tilt Sensitivity: No
OS Compatibility- MacOS 10.8 or above, Windows 7 or above
Unboxing
Artist 12 Pen Display Drawing Monitor comes in a wide White color box. On the front, there is an image of the drawing tablet itself along with branding and stuff. The box is made out of good quality material and the overall package weighs around 2.36KG. Removing the upper lid of the box reveals the tablet covered in a transparent sheet which gives a sense of quality.
Talking out the tablet and opening up the dividing lid reveals the accessories which comes with the tablet. Take a look at the list of accessories
Digital Pen P06 , 3-in-1 Cable ,HDMI to Mac Adapter Cable ,Adjustable Tablet Stand,Pen Holder, Pen Nibs x 8 (inside the holder) ,Nib Clip (inside the holder) ,Cleaning Cloth ,Drawing Glove ,Quick Start Guide .
All the stuff inside the box from cable to stand screams quality. XP-Pen took extra efforts to design all accessories with high quality material. The drawing tablet come with a screen protector pre-installed which you need to remove before you start using the tablet.
The tablet feels decently sturdy when twisting it between my hands, and I do not think it will break easily from normal use. It should be noted that I do not see any scratches or worn out areas on the screen despite drawing on it intensively for almost 2 weeks. The pen nib also has not worn down at all despite the screen being textured.
Also, the extra tips for the pen (8 to be specific) can be used when the one of the pen wears out. Artist 12 comes with all the useful stuff right in the box so you don’t have to buy anything separately. Overall, the unboxing experience is pretty decent for the price.
Design and Build
XP-Pen Artist 12 is no doubt a sleek and stylish drawing monitor. It has the perfect displays size and dimensions to be carried around easily in a regular laptop bag. The tablet is quite slim considering that it doesn’t comes with a stand built in, rather it has one in the box. To be exact, the dimensions of the are 14.3 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches and the weight of the tablet is around 0.8KG.
Artist 12 is made out of smooth plastic on the front, the rear panel is the same . The plastic panel provides more durability to the tablet in case of accidental fall. There is only a single color option available. Talking about the front of the drawing tablet, it has a Full HD screen on the front along with six keys and 1 touch bar.
On the back are four round rubber feet on both sides of the tablet. If you are using this tablet without the tablet stand, those rubber feet will keep the tablet in place on your desk.
the six keys are programmable which means you can assign them to perform a particular function. All the buttons are click and have nice tactile feedback to them. The touch bar isn’t actually programmable but has various mode like pen size, zoom in or out etc.
Display Quality
Having a screen on a drawing tablet really helps to draw better since you can actually see the place you are going to draw. This provides an experience like drawing on a notebook. XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with a 13 inch IPS LCD display which look pretty great.
Talking about the resolution, the display on the Artist 12 has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. While there are other big tablets with similar resolution too, the screen of the is much sharper because of the compact display which means higher pixel density. Viewing angles are great, however, sometimes the display appears dark when looked from some extreme angles. This is a non-issue though because you won’t be looking at it from any extreme angles while drawing. Overall, the IPS screen is very good. One thing to remember is that the display doesn’t support touch input.
According to XP-Pen, the display on the Artist 12 covers 72% NTSC color gamut which when tested turns out to be true. This means that the drawing tablet can be used for color accurate works. The color setting out of the box look good, although, if you are not happy with the settings you can always manually tweak the colors by going through the OSD options.
Features
XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with plenty of useful features which makes drawing really fun. While some of the functions are really helpful, other are there to be used when felt necessary. While using the tablet, we never felt that any major or necessary feature was missing. Let’s take a look at some of the key features of the drawing tablet.
Battery Free Pen
The Artist 12 comes with a battery-less pen P06. Since there is no battery, the pen doesn’t need recharging or battery replacement. What’s really impressing is that the pen works really well and is on the same level as the other high quality battery powered drawing pens. The pen have a plastic body but still provides smooth grip.
Also, the tablet comes with a doughnut shaped pen holder P06 which hold the pen in a vertical position.There are 8 extra nibs in the pen stand along with a nib remover in the middle.
Surprisingly, the rubber which they used for the grip did not become slippery despite me using it after applying hand cream. It also does not collect dust and can easily be cleaned off.
The top of the pen have a digital eraser. you can use this function by rotate the pen . Same applies here its really hard to estimate whether or not somebody preference is actually useful or not. Personally i do not use the eraser much in PS. But I do use it quite much in sketchbook pro.
Highest Product Configuration
8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 266PPS report rate, 5080 LPI handwriting resolution, 72% NTSC color gamut, a brightness of 250cd/m2, 10mm sensor height, 178°full viewing angles, 14ms response time and 14g initial activation force are all the highest configurations in the industry. You can make all your creations come alive on the canvas like drawing on real paper.
Customizable Keys
XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with 6 Keys on the front are reprogrammable. With the desktop app you can configure the particular keys to perform the desired function when pressed
Compatibility
XP-Pen Artist 12 supports almost all the latest and old operating systems. It supports Windows 7 or above and Mac OS 10.12 or above. The connection interface on the Tablet is Type-C.
Tablet drivers
The tablet drivers are extremely easy to install. You don’t even need to have your tablet plugged in to install them! Just go download the latest version from XP-Pen.com and remove all other tablet drivers you have on your computer before installing it.
Once you’ve installed the driver, the icon shows up in your taskbar, and the driver also creates a shortcut on your desktop so you don’t have to go searching for it in your apps.
Although the installer doesn’t prompt you to restart your computer after it finishes, I wholeheartedly suggesting restarting your computer anyways to allow Windows to properly update the files necessary for the driver to run smoothly.
In the driver, you can configure your tablet expresskeys, pen buttons, pen pressure curve, and work area.
There’s also an option to save different profiles manually using the import and export buttons in the “About” section.
Currently, the XP-Pen drivers do not have a feature for automatically switching profiles based on your currently open application, so you can only change your profiles manually when switching between programs.
The Press Keys tab allows you to customize the functions mapped to your expresskeys. As you can see above, the hotkeys menu has keyboard shortcuts, pen clicks, and some “switch” functions available. The drop down menu for the keyboard shortcuts has every keyboard key that I can think of.
The only thing that I notice is missing is the double click function, but I guess it’s pretty easy to just double tap your pen instead so that can’t even be considered a problem. However, it would be a nice addition either way.
The touch bar is non-customizable, and according to the user manual it has 3 preset functions (brush size +/-, zoom in/out, and scroll up/down) which can be toggled using the bottom shortcut key.
I have suggested making the touch bar customizable to XP-Pen though, so future driver updates may make the touch bar more flexible. However, I believe you should be buying this tablet expecting to use a keyboard for your shortcuts.
I personally need at least 8 shortcut keys to do my full drawing process on the tablet, so the 6 shortcut keys and 1 touch bar on the XP-Pen Artist 12 were not even close to enough for me. With this tablet, I opted to use my keyboard for all my shortcuts instead.
It is important to note that the ‘Enable Touch’ option is referring to the touchbar, not finger touch functions. This tablet does not have finger touch capabilities.
The Digital Pen tab allows you to customize the pen buttons and the pen pressure curve. The pen buttons have the same amount of configuration as the expresskeys.
Usually you will need to uncheck the “Enable Windows Ink” option to prevent Windows Ink from messing with your drawing. That said, some programs such as Photoshop usually do not work if it is not turned on, so play with that option as you see fit.
The Work Area tab allows you to customize the monitor your tablet is mapped to, the pen calibration, and the orientation of your pen inputs.
To use this tablet in left-handed mode, right-click on your desktop and select ‘Display settings’, then scroll down and change the Orientation to “landscape (flipped)’. Then go into the XP-Pen driver and go to the Work Area tab, and select 180 degrees under the Rotate settings.
As a note for Windows 10 users, the default scaling in the Windows Display Settings is set to 150%, so you should go and change that to 72%. With Windows 8.1, the default was 72%. I’m not sure why Windows 10 defaults to 150%.
Setting up
XP-Pen Artist 12 Pen Tablet Monitor Digital Tablet has a 3-in-1 port to connect with laptop, and power. 2 for laptop, HDMI port and USB port, and the rest one is for power.
The tablet has a single USB type-C connection port on it. This is a great design choice because this means that the L-shaped cable can be flipped for left-handed use. This is because USB type-C ports are symmetrical and can be plugged in either direction.
The included cable is a combined cable which goes from the USB type-C on the tablet to USB type-A and HDMI on the computer, and a longer cable to a power outlet. The cable must be connected to a power outlet or else the tablet will not power on.After that turn on the tablet, then you’ll see the desktop of your laptop. The display quality is very good.
Drawing Experience
With all the high value features, the drawing experience on the XP-Pen Artist 12 was really great. The pressure sensitivity of the pen can be felt immediately when the pen touched the surface. This helps on making the desired pressure strokes like on an actual paper.
It is easy to say that the drawing tablet is compatible with almost all the well-known drawing software like Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint etc. Although, if you still have any doubt regarding the software compatibility, you can contact the XP-Pen customer support.
Looking at the slow diagonal line test ( I only truly test my tablets on Clip Studio Paint ) , While drawing straight, no wobble in the lines can be seen that’s pretty good. Which ensure the accuracy of each movement you make on the screen.
If you don’t like the color calibration on the screen, you can always calibrate the colors by going in the OSD settings. After using the tablet continuously for quite some time, the temperature remains in the normal limit thus making it easy to complete your drawing projects ASAP. It can be easily said that the Artist 12 provides one of the best drawing experience in its segment.
The temperature on the tablet stayed quite consistently cool despite drawing on it for hours on end. The only part that gets warm is the top middle part above the screen where it shouldn’t affect anyone, even left-handed people.
I noticed that the pen calibration is pretty good everywhere else even on the edges of the screen.There’s really nothing else I can say about the drawing experience aside from, “it felt really good drawing on it!”
Parallax:
As you know, the XP-Pen has some parallax, while the Cintiq Pro is advertised to have basically none. I experienced "no parallax" with a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 in the past, and I honestly disliked not having any parallax because I couldn’t see the cursor under the pen when using very small brush sizes. I am someone who wasn’t ever much of a traditional artist, so I’ve become extremely used to watching the cursor instead of the pen while drawing, so not being able to see the cursor is unfortunately a problem for me. I’ve found that I actually depend on parallax to be able to see the cursor under the pen.
This obviously may not apply to you, but I figured I would mention it as a personal opinion.
I‘ve been a Wacom user for many many years and they make some of the best pen tablets/displays on the market today. In my entire design/development career, Wacom is my go to brand when it comes to the “design” part of my job. Started using their bamboo tablets when I was just starting out and immediately upgraded to their Intuos line after a year. After another year of working with their pen tablets, I decided to invest on their Cintiq pen display lineup which is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made (and also one of the most expensive ) Right now, I currently own their Cintiq 13 HD and their latest Cintiq Pro 16 (which costed me an arm and a leg .
My “always Wacom” mindset towards pen tablets/displays began to change when the amazing people at XP-PEN sent over one of their latest products for me to test out. I’ve been hearing a lot about these 3rd party pen displays since last year (via ads and youtube videos) and honestly, I’m really skeptical if it’ll be on par with the experience I had with Wacom over the years. XP-PEN’s pen display took roughly 3 weeks to arrive and used it for roughly a month in my professional and personal projects. Does it stack up with Wacom? Let’s find out!
Please note that I will not be showing the unboxing part of this review nor will I showcase what’s inside the box. This review will focus on the actual Drawing Tablet itself, how it performs in real world situations, and if it’s something that’s viable for professional work.
purchase it via Amazon
Get XP-PEN Artist 16 PRO 1080P IPS Graphics Drawing Monitor 15.6 inch 8192 Pressure Sensitivity / 8 Shortcuts,2pcs rechargeable pen,8 nibs / Display Resolution: 1920 * 1080 Pixel / Digital Pen Display / Adjustable Stand for $459.99,flash sale,free shipping, You can also purchase it via https://www.amazon.com/Artist16-Drawing-Shortcut-Adjustable-pressure/dp/B07B1RPVLY .
Build
The overall build of the device is actually pretty good. It’s made out of high quality materials that doesn’t feel cheap. The overall dimension is also small for a 16” pen display. They made it possible by reducing the bezel thickness around the display. This is a good design choice as it doesn’t eat a lot of space in your desk. Also, upon unboxing it for the very first time, I did notice the screen has some kind of a screen protector installed. Aside from protecting the glass panel, this thin film adds texture to the drawing surface of the pen display which is pretty subjective depending on who’s going to use it. Some users want their pen display to have a smooth surface while others (like me) likes it to have some kind of texture for that pen and paper feel. Shortcut buttons installed on the left side of the display are also “clicky” and not squishy (I’m looking at you Wacom Cintiq 13 HD). It would be better though if they included another set of shortcut buttons on the right side for left handed users.
The built in stand is a bit wobbly at times depending on the angle but it’s pretty stable when you’re actually working on it.
The Artist Display 16 Pro also comes with a stand which is already pre-installed out of the box. The built in stand is flexible enough to support different angles depending on how you intend to work. It has an easy to use lever that you can pull whenever you want to change the angle of the display. The stand also has rubber feet and so far it does its job preventing the device from sliding on your desk when working.
The built in stand is a bit wobbly at times depending on the angle but it’s pretty stable when you’re actually working on it. Try to experiment with the different angles as I find some angles are much more stable compared to others. Also, it looks like the display supports the VESA mounting standard since you can unscrew the stand at the back. I haven’t tested it yet though.
Connections
Powering up this device is pretty straightforward. It comes with 3 cables that you need to “cable manage” to get the cleanest setup possible. There’s one cable for power, one HDMI cable for display, and one USB-A for data. I was actually expecting this device to have a single usb-c cable that will handle power, display, and data but maybe in the next version? (right XP-PEN?)
Screen
Let’s now talk about the screen which is the main selling point of this particular model. XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro has a full 1080p display with 92% Adobe RGB. Now, I’m not a color guy and the only way for me to check this out is by comparing the screen of the pen displays I currently own. Based on my tests, the screen of the Artist Display 16 Pro is much much better compared to my Wacom’s Cintiq 13 HD (which if I’m not mistaken, only has 72% Adobe RGB and is much more expensive to boot). Comparing it to my Wacom Cintiq 16 Pro… well… It’s not there yet but I’m not surprised since the Cintiq 16 Pro screen is 4k and costs three times the price of XP-Pen’s Artist 16 Pro.
Viewing angles are pretty good too. I tried working with some of my UI design projects using this pen display and didn’t notice any major color shifts when looking at different angles. I also love how the textured film that covers the entire display makes the screen “matte”. It does diffuse the colors quite a bit, but I’d rather have a matte screen than a reflective one since I use multiple monitors and glossy screens tend to reflect everything (including my face ).
…the screen of the Artist Display 16 Pro is much much better compared to my Wacom’s Cintiq 13 HD.
One thing I noticed when I turned it on for the first time is the screen looks already calibrated. It means you won’t have to tinker with the display settings and you can already start using the device for work out of the box. In case you’re not happy with the ones you have, the Artist Display 16 Pro has configuration buttons hidden on the right hand side of the display. From there, you can adjust the usual parameters like the brightness, contrast, sharpness, and color temps. My only comment is the configuration UI looks dated and sometimes a bit confusing to to use.
You can also adjust additional display parameters via installing the driver/software that you can download on XP-PEN’s official support page. Please don’t use the installer included on the package because there’s a chance that it’s already outdated.
Parallax
Not really good at explaining stuff but a parallax is the distance between the pen tip and your mouse cursor which is basically being separated by a glass panel that covers your pen display. The thicker the glass, the larger the space between your pen tip and cursor. This creates an annoying effect where the strokes you generate are not matching with your pen’s position and is somewhat “offset”. Parallax are sometimes a normal thing when it comes to pen displays and it all comes down to how small that spacing is between your pen tip and your mouse cursor. My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has a mild parallax while my Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 has virtually zero parallax because the glass is as close as possible to the actual drawing surface – but it’s also much more expensive.
XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro does have parallax and it’s not that bad in my opinion. You will only see it if you try to look for it.
XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro does have parallax and it’s not that bad in my opinion. You will only see it if you try to look for it. It’s more obvious if you check it at certain angles, but if you’re actively working and have consistent strokes, you won’t really notice it. I’m used to my Wacom Cintiq 16 Pro which have virtually zero parallax and though I immediately noticed some parallax when I switched to XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro, it didn’t really affected my overall drawing experience. For the price your paying for this device, a bit of parallax is something I can live with.
Pen
XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro includes 2 pens which is not very common for pen displays. The second pen is marked as a “gift” so I’m not really sure if it’s the same for other people. The pen is also battery powered (yeah you have to charge it). So far, I’ve been using it for like a month now and I haven’t charge the pen yet. The pen is also very comfortable to hold because of the soft rubbery grip. It’s very similar to Wacom’s pen design in terms of overall looks :P I sometimes get confused when picking up the pen on my desk because they look almost the same. Unfortunately, the pen lacks tilt support and it can be a deal breaker for some.
It has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity (same with Cintiq 16 Pro). My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has 2048. Could you tell the difference? In my opinion, yes you can.
I’ve been using the pen for a month now and I haven’t charge it yet.
It has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity (same with Cintiq 16 Pro). My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has 2048. Could you tell the difference? In my opinion, yes you can. The pressure sensivity is evident specially if you’re a light sketcher like me. It’s easy to get thin controlled lines and pen activation requires the least amount of force on the display’s drawing surface. The increased pen sensitivity allows you to create more controlled strokes without having to mess with the pen pressure settings using the the software.
There’s some slight “wobble” in my diagonal lines specially if I draw it slowly. It disappears if you do it quickly though.
I tested the pen further by drawing diagonal lines (using a ruler) and I did notice some slight wobble. The wobble will only appear if you try to draw your diagonal lines slowly and disappears when you try to do it quickly. I think this is one of the drawbacks of battery powered pens compared to the non-powered ones. I draw fast so this isn’t really an issue for me.
XP-PEN included a very nice cylindrical carying case for your pen which also contains your extra pen nibs. The left part of the case is where your pen is located. The cap that covers it also functions as a pen stand. On the far right side is where your extra pen nibs are being kept. There are 8 extra pen nibs and the cap that covers it also has a pen nib remover built in. I haven’t changed pen nibs even with my old pen displays, but extra pen nibs are always welcome.
Drawing Experience
Using the pen display on actual work is not really that different compared to my Wacom pen displays. It works wonderful on both Windows and macOS. I was able to churn out and finish the same type of work I do with my Wacom. The textured drawing surface also makes sketching much more enjoyable because it feels like real paper. Be careful though as the film gets easily scratched by sharp objects – and nope, it doesn’t get scratched when using the pen. For the best possible experience, make sure to to calibrate your pen using the driver/software before using the device. The calibration is straightforward and very similar to Wacom where you need to click (via pen) crosshairs that appears on the screen.
It works wonderful on both Windows and macOS.
There’s one minor issue I experienced when I’m using the device. Sometimes the cursor “jumps” if you try to hover/point it to one of the display’s four corners. This usually happens when I have to click something that is located on the bottom left or bottom right of the screen or if a window is maximized and i have to close it. Doesn’t really happen every time but I just thought I’d mention.
Verdict
XP-PEN’s Artist 16 Pro Pen Display is a great alternative if you’re looking to improve your current drawing work flow. The build is great and the display’s not-so-thick bezels improves the pen display’s overall aesthetics. It has a small footprint for a 16” pen display so you won’t have any problems making it fit in your work desk. The drawing experience is almost identical to the more expensive Wacom though it has a few shortcomings like the pen’s lack of tilt support which might be a deal breaker for some people.
Overall, if you’re looking for a great pen display but is on a budget, I highly recommend XP-PEN. I was really skeptical at first with these 3rd party brands since I’ve been using Wacom for many years. Turns out, they deliver the same experience for like a third of Wacom’s price! Yes, it does not have the same premium feel and 4k screen like Wacom’s latest offering, but if you’re goal is create amazing artworks without breaking the bank, then the Artist 16 pro Drawing Monitor will not disappoint you. Deadpool approves!
For more information about this particular model, you can visit their official website.
My “always Wacom” mindset towards pen tablets/displays began to change when the amazing people at XP-PEN sent over one of their latest products for me to test out. I’ve been hearing a lot about these 3rd party pen displays since last year (via ads and youtube videos) and honestly, I’m really skeptical if it’ll be on par with the experience I had with Wacom over the years. XP-PEN’s pen display took roughly 3 weeks to arrive and used it for roughly a month in my professional and personal projects. Does it stack up with Wacom? Let’s find out!
Please note that I will not be showing the unboxing part of this review nor will I showcase what’s inside the box. This review will focus on the actual Drawing Tablet itself, how it performs in real world situations, and if it’s something that’s viable for professional work.
purchase it via Amazon
Get XP-PEN Artist 16 PRO 1080P IPS Graphics Drawing Monitor 15.6 inch 8192 Pressure Sensitivity / 8 Shortcuts,2pcs rechargeable pen,8 nibs / Display Resolution: 1920 * 1080 Pixel / Digital Pen Display / Adjustable Stand for $459.99,flash sale,free shipping, You can also purchase it via https://www.amazon.com/Artist16-Drawing-Shortcut-Adjustable-pressure/dp/B07B1RPVLY .
Build
The overall build of the device is actually pretty good. It’s made out of high quality materials that doesn’t feel cheap. The overall dimension is also small for a 16” pen display. They made it possible by reducing the bezel thickness around the display. This is a good design choice as it doesn’t eat a lot of space in your desk. Also, upon unboxing it for the very first time, I did notice the screen has some kind of a screen protector installed. Aside from protecting the glass panel, this thin film adds texture to the drawing surface of the pen display which is pretty subjective depending on who’s going to use it. Some users want their pen display to have a smooth surface while others (like me) likes it to have some kind of texture for that pen and paper feel. Shortcut buttons installed on the left side of the display are also “clicky” and not squishy (I’m looking at you Wacom Cintiq 13 HD). It would be better though if they included another set of shortcut buttons on the right side for left handed users.
The built in stand is a bit wobbly at times depending on the angle but it’s pretty stable when you’re actually working on it.
The Artist Display 16 Pro also comes with a stand which is already pre-installed out of the box. The built in stand is flexible enough to support different angles depending on how you intend to work. It has an easy to use lever that you can pull whenever you want to change the angle of the display. The stand also has rubber feet and so far it does its job preventing the device from sliding on your desk when working.
The built in stand is a bit wobbly at times depending on the angle but it’s pretty stable when you’re actually working on it. Try to experiment with the different angles as I find some angles are much more stable compared to others. Also, it looks like the display supports the VESA mounting standard since you can unscrew the stand at the back. I haven’t tested it yet though.
Connections
Powering up this device is pretty straightforward. It comes with 3 cables that you need to “cable manage” to get the cleanest setup possible. There’s one cable for power, one HDMI cable for display, and one USB-A for data. I was actually expecting this device to have a single usb-c cable that will handle power, display, and data but maybe in the next version? (right XP-PEN?)
Screen
Let’s now talk about the screen which is the main selling point of this particular model. XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro has a full 1080p display with 92% Adobe RGB. Now, I’m not a color guy and the only way for me to check this out is by comparing the screen of the pen displays I currently own. Based on my tests, the screen of the Artist Display 16 Pro is much much better compared to my Wacom’s Cintiq 13 HD (which if I’m not mistaken, only has 72% Adobe RGB and is much more expensive to boot). Comparing it to my Wacom Cintiq 16 Pro… well… It’s not there yet but I’m not surprised since the Cintiq 16 Pro screen is 4k and costs three times the price of XP-Pen’s Artist 16 Pro.
Viewing angles are pretty good too. I tried working with some of my UI design projects using this pen display and didn’t notice any major color shifts when looking at different angles. I also love how the textured film that covers the entire display makes the screen “matte”. It does diffuse the colors quite a bit, but I’d rather have a matte screen than a reflective one since I use multiple monitors and glossy screens tend to reflect everything (including my face ).
…the screen of the Artist Display 16 Pro is much much better compared to my Wacom’s Cintiq 13 HD.
One thing I noticed when I turned it on for the first time is the screen looks already calibrated. It means you won’t have to tinker with the display settings and you can already start using the device for work out of the box. In case you’re not happy with the ones you have, the Artist Display 16 Pro has configuration buttons hidden on the right hand side of the display. From there, you can adjust the usual parameters like the brightness, contrast, sharpness, and color temps. My only comment is the configuration UI looks dated and sometimes a bit confusing to to use.
You can also adjust additional display parameters via installing the driver/software that you can download on XP-PEN’s official support page. Please don’t use the installer included on the package because there’s a chance that it’s already outdated.
Parallax
Not really good at explaining stuff but a parallax is the distance between the pen tip and your mouse cursor which is basically being separated by a glass panel that covers your pen display. The thicker the glass, the larger the space between your pen tip and cursor. This creates an annoying effect where the strokes you generate are not matching with your pen’s position and is somewhat “offset”. Parallax are sometimes a normal thing when it comes to pen displays and it all comes down to how small that spacing is between your pen tip and your mouse cursor. My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has a mild parallax while my Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 has virtually zero parallax because the glass is as close as possible to the actual drawing surface – but it’s also much more expensive.
XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro does have parallax and it’s not that bad in my opinion. You will only see it if you try to look for it.
XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro does have parallax and it’s not that bad in my opinion. You will only see it if you try to look for it. It’s more obvious if you check it at certain angles, but if you’re actively working and have consistent strokes, you won’t really notice it. I’m used to my Wacom Cintiq 16 Pro which have virtually zero parallax and though I immediately noticed some parallax when I switched to XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro, it didn’t really affected my overall drawing experience. For the price your paying for this device, a bit of parallax is something I can live with.
Pen
XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro includes 2 pens which is not very common for pen displays. The second pen is marked as a “gift” so I’m not really sure if it’s the same for other people. The pen is also battery powered (yeah you have to charge it). So far, I’ve been using it for like a month now and I haven’t charge the pen yet. The pen is also very comfortable to hold because of the soft rubbery grip. It’s very similar to Wacom’s pen design in terms of overall looks :P I sometimes get confused when picking up the pen on my desk because they look almost the same. Unfortunately, the pen lacks tilt support and it can be a deal breaker for some.
It has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity (same with Cintiq 16 Pro). My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has 2048. Could you tell the difference? In my opinion, yes you can.
I’ve been using the pen for a month now and I haven’t charge it yet.
It has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity (same with Cintiq 16 Pro). My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has 2048. Could you tell the difference? In my opinion, yes you can. The pressure sensivity is evident specially if you’re a light sketcher like me. It’s easy to get thin controlled lines and pen activation requires the least amount of force on the display’s drawing surface. The increased pen sensitivity allows you to create more controlled strokes without having to mess with the pen pressure settings using the the software.
There’s some slight “wobble” in my diagonal lines specially if I draw it slowly. It disappears if you do it quickly though.
I tested the pen further by drawing diagonal lines (using a ruler) and I did notice some slight wobble. The wobble will only appear if you try to draw your diagonal lines slowly and disappears when you try to do it quickly. I think this is one of the drawbacks of battery powered pens compared to the non-powered ones. I draw fast so this isn’t really an issue for me.
XP-PEN included a very nice cylindrical carying case for your pen which also contains your extra pen nibs. The left part of the case is where your pen is located. The cap that covers it also functions as a pen stand. On the far right side is where your extra pen nibs are being kept. There are 8 extra pen nibs and the cap that covers it also has a pen nib remover built in. I haven’t changed pen nibs even with my old pen displays, but extra pen nibs are always welcome.
Drawing Experience
Using the pen display on actual work is not really that different compared to my Wacom pen displays. It works wonderful on both Windows and macOS. I was able to churn out and finish the same type of work I do with my Wacom. The textured drawing surface also makes sketching much more enjoyable because it feels like real paper. Be careful though as the film gets easily scratched by sharp objects – and nope, it doesn’t get scratched when using the pen. For the best possible experience, make sure to to calibrate your pen using the driver/software before using the device. The calibration is straightforward and very similar to Wacom where you need to click (via pen) crosshairs that appears on the screen.
It works wonderful on both Windows and macOS.
There’s one minor issue I experienced when I’m using the device. Sometimes the cursor “jumps” if you try to hover/point it to one of the display’s four corners. This usually happens when I have to click something that is located on the bottom left or bottom right of the screen or if a window is maximized and i have to close it. Doesn’t really happen every time but I just thought I’d mention.
Verdict
XP-PEN’s Artist 16 Pro Pen Display is a great alternative if you’re looking to improve your current drawing work flow. The build is great and the display’s not-so-thick bezels improves the pen display’s overall aesthetics. It has a small footprint for a 16” pen display so you won’t have any problems making it fit in your work desk. The drawing experience is almost identical to the more expensive Wacom though it has a few shortcomings like the pen’s lack of tilt support which might be a deal breaker for some people.
Overall, if you’re looking for a great pen display but is on a budget, I highly recommend XP-PEN. I was really skeptical at first with these 3rd party brands since I’ve been using Wacom for many years. Turns out, they deliver the same experience for like a third of Wacom’s price! Yes, it does not have the same premium feel and 4k screen like Wacom’s latest offering, but if you’re goal is create amazing artworks without breaking the bank, then the Artist 16 pro Drawing Monitor will not disappoint you. Deadpool approves!
For more information about this particular model, you can visit their official website.
In the retouching world, graphics tablets are pretty much a standard for everyone from students to professional artists. I don’t know of many retouchers that only use their mouse to get the job done. Graphics tablets allow for a more precise, and thus refined, work. They also used to cost a fair amount of money, but that was until XP-Pen came along. Here are seven things you didn’t know a graphic tablet could do:
Replace your mouse. Combine the flat surface of your tablet with your pen tool to completely take over the job of your mouse.
Reduce your chance of repetitive strain injury. Use the better ergonomics of your tablets stylus (compared to your mouse) to reduce your risk of injury and find wrist pain relief.
Draw with no lag. Todays graphic tablets perfectly simulate the experience of drawing with a pen and paper, with no delay between the movement of your hand and the results on the screen.
Provide incredible artistic versatility. The combination of a tablets digital platform and good pressure sensitivity lets you control enhancements such as brush size, opacity, flow, hue and texture.
Write on documents. You can use your tablet to draw on Word documents and make handwritten edits in different color ink!
Use touch capabilities. With a tablets touch features, you can move your cursor, and use gestures to rotate your canvas or make it bigger or smaller.
Create almost anything. With your tablet, you can make annotations, edit photos, illustrate comic books, draw animations, and render 3D models.
Recently, XP-Pen updated their Deco tablet line with a new version of the Deco 02. With many tweaks, the new version is definitely a step apart from the old. Find out if it’s worth the upgrade!
If you’re not editing with a tablet, you should really consider it. A mouse is great, but the act of drawing is so natural to photo editing that tablets are the perfect extension — the modern canonical tool, if you will.The XP-Pen Deco 02 Pen Tablet is a flexible graphical tablet that can be used to digitize your work, and by flexible, we don’t mean bendable. By itself, the Deco 02 is a standard drawing tablet that connects to your system via USB . It has eight customizable ExpressKeys and a Touch Ring to assist you with your workflow, and comes with the XP-Pen Advanced P06 passive pen, which has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.
Specifications
The large versions XP-Pen Deco 02 come with eight customizable ExpressKeys and feature 8,192 levels of pressure, 5,080 lines/in resolution, 266 points/second reporting, USB connectivity, and a multi-function touch ring. What’s impressive is that at 1.54 pounds and with an overall footprint of 35,6 x 20,3 x 0,9 cm, it’s barely bigger than the older small version, making it highly portable and great for tossing in your laptop bag to edit on the go. Also included are 8 replacement nibs , a texture sheet sample card, color identification rings, a 1.5m USB cable , a Multi-function Pen Holder, a drawing glove,and documents.
Availability
Online shopping for XP-Pen Deco 02 at Amazon United States Of America : https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Graphics-Battery-free-Shortcut-pressure/dp/B07DCS9D9Q .
Build Quality
Tablet
The tablet is really gorgeous to look at. It’s sleek and sophisticated and a testament to the fact that black is always in style. It’s pleasingly light, enough so that I often grab it off my desk and curl up in my chair with it to edit. The ExpressKeys and touch ring button provide excellent tactile feedback with predictable travel, much like a good mechanical keyboard, which helps to keep you in the flow when working. The touch ring is responsive and smooth and forms a pleasingly deep indent: it guides your thumb through the ring very well, making it easier to keep your eyes on the screen. In addition, the USB connection point is solid and secure.
Most important, however, is the pen-to-surface interaction, which I’m pleased to report is excellent. The surface is a bit coarse, almost like resume paper, and I found in practice that the slight uptick in friction made my strokes more accurate. The best way to describe it would be moving from a gel pen to a good fountain pen. Keep in mind that you can swap out the texture sheet for one with a different feel should you so desire. The drawback to this is that the nibs do tend to wear down a bit more quickly.
The tablet did a perfect job of ignoring my palm, but was impressively responsive and accurate both with pen and multi-finger gestures, of which it can recognize up to 10 fingers (this can be turned off with the side switch), allowing me to also use it like a MacBook trackpad. The rubber feet that run the length of the tablet keep it secure when it’s on a desk. I found the active area of the medium to be perfect for editing photos: enough room to travel as needed, but contained enough to minimize unnecessary movement, increasing efficiency and decreasing fatigue. On a side note, you’ll be pleased to note that the tablet is vertically symmetrical, so left-handed users are not at any sort of disadvantage.
XP-Pen Deco 02 Graphics Drawing Tablet – P06 Pen Stylus
The battery free pen stylus is another big plus for me. It is not as ‘clunky’ as a lot of graphics drawing pens I have reviewed are and has a nice thin profile with ergonomic shaping to the barrel. XP-PEN new advanced P06 passive pen was made for a traditional pencil-like feel! Specially designed for the Deco 02, it delivers a fashionable and technical sense. Comfortable grip and high efficiency! A unique hexagonal design, non-slip & tack-free flexible glue grip, partial transparent pen tip, and an eraser at the end.
The P06 passive pen is stellar. It’s ever so slightly less tapered and the center of mass is just below halfway up the pen, allowing it to naturally sit against your knuckle comfortably without feeling top-heavy and while gripping the surface well. Over the course of a long editing session, you’ll definitely come to appreciate the improved ergonomics. The buttons on the pen have good tactile feedback without being difficult to press. In particular, the top button sits a bit lower now, making it easier to access. I particularly appreciated that the side buttons are now much more flush with the body of the pen. This means you just have to slide your thumb up to use them as opposed to slightly lifting it. While that may seem minor, you can easily make this motion a couple thousand times in an editing session and keeping your grip consistent as opposed to constantly re-gripping the pen is significant when it comes to fatigue prevention.
I use LAMY Calligraphy pens for pen and ink drawing and they have a very similar design this makes the drawing experience much more comfortable. Round pens tend to make your hands hurt and often cramp up after prolonged use.The pen itself can stand vertically or lay flat on the base.
The pen stylus draws beautifully and is one of the best graphics drawing tablet pens that I have used. Due in part to the ergonomically shaped barrel and also to the excellent responsiveness.
The stylus has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which is a big step up from the general standards of 2048 LPS. As technology advances the drawing experience gets much closer to the real thing. On saying that a graphics drawing tablet can in some ways be better than the real thing!
XP-Pen Deco 02 Digital Drawing Tablet – Pen Stand and Spare Nib Store
With the pen is another great feature the pen stand. It has a nice weight so it’s not going to be rattling around the table and doesn’t take up much room.
XP-Pen.com have got it just about right with awaiting stylish pen on the holder.XP-Pen multi-function pen holder is included to keep your pen and pen nibs safe. You can use it as a pen stand or a pen holder, taking it wherever you go.
The stand is approx.1.5 inch square with a domed top. It has a neat feature as XP-Pen have designed this to store the 8 spare nibs. With a simple twist action the pen stand separated into two pieces with the bottom half securely containing the nibs. The base of the pen holder has a small slot to extract nibs and replace them in the pen stylus.
Interface
The software interface is quite good, offering a great balance of usability and customizability. Pressing the settings key brings up the Express View Display, which offers a quick rundown of all your parameters and the ability to click over to more advanced settings.
In the full interface, you can adjust most any setting globally or in application-specific styles. You can change the feel and sensitivity of the pen and eraser, create one-to-five-finger gestures, create multi-key macros to be assigned to ExpressKeys, and essentially customize the Deco 02 exactly as you please to match your workflow. In practice, I never had problems with it properly switching command sets between applications, and there was never any lag in doing so, allowing me to quickly jump back and forth between Photoshop and Lightroom while working.
Efficiency at your fingertips
The customizable ExpressKeys™ and Touch Ring on Deco 02 give you quick access to your favorite software shortcuts. The pen tablet recognizes application-specific shortcuts that you define. The on-screen Radial menu and Express View heads-up display help you stay focused on your work.
Since it’s a mid-range tablet aimed at those who draw digitally, it has a pretty good variety of hotkeys. 8 of them: undo, change brush size, pan, zoom and erase. The middle two that are set in a yin-yang pattern are for zooming. I’m not a fan of buttons for zoom because it makes photoshop either zoom in really fast or out all the way with no control for in between. It does kind of work better when your canvas area is really big though, like in the thousands of pixels. Still not the same feeling of control as a scroll-wheel. I zoom in and out very quickly to check my composition and rough values, so it was a big hassle taking my hands off the tablet to reach for the keyboard hotkeys. This is probably the #1 thing I dislike the most about this tablet. If they had just changed it out for a scroll-wheel or sliding control strip, something with incremental zoom, it would have been perfect.
XP-Pen Deco 02 Digital Drawing Tablet – Installing the Tablet Driver
Things that really bug me about any gadget, that requires some form of installation is the lack of information on how to install / program the device.
Thankfully the instructions for the Deco 02 were easy to follow and worked first time I downloaded the driver from the XP-Pen.com web site. It placed the Pen Tablet Setting application in my applications folder (program files in Windows) and a shortcut on the desktop (optional).
The Pen Tablet Setting App allows you to tailor the shortcut keys to different software that you may use. I find it off putting when any gadgets get so complicated that you end up being overdosed with technical capability. However, xp-pen.com have got it cracked.
As you can see this is pretty straightforward with 5 tab menus:
Pen , Monitor , Table Area,Express Keys,About.
Compatibility
The XP-Pen Deco 02 is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10; Mac OS 10.8 and Mac OS 10.10. or higher.The XP-Pen works with most graphics software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter, Autodesk Sketchbook, Manga Studio, Clip Studio, Zbrush.
As with other electronics, forget about the driver CD and get it straight off the website Here, under the download tab.
A versatile size, Large Active Drawing Area ,without compromise
large size surface - This popular-sized pen tablet provides ample workspace, yet it still fits conveniently inside most laptop bags. Perfect for image editing, graphic design, and art interests, the Deco 02 medium is our most popular model.
On the top surface of the tablet are four white right angled markers which light up to indicate the active area thus defining your drawing space. These ‘landing lights’ are a nice feature as it allows you to see exactly where the active area is when drawing in lower lighting and even in pitch dark conditions. It also adds to the stylish look of the tablet.
The drawing area on this is 10 in x 5.63 in, which is very, very good at the same price point as a Wacom bamboo, which only has a 5.8 in x 3.6 in drawing area. This size active area is good for monitors around 15″-17″. It has 8192 levels of sensitivity and I have not noticed any difference between the sensitivity of this and my XP-Pen. The tablet is wired and hooked up to your computer by a USB-C connector .The cable is 1.5m in length which is a decent size to work with.
Drawing Performance
The default level of sensitivity works very well. It’s no different from any Wacom tablets I’ve used.
You can get the tapered strokes at the start, thick strokes, and tapered ends easily. The stylus is able to detect the slightest of contact on the surface. It supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity but not tilt.These are some hatching lines drawn very quickly with the stylus.A close up on those hatching lines shows that they are smooth. No jitter at all.The strokes also come out without any lag.
Graphics Tablet Anti Fouling Glove Included
One thing I really liked was the inclusion of the tablet glove in this set. For those on the tight budget it is one less item to buy amounts another tick in the box for XP-Pen.com.
For those who have never used a graphics tablet glove they are a fantastic asset to have as they keep your hand gliding smoothly with the pen (particularly when your hands get clammy in hot weather) and also keep the tablet surface dust free.
Price
At almost $100 it is very affordable. More than affordable actually, but I don’t want to say that too much, or I am afraid XP-Pen might raise their prices. You may have noticed, I compared the Wacom Intuos Pro Medium to my XP-Pen Deco 02 a fair bit. But the reason behind this comparison is very simple. I wanted to emphasize the fact that this product is available at a price lower than the Wacom Intuos Pro while offering a quality and size close to that of a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium! For some people the XP-Pen might actually be even better, depending on the pen and surfacing you like best.
What I Liked
Extremely low price. It’s hard to overpraise the affordability of this tablet. If your budget is extra tight and you’re looking for a good entry-level tablet, look no further than XP-Pen Deco 02.
Excellent pen. An advanced number of pressure levels, good performance, and eight extra nibs. so you can create with the accuracy and precision of traditional brushes and pens. Control line width and opacity based on how lightly you touch the pen to the tablet surface.
Great set of shortcut buttons. Modern tablets are all about providing that extra value when you’re using a specialized software, and XP-Pen Deco 02 takes things even further. 1 Touch Ring + 6 more function keys = a dream-tier beginner’s tablet.
Solid build quality. I wasn’t expecting much from such a cheap tablet, but XP-Pen Deco 02 managed to surprise me – in a good way. The tablet looks and feels very solid, and its large active area is a huge advantage over other low-price tablets.
What Could Be Improved
Nibs wear out fairly quickly.
Overall, the new Digital Graphics Drawing Tablet XP-Pen Deco 02 is an absolute joy to use and saves me tremendous time in my work, which is why I highly suggest anyone add a tablet to their workflow, as it’ll pay for itself in the time you save. Interested in picking up your own? Grab it here.
Conclusion
The drawing functionality is more than satisfactory, very good.Not a perfect tablet by far, but probably the best you’re going to get for this price. Great performance that rivals the Wacom Intuos Pro , In many regards, this tablet is comparable to Wacom Intuos Pro, and I would like to pick the Deco 02, XP-Pen Deco 02 is an excellent pick for everyone. it is a good choice if you’re on a budget and looking for a cheap solution.
This pen tablet combines XP-Pen’s finest pen capabilities . Gain precision and control, speed your workflow, and take advantage of all the pressure-sensitive capabilities in your favorite creative software, thanks to the innovations built into the XP-Pen.
Replace your mouse. Combine the flat surface of your tablet with your pen tool to completely take over the job of your mouse.
Reduce your chance of repetitive strain injury. Use the better ergonomics of your tablets stylus (compared to your mouse) to reduce your risk of injury and find wrist pain relief.
Draw with no lag. Todays graphic tablets perfectly simulate the experience of drawing with a pen and paper, with no delay between the movement of your hand and the results on the screen.
Provide incredible artistic versatility. The combination of a tablets digital platform and good pressure sensitivity lets you control enhancements such as brush size, opacity, flow, hue and texture.
Write on documents. You can use your tablet to draw on Word documents and make handwritten edits in different color ink!
Use touch capabilities. With a tablets touch features, you can move your cursor, and use gestures to rotate your canvas or make it bigger or smaller.
Create almost anything. With your tablet, you can make annotations, edit photos, illustrate comic books, draw animations, and render 3D models.
Recently, XP-Pen updated their Deco tablet line with a new version of the Deco 02. With many tweaks, the new version is definitely a step apart from the old. Find out if it’s worth the upgrade!
If you’re not editing with a tablet, you should really consider it. A mouse is great, but the act of drawing is so natural to photo editing that tablets are the perfect extension — the modern canonical tool, if you will.The XP-Pen Deco 02 Pen Tablet is a flexible graphical tablet that can be used to digitize your work, and by flexible, we don’t mean bendable. By itself, the Deco 02 is a standard drawing tablet that connects to your system via USB . It has eight customizable ExpressKeys and a Touch Ring to assist you with your workflow, and comes with the XP-Pen Advanced P06 passive pen, which has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.
Specifications
The large versions XP-Pen Deco 02 come with eight customizable ExpressKeys and feature 8,192 levels of pressure, 5,080 lines/in resolution, 266 points/second reporting, USB connectivity, and a multi-function touch ring. What’s impressive is that at 1.54 pounds and with an overall footprint of 35,6 x 20,3 x 0,9 cm, it’s barely bigger than the older small version, making it highly portable and great for tossing in your laptop bag to edit on the go. Also included are 8 replacement nibs , a texture sheet sample card, color identification rings, a 1.5m USB cable , a Multi-function Pen Holder, a drawing glove,and documents.
Availability
Online shopping for XP-Pen Deco 02 at Amazon United States Of America : https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Graphics-Battery-free-Shortcut-pressure/dp/B07DCS9D9Q .
Build Quality
Tablet
The tablet is really gorgeous to look at. It’s sleek and sophisticated and a testament to the fact that black is always in style. It’s pleasingly light, enough so that I often grab it off my desk and curl up in my chair with it to edit. The ExpressKeys and touch ring button provide excellent tactile feedback with predictable travel, much like a good mechanical keyboard, which helps to keep you in the flow when working. The touch ring is responsive and smooth and forms a pleasingly deep indent: it guides your thumb through the ring very well, making it easier to keep your eyes on the screen. In addition, the USB connection point is solid and secure.
Most important, however, is the pen-to-surface interaction, which I’m pleased to report is excellent. The surface is a bit coarse, almost like resume paper, and I found in practice that the slight uptick in friction made my strokes more accurate. The best way to describe it would be moving from a gel pen to a good fountain pen. Keep in mind that you can swap out the texture sheet for one with a different feel should you so desire. The drawback to this is that the nibs do tend to wear down a bit more quickly.
The tablet did a perfect job of ignoring my palm, but was impressively responsive and accurate both with pen and multi-finger gestures, of which it can recognize up to 10 fingers (this can be turned off with the side switch), allowing me to also use it like a MacBook trackpad. The rubber feet that run the length of the tablet keep it secure when it’s on a desk. I found the active area of the medium to be perfect for editing photos: enough room to travel as needed, but contained enough to minimize unnecessary movement, increasing efficiency and decreasing fatigue. On a side note, you’ll be pleased to note that the tablet is vertically symmetrical, so left-handed users are not at any sort of disadvantage.
XP-Pen Deco 02 Graphics Drawing Tablet – P06 Pen Stylus
The battery free pen stylus is another big plus for me. It is not as ‘clunky’ as a lot of graphics drawing pens I have reviewed are and has a nice thin profile with ergonomic shaping to the barrel. XP-PEN new advanced P06 passive pen was made for a traditional pencil-like feel! Specially designed for the Deco 02, it delivers a fashionable and technical sense. Comfortable grip and high efficiency! A unique hexagonal design, non-slip & tack-free flexible glue grip, partial transparent pen tip, and an eraser at the end.
The P06 passive pen is stellar. It’s ever so slightly less tapered and the center of mass is just below halfway up the pen, allowing it to naturally sit against your knuckle comfortably without feeling top-heavy and while gripping the surface well. Over the course of a long editing session, you’ll definitely come to appreciate the improved ergonomics. The buttons on the pen have good tactile feedback without being difficult to press. In particular, the top button sits a bit lower now, making it easier to access. I particularly appreciated that the side buttons are now much more flush with the body of the pen. This means you just have to slide your thumb up to use them as opposed to slightly lifting it. While that may seem minor, you can easily make this motion a couple thousand times in an editing session and keeping your grip consistent as opposed to constantly re-gripping the pen is significant when it comes to fatigue prevention.
I use LAMY Calligraphy pens for pen and ink drawing and they have a very similar design this makes the drawing experience much more comfortable. Round pens tend to make your hands hurt and often cramp up after prolonged use.The pen itself can stand vertically or lay flat on the base.
The pen stylus draws beautifully and is one of the best graphics drawing tablet pens that I have used. Due in part to the ergonomically shaped barrel and also to the excellent responsiveness.
The stylus has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which is a big step up from the general standards of 2048 LPS. As technology advances the drawing experience gets much closer to the real thing. On saying that a graphics drawing tablet can in some ways be better than the real thing!
XP-Pen Deco 02 Digital Drawing Tablet – Pen Stand and Spare Nib Store
With the pen is another great feature the pen stand. It has a nice weight so it’s not going to be rattling around the table and doesn’t take up much room.
XP-Pen.com have got it just about right with awaiting stylish pen on the holder.XP-Pen multi-function pen holder is included to keep your pen and pen nibs safe. You can use it as a pen stand or a pen holder, taking it wherever you go.
The stand is approx.1.5 inch square with a domed top. It has a neat feature as XP-Pen have designed this to store the 8 spare nibs. With a simple twist action the pen stand separated into two pieces with the bottom half securely containing the nibs. The base of the pen holder has a small slot to extract nibs and replace them in the pen stylus.
Interface
The software interface is quite good, offering a great balance of usability and customizability. Pressing the settings key brings up the Express View Display, which offers a quick rundown of all your parameters and the ability to click over to more advanced settings.
In the full interface, you can adjust most any setting globally or in application-specific styles. You can change the feel and sensitivity of the pen and eraser, create one-to-five-finger gestures, create multi-key macros to be assigned to ExpressKeys, and essentially customize the Deco 02 exactly as you please to match your workflow. In practice, I never had problems with it properly switching command sets between applications, and there was never any lag in doing so, allowing me to quickly jump back and forth between Photoshop and Lightroom while working.
Efficiency at your fingertips
The customizable ExpressKeys™ and Touch Ring on Deco 02 give you quick access to your favorite software shortcuts. The pen tablet recognizes application-specific shortcuts that you define. The on-screen Radial menu and Express View heads-up display help you stay focused on your work.
Since it’s a mid-range tablet aimed at those who draw digitally, it has a pretty good variety of hotkeys. 8 of them: undo, change brush size, pan, zoom and erase. The middle two that are set in a yin-yang pattern are for zooming. I’m not a fan of buttons for zoom because it makes photoshop either zoom in really fast or out all the way with no control for in between. It does kind of work better when your canvas area is really big though, like in the thousands of pixels. Still not the same feeling of control as a scroll-wheel. I zoom in and out very quickly to check my composition and rough values, so it was a big hassle taking my hands off the tablet to reach for the keyboard hotkeys. This is probably the #1 thing I dislike the most about this tablet. If they had just changed it out for a scroll-wheel or sliding control strip, something with incremental zoom, it would have been perfect.
XP-Pen Deco 02 Digital Drawing Tablet – Installing the Tablet Driver
Things that really bug me about any gadget, that requires some form of installation is the lack of information on how to install / program the device.
Thankfully the instructions for the Deco 02 were easy to follow and worked first time I downloaded the driver from the XP-Pen.com web site. It placed the Pen Tablet Setting application in my applications folder (program files in Windows) and a shortcut on the desktop (optional).
The Pen Tablet Setting App allows you to tailor the shortcut keys to different software that you may use. I find it off putting when any gadgets get so complicated that you end up being overdosed with technical capability. However, xp-pen.com have got it cracked.
As you can see this is pretty straightforward with 5 tab menus:
Pen , Monitor , Table Area,Express Keys,About.
Compatibility
The XP-Pen Deco 02 is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10; Mac OS 10.8 and Mac OS 10.10. or higher.The XP-Pen works with most graphics software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter, Autodesk Sketchbook, Manga Studio, Clip Studio, Zbrush.
As with other electronics, forget about the driver CD and get it straight off the website Here, under the download tab.
A versatile size, Large Active Drawing Area ,without compromise
large size surface - This popular-sized pen tablet provides ample workspace, yet it still fits conveniently inside most laptop bags. Perfect for image editing, graphic design, and art interests, the Deco 02 medium is our most popular model.
On the top surface of the tablet are four white right angled markers which light up to indicate the active area thus defining your drawing space. These ‘landing lights’ are a nice feature as it allows you to see exactly where the active area is when drawing in lower lighting and even in pitch dark conditions. It also adds to the stylish look of the tablet.
The drawing area on this is 10 in x 5.63 in, which is very, very good at the same price point as a Wacom bamboo, which only has a 5.8 in x 3.6 in drawing area. This size active area is good for monitors around 15″-17″. It has 8192 levels of sensitivity and I have not noticed any difference between the sensitivity of this and my XP-Pen. The tablet is wired and hooked up to your computer by a USB-C connector .The cable is 1.5m in length which is a decent size to work with.
Drawing Performance
The default level of sensitivity works very well. It’s no different from any Wacom tablets I’ve used.
You can get the tapered strokes at the start, thick strokes, and tapered ends easily. The stylus is able to detect the slightest of contact on the surface. It supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity but not tilt.These are some hatching lines drawn very quickly with the stylus.A close up on those hatching lines shows that they are smooth. No jitter at all.The strokes also come out without any lag.
Graphics Tablet Anti Fouling Glove Included
One thing I really liked was the inclusion of the tablet glove in this set. For those on the tight budget it is one less item to buy amounts another tick in the box for XP-Pen.com.
For those who have never used a graphics tablet glove they are a fantastic asset to have as they keep your hand gliding smoothly with the pen (particularly when your hands get clammy in hot weather) and also keep the tablet surface dust free.
Price
At almost $100 it is very affordable. More than affordable actually, but I don’t want to say that too much, or I am afraid XP-Pen might raise their prices. You may have noticed, I compared the Wacom Intuos Pro Medium to my XP-Pen Deco 02 a fair bit. But the reason behind this comparison is very simple. I wanted to emphasize the fact that this product is available at a price lower than the Wacom Intuos Pro while offering a quality and size close to that of a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium! For some people the XP-Pen might actually be even better, depending on the pen and surfacing you like best.
What I Liked
Extremely low price. It’s hard to overpraise the affordability of this tablet. If your budget is extra tight and you’re looking for a good entry-level tablet, look no further than XP-Pen Deco 02.
Excellent pen. An advanced number of pressure levels, good performance, and eight extra nibs. so you can create with the accuracy and precision of traditional brushes and pens. Control line width and opacity based on how lightly you touch the pen to the tablet surface.
Great set of shortcut buttons. Modern tablets are all about providing that extra value when you’re using a specialized software, and XP-Pen Deco 02 takes things even further. 1 Touch Ring + 6 more function keys = a dream-tier beginner’s tablet.
Solid build quality. I wasn’t expecting much from such a cheap tablet, but XP-Pen Deco 02 managed to surprise me – in a good way. The tablet looks and feels very solid, and its large active area is a huge advantage over other low-price tablets.
What Could Be Improved
Nibs wear out fairly quickly.
Overall, the new Digital Graphics Drawing Tablet XP-Pen Deco 02 is an absolute joy to use and saves me tremendous time in my work, which is why I highly suggest anyone add a tablet to their workflow, as it’ll pay for itself in the time you save. Interested in picking up your own? Grab it here.
Conclusion
The drawing functionality is more than satisfactory, very good.Not a perfect tablet by far, but probably the best you’re going to get for this price. Great performance that rivals the Wacom Intuos Pro , In many regards, this tablet is comparable to Wacom Intuos Pro, and I would like to pick the Deco 02, XP-Pen Deco 02 is an excellent pick for everyone. it is a good choice if you’re on a budget and looking for a cheap solution.
This pen tablet combines XP-Pen’s finest pen capabilities . Gain precision and control, speed your workflow, and take advantage of all the pressure-sensitive capabilities in your favorite creative software, thanks to the innovations built into the XP-Pen.
Do you want to improve your artistry as a professional artist? I think the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro Interactive Pen Display is your perfect tablet.
Manually drawing characters require a lot of time, money and energy. You need an art paper, various pencil sizes, erasers, canvas, and colors. You have to draw the background, the foreground, and every character.
Technology is dynamic. As an artist or designer, you need a device that you can directly work on screen. With a great color resolution, which has comfort as a number one priority and a sensitive pressure control optimization? The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro Interactive Pen Display Tablet is just the device for you. It has the aforementioned features and even more.
This increases your creativity. It even allows you to make additions you may have in mind about the artwork. An example if you’re looking to come up with underwater art. You may need to add mermaids and sea horses. This device allows you to do that.
XP-Pen is a company started in Japan in 2005 and was only recently incorporated in USA in 2015. They have been producing the technology for making digital tablets since 2005.XP-Pen is an professional and reliable supplier of graphics tablets,pen display monitors,light pads,stylus pens and more digital graphical products. The release of the Artist 22E Pro represents a significant shift in Artist design, which previously mimicked a sketchpad or canvas. The larger 22E Pro is more like a drawing table or workbench than a sketchpad.
The Artist range from XP-Pen is their highest model type, designed for professional animators and digital artists.You might see someone from Pixar using something like this, or someone who does digital images and artwork for a living. Put simply, the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is the best graphics tablet you will ever use – if you can afford it and have a strong enough workstation to support it!
The Artist 22E Pro is composed of a vast display and bezel work area and an immense stand. Functionally, it’s a second monitor that acts like a tablet that you can draw on using the P02S Pen2.The display and bezel measure 20.5 inches wide by 12.7 inches high and 1.2 inches deep. Together, they weigh just under 11 pounds,For all practical purposes, the 22E Pro really is a digital workbench.
The benefits of the XP-Pen Artist range of monitor tablets are obvious as soon as you see them. Compared to a normal graphics tablet, which is disconnected from the screen, forcing you to draw with one hand whilst looking up at the monitor (which some people find very odd), the Artist allows you to draw directly onto a screen and see the image appear directly under your pen. This is just like drawing or painting directly onto paper, albeit a piece of digital paper. Drawing in this way allows perfect 1:1 interaction with your chosen software and will produce better quality work overall.
Availability
You can buy it from amazon U.S : https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist22E-Drawing-Pressure-Adjustable/dp/B01M9EURM1 .
High Definition Display
The Artist 22E Pro Creative Pen Display from XP-Pen features an AHVA LCD panel, which is XP-Pen’s proprietary IPS technology. The panel allows for a 178° wide viewing angle, which allows you and anyone in your vicinity to fully appreciate the beauty of your work without the colors being washed out.
The XP-Pen 22E Pro has a high-definition display . The 21.5 inch display has 1920 x 1080 native pixel resolution and 5080 lpi resolution. the colours were bright and full, It also has an amount of 165 pixels per inch and 75% of Adobe’s RGB complete range of color. The panel that comes with it sorts up to 16.7 million of colors and offers 250cd/m2 brightness.the display in the 22E Pro is bright, has better contrast, and covers more of the Adobe RGB color gamut. This means sharper and truer color representations illustrations, photographs, and video.
The semi-gloss surface provides the right amount of radiance without too many reflections for outside lighting. The viewing angles are also spectacular. You don’t get to strain as you use them from whatever angle you work from. The sharpness of this display improves detailed design work and exceptional photo editing.
The quality of the IPS-based screen panel—the same technology used on the iPad—is really gorgeous. It gave me consistent color independently of the angle I was looking at it, which is something that is not true in the other XP-Pen graphic tablet displays. XP-Pen says that the Artist 22E Pro can be color-calibrated with any professional color management solution.
The screen is an anti-glare matte surface,the 21.5-inch XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro has a stunning 4K display. Its IPS display is colour accurate, with good contrast levels, and the pixel density is such that you don’t ever feel you’re working with a screen. This is in part due to the thickness of the screen between surface and pixels, which is minimal on both models.
There’s very little parallax – XP-Pen has reduced the depth of the glass on the screen so the parallax effect (when it feels like the pen’s not actually touching the ‘paper’) has been reduced. and the beautifully glass, makes for a more natural-feeling experience.
Often a hard nib and glass won’t have quite the right amount of friction, but the Artist Pros both are a joy to work with, be it for sculpting 3D models in ZBrush or spending time doing concept work in Corel Painter or Adobe Photoshop.
How does it look?
The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro looks like a 21.5 inch monitor, mounted on a very sturdy frame that allows it to be placed at any angle on a desk. You get a full 21.5 inch screen to draw directly on to and 2 panels either side, filled with an array of “ExpressKeys” and quick selection buttons .
The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is comfortable for both left and right-hand users. You can sketch without worrying about smudge your hand may cause especially if you’re clumsy. Your hand can easily rest on the device as you work.
Software and Drivers
Installation of the drivers and software from XP-Pen.com were the easiest I have ever encountered. I currently am running Windows 10 with the latest updates. This tablet is also compatible with Windows XP/7/8/8.1/Mac OS x 10.7.0 or later. I also tested this unit using Adobe Photoshop and Manga Studio Pro and had no issues at all. After the restart, I was getting ready to do the 9 point configuration tool, like I have done with other products, but realized that the configuration was already spot on. It was a very nice surprise from having so many issues from other products before. All of the other configurable areas of the software are ready from the start, with only one suggestion to turn the pen sensitivity all the way down. I felt like I had a much more consistent pressure control with the slider at the zero position.
Set Of Express Keys
The XP-Pen make configuring the device nice and simple by having the settings tools accessible from a series of buttons on the front of the Artist.
Features 16 customizable Express keys. Compared with Artist 22E, 16 express keys have 16 different functions for convenience and efficiency. It is designed for both left and right handed users. The driver allows the express keys to be attuned to many different software
I think the key with anything like this is spending the time needed to set it up to suit your own personal needs. This may seem like a pain, but it’s worth it, and XP-Pen make configuring the device nice and simple by having the settings tools accessible from a series of buttons on the front of the Artist.
PC Compatible
It comes with a 3-in-1 cable (All the models have the same video ports: HDMI, USB 2.0, DVI-I ) you can use to connect to any PC, either Windows or Mac. The USB port lets you transfer photos and designs or access files. This is important if you need to view them in other computer programs. It’s not limiting. You can access programs like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator or any CS6 applications.
This allows you to come up with pieces you require efficiently. Especially if you want to merge some pieces. Or edit some.
XP-Pen P02S Pen Inclusive
This version has the tilt from previous incarnations but the sensitivity has been increased to over 8000 levels. While this may sound overkill, in use it makes a lot of sense, as the more sensitive, the more like traditional media it feels.
The 8192 degrees of pressure mean you can apply both light and hard strokes, which can dictate brush size or opacity depending on the application, plus the Artist detects when the pen is tilted, which is ideal for use with virtual paint brushes or pencils.
The pen is a little larger than we expected, but you get used to it pretty quickly. We found that it was comfortable to hold in the handthat allows you to work for long hours without hurting your fingers., and allowed us to make more precise movements.
It also performs like the traditional brushes, pencils, and markers. This doesn’t limit your creativity in any way. You can create something simple or complicated.
You can also easily control the width and opacity of the pen. It will not veer of the screen as the device comes with a pressure sensitive screen. It also responds to the slightest touch especially when you press it to the screen.
The XP-Pen P02S Pen comes with a carrying case that contains space for extra nibs. The pens have color rings at the front which help you distinguish between different color brushes.
The stylus is comfortable to hold, although after a long period of use I do find my thumb starts to ache due to being pressed against it. It has a decent weight, although it could be slightly heavier, and when moved across the screen there is a nice, subtle degree of feedback.
I now use the 22E Pro every day. This is mainly for drawing in Photoshop or Krita, texture painting in 3DCoat and sculpting in ZBrush, but I am also attempting to use it for more 3D work in Maya via the Marking Menus, which helps to streamline this process.
Drawing performance
I used Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC and both look great. The menus and buttons are large enough and easy to click with the stylus. Individual pixels are not discernible and such high resolution (220PPI), graphic files, photos, vector art all look sharp.
Parallax is minimal as the glass screen is quite close to the display. The cursor will always be beneath the pen tip but when you look at it from the side, it may not. So to get the best performance, it’s best to calibrate the screen to remove the parallax error totally. Next is to customise your own pressure sensitivity curve — default settings work fine for me.
Drawing on the matte screen with the plastic tip provides a nice tactile feeling. It has just the right amount of friction that’s close to that of pen on paper.
The stylus is accurate, responsive and has no glitches.I’ve tried Photoshop CC and the strokes are smooth, tapers nicely and pressure sensitivity works as expected.Same applies to Medibang Paint Pro and Adobe Illustrator.
Pros:
High Definition – If creating and viewing HD imagery is part of your daily workflow, you will appreciate the 21.5-inch HD (1920×1080) display .
Color Performance – Featuring a 77%-82% Adobe RGB color gamut, the Artist 22E Pro is an ideal display for color-critical workflows, such as animation, photography, and video editing.
Wide-Screen Dynamics – With a generous 21.5-inch display, a 16:9 aspect ratio, and an ultra-wide viewing angle, the Artist 22E Pro is perfect for developing wide-screen content.
Working Under Pressure – With 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity and 40 degrees of tilt recognition, you’ll feel just like you’re working with a traditional paintbrush, marker, pen, or pencil.
Exceptional Comfort – The ergonomically designed counter-weighted stand lets users quickly adjust the Artist for multiple working postures, allowing the display to extend over the edge of the desk and float just above the user’s lap.
Intuitive Controls – 16 programmable ExpressKeys (eight on either side) put convenient keyboard shortcuts and modifiers right at your fingertips, while the Touch Rings provide a natural way to zoom, scroll and change brush size.
Compatibility – XP-PEN Artist22E Pro Supports Windows 7/8/10 and Mac Os x 10.8.x or later. Compatible with popular digital art software such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Comic Studio, SAI, Zbrush, Medibang Paint, Toonboom Harmony etc
True Value – The Artist 22E Pro combines two powerful tools in one: an extra-large, professional pen tablet and a high definition, color-accurate graphics monitor.
Disadvantages
At $499.99 it’s incredibly expensive, probably only justifiable for professional digital illustrators.
It was just too bulky to transport.The display takes up a lot of space, even more with the stand.
There is a slight lag on the pen as you move it, but it’s so small that when you are in full working mode you don`t notice it.
Unlike a mouse the pen is transmitting vast amounts of data in real time to the processors. When the data transmitted exceeds the processor’s capability, lag occurs. Lag can be reduced or avoided by increasing RAM and working with a good graphics card.
While lag is a processing issue, having to calibrate for viewing angle and parallax are physical issues. Because the display on Artists can be positioned at varying angles, the viewing perspective changes, resulting in the illusion that the pen tip does not match the on-screen cursor. On the other hand, parallax is caused by the physical distance (a few millimeters) between the display and the pen tip that results from the glass screen between them. To correct for viewing angle and parallax, it’s essential to calibrate the Artist as needed.
The Artist Pro 16 is cutting edge in almost every way. USB-C, 4K display, a high end pen input. This causes two problems. First, if you’re using a computer that’s not on USB-C, you’ll have quite a few cables to attach. This can get a little cumbersome, and the requirements are pretty specific. If you don’t have a display port adapter, you won’t be able to use this tablet. Another issue, for some, will be the price. If you want the 4K resolution, you’ll have to pay a bit of a premium for it.
Recommended For:
Serious artists/ Professional Artist/ Art Students looking to go pro
realistic painting
people who need HD print ready resolution
people looking for an intuitive experience
people with a lot of money to blow
Conclusion:
Overall, the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is pretty much the perfect graphics tablet setup for your computer. Weighing at over 11 pounds, due to the heavy base that allows you to angle and position the display where you want it.
The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro IPS Drawing Pen Display Graphic Monitor are incredible machines that will aid artists and designers in a way that is effective, comfortable and in some cases inspiring. The experience is fantastic and, while the price is higher than other options, the investment is a one-time cost that’s well worth making. the 22E Pro may not be ideal for everyone, but it is certainly well worth the money.
Manually drawing characters require a lot of time, money and energy. You need an art paper, various pencil sizes, erasers, canvas, and colors. You have to draw the background, the foreground, and every character.
Technology is dynamic. As an artist or designer, you need a device that you can directly work on screen. With a great color resolution, which has comfort as a number one priority and a sensitive pressure control optimization? The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro Interactive Pen Display Tablet is just the device for you. It has the aforementioned features and even more.
This increases your creativity. It even allows you to make additions you may have in mind about the artwork. An example if you’re looking to come up with underwater art. You may need to add mermaids and sea horses. This device allows you to do that.
XP-Pen is a company started in Japan in 2005 and was only recently incorporated in USA in 2015. They have been producing the technology for making digital tablets since 2005.XP-Pen is an professional and reliable supplier of graphics tablets,pen display monitors,light pads,stylus pens and more digital graphical products. The release of the Artist 22E Pro represents a significant shift in Artist design, which previously mimicked a sketchpad or canvas. The larger 22E Pro is more like a drawing table or workbench than a sketchpad.
The Artist range from XP-Pen is their highest model type, designed for professional animators and digital artists.You might see someone from Pixar using something like this, or someone who does digital images and artwork for a living. Put simply, the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is the best graphics tablet you will ever use – if you can afford it and have a strong enough workstation to support it!
The Artist 22E Pro is composed of a vast display and bezel work area and an immense stand. Functionally, it’s a second monitor that acts like a tablet that you can draw on using the P02S Pen2.The display and bezel measure 20.5 inches wide by 12.7 inches high and 1.2 inches deep. Together, they weigh just under 11 pounds,For all practical purposes, the 22E Pro really is a digital workbench.
The benefits of the XP-Pen Artist range of monitor tablets are obvious as soon as you see them. Compared to a normal graphics tablet, which is disconnected from the screen, forcing you to draw with one hand whilst looking up at the monitor (which some people find very odd), the Artist allows you to draw directly onto a screen and see the image appear directly under your pen. This is just like drawing or painting directly onto paper, albeit a piece of digital paper. Drawing in this way allows perfect 1:1 interaction with your chosen software and will produce better quality work overall.
Availability
You can buy it from amazon U.S : https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist22E-Drawing-Pressure-Adjustable/dp/B01M9EURM1 .
High Definition Display
The Artist 22E Pro Creative Pen Display from XP-Pen features an AHVA LCD panel, which is XP-Pen’s proprietary IPS technology. The panel allows for a 178° wide viewing angle, which allows you and anyone in your vicinity to fully appreciate the beauty of your work without the colors being washed out.
The XP-Pen 22E Pro has a high-definition display . The 21.5 inch display has 1920 x 1080 native pixel resolution and 5080 lpi resolution. the colours were bright and full, It also has an amount of 165 pixels per inch and 75% of Adobe’s RGB complete range of color. The panel that comes with it sorts up to 16.7 million of colors and offers 250cd/m2 brightness.the display in the 22E Pro is bright, has better contrast, and covers more of the Adobe RGB color gamut. This means sharper and truer color representations illustrations, photographs, and video.
The semi-gloss surface provides the right amount of radiance without too many reflections for outside lighting. The viewing angles are also spectacular. You don’t get to strain as you use them from whatever angle you work from. The sharpness of this display improves detailed design work and exceptional photo editing.
The quality of the IPS-based screen panel—the same technology used on the iPad—is really gorgeous. It gave me consistent color independently of the angle I was looking at it, which is something that is not true in the other XP-Pen graphic tablet displays. XP-Pen says that the Artist 22E Pro can be color-calibrated with any professional color management solution.
The screen is an anti-glare matte surface,the 21.5-inch XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro has a stunning 4K display. Its IPS display is colour accurate, with good contrast levels, and the pixel density is such that you don’t ever feel you’re working with a screen. This is in part due to the thickness of the screen between surface and pixels, which is minimal on both models.
There’s very little parallax – XP-Pen has reduced the depth of the glass on the screen so the parallax effect (when it feels like the pen’s not actually touching the ‘paper’) has been reduced. and the beautifully glass, makes for a more natural-feeling experience.
Often a hard nib and glass won’t have quite the right amount of friction, but the Artist Pros both are a joy to work with, be it for sculpting 3D models in ZBrush or spending time doing concept work in Corel Painter or Adobe Photoshop.
How does it look?
The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro looks like a 21.5 inch monitor, mounted on a very sturdy frame that allows it to be placed at any angle on a desk. You get a full 21.5 inch screen to draw directly on to and 2 panels either side, filled with an array of “ExpressKeys” and quick selection buttons .
The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is comfortable for both left and right-hand users. You can sketch without worrying about smudge your hand may cause especially if you’re clumsy. Your hand can easily rest on the device as you work.
Software and Drivers
Installation of the drivers and software from XP-Pen.com were the easiest I have ever encountered. I currently am running Windows 10 with the latest updates. This tablet is also compatible with Windows XP/7/8/8.1/Mac OS x 10.7.0 or later. I also tested this unit using Adobe Photoshop and Manga Studio Pro and had no issues at all. After the restart, I was getting ready to do the 9 point configuration tool, like I have done with other products, but realized that the configuration was already spot on. It was a very nice surprise from having so many issues from other products before. All of the other configurable areas of the software are ready from the start, with only one suggestion to turn the pen sensitivity all the way down. I felt like I had a much more consistent pressure control with the slider at the zero position.
Set Of Express Keys
The XP-Pen make configuring the device nice and simple by having the settings tools accessible from a series of buttons on the front of the Artist.
Features 16 customizable Express keys. Compared with Artist 22E, 16 express keys have 16 different functions for convenience and efficiency. It is designed for both left and right handed users. The driver allows the express keys to be attuned to many different software
I think the key with anything like this is spending the time needed to set it up to suit your own personal needs. This may seem like a pain, but it’s worth it, and XP-Pen make configuring the device nice and simple by having the settings tools accessible from a series of buttons on the front of the Artist.
PC Compatible
It comes with a 3-in-1 cable (All the models have the same video ports: HDMI, USB 2.0, DVI-I ) you can use to connect to any PC, either Windows or Mac. The USB port lets you transfer photos and designs or access files. This is important if you need to view them in other computer programs. It’s not limiting. You can access programs like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator or any CS6 applications.
This allows you to come up with pieces you require efficiently. Especially if you want to merge some pieces. Or edit some.
XP-Pen P02S Pen Inclusive
This version has the tilt from previous incarnations but the sensitivity has been increased to over 8000 levels. While this may sound overkill, in use it makes a lot of sense, as the more sensitive, the more like traditional media it feels.
The 8192 degrees of pressure mean you can apply both light and hard strokes, which can dictate brush size or opacity depending on the application, plus the Artist detects when the pen is tilted, which is ideal for use with virtual paint brushes or pencils.
The pen is a little larger than we expected, but you get used to it pretty quickly. We found that it was comfortable to hold in the handthat allows you to work for long hours without hurting your fingers., and allowed us to make more precise movements.
It also performs like the traditional brushes, pencils, and markers. This doesn’t limit your creativity in any way. You can create something simple or complicated.
You can also easily control the width and opacity of the pen. It will not veer of the screen as the device comes with a pressure sensitive screen. It also responds to the slightest touch especially when you press it to the screen.
The XP-Pen P02S Pen comes with a carrying case that contains space for extra nibs. The pens have color rings at the front which help you distinguish between different color brushes.
The stylus is comfortable to hold, although after a long period of use I do find my thumb starts to ache due to being pressed against it. It has a decent weight, although it could be slightly heavier, and when moved across the screen there is a nice, subtle degree of feedback.
I now use the 22E Pro every day. This is mainly for drawing in Photoshop or Krita, texture painting in 3DCoat and sculpting in ZBrush, but I am also attempting to use it for more 3D work in Maya via the Marking Menus, which helps to streamline this process.
Drawing performance
I used Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC and both look great. The menus and buttons are large enough and easy to click with the stylus. Individual pixels are not discernible and such high resolution (220PPI), graphic files, photos, vector art all look sharp.
Parallax is minimal as the glass screen is quite close to the display. The cursor will always be beneath the pen tip but when you look at it from the side, it may not. So to get the best performance, it’s best to calibrate the screen to remove the parallax error totally. Next is to customise your own pressure sensitivity curve — default settings work fine for me.
Drawing on the matte screen with the plastic tip provides a nice tactile feeling. It has just the right amount of friction that’s close to that of pen on paper.
The stylus is accurate, responsive and has no glitches.I’ve tried Photoshop CC and the strokes are smooth, tapers nicely and pressure sensitivity works as expected.Same applies to Medibang Paint Pro and Adobe Illustrator.
Pros:
High Definition – If creating and viewing HD imagery is part of your daily workflow, you will appreciate the 21.5-inch HD (1920×1080) display .
Color Performance – Featuring a 77%-82% Adobe RGB color gamut, the Artist 22E Pro is an ideal display for color-critical workflows, such as animation, photography, and video editing.
Wide-Screen Dynamics – With a generous 21.5-inch display, a 16:9 aspect ratio, and an ultra-wide viewing angle, the Artist 22E Pro is perfect for developing wide-screen content.
Working Under Pressure – With 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity and 40 degrees of tilt recognition, you’ll feel just like you’re working with a traditional paintbrush, marker, pen, or pencil.
Exceptional Comfort – The ergonomically designed counter-weighted stand lets users quickly adjust the Artist for multiple working postures, allowing the display to extend over the edge of the desk and float just above the user’s lap.
Intuitive Controls – 16 programmable ExpressKeys (eight on either side) put convenient keyboard shortcuts and modifiers right at your fingertips, while the Touch Rings provide a natural way to zoom, scroll and change brush size.
Compatibility – XP-PEN Artist22E Pro Supports Windows 7/8/10 and Mac Os x 10.8.x or later. Compatible with popular digital art software such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Comic Studio, SAI, Zbrush, Medibang Paint, Toonboom Harmony etc
True Value – The Artist 22E Pro combines two powerful tools in one: an extra-large, professional pen tablet and a high definition, color-accurate graphics monitor.
Disadvantages
At $499.99 it’s incredibly expensive, probably only justifiable for professional digital illustrators.
It was just too bulky to transport.The display takes up a lot of space, even more with the stand.
There is a slight lag on the pen as you move it, but it’s so small that when you are in full working mode you don`t notice it.
Unlike a mouse the pen is transmitting vast amounts of data in real time to the processors. When the data transmitted exceeds the processor’s capability, lag occurs. Lag can be reduced or avoided by increasing RAM and working with a good graphics card.
While lag is a processing issue, having to calibrate for viewing angle and parallax are physical issues. Because the display on Artists can be positioned at varying angles, the viewing perspective changes, resulting in the illusion that the pen tip does not match the on-screen cursor. On the other hand, parallax is caused by the physical distance (a few millimeters) between the display and the pen tip that results from the glass screen between them. To correct for viewing angle and parallax, it’s essential to calibrate the Artist as needed.
The Artist Pro 16 is cutting edge in almost every way. USB-C, 4K display, a high end pen input. This causes two problems. First, if you’re using a computer that’s not on USB-C, you’ll have quite a few cables to attach. This can get a little cumbersome, and the requirements are pretty specific. If you don’t have a display port adapter, you won’t be able to use this tablet. Another issue, for some, will be the price. If you want the 4K resolution, you’ll have to pay a bit of a premium for it.
Recommended For:
Serious artists/ Professional Artist/ Art Students looking to go pro
realistic painting
people who need HD print ready resolution
people looking for an intuitive experience
people with a lot of money to blow
Conclusion:
Overall, the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is pretty much the perfect graphics tablet setup for your computer. Weighing at over 11 pounds, due to the heavy base that allows you to angle and position the display where you want it.
The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro IPS Drawing Pen Display Graphic Monitor are incredible machines that will aid artists and designers in a way that is effective, comfortable and in some cases inspiring. The experience is fantastic and, while the price is higher than other options, the investment is a one-time cost that’s well worth making. the 22E Pro may not be ideal for everyone, but it is certainly well worth the money.
The XP-Pen Deco 03 is XP-Pen’s latest addition to their Deco series of screen-less tablets. It is made to compete with Wacom’s Intuos Pro line while costing only as much as the low-end Intuos tablets.
The main reason why I decided to buy the XP-Pen Deco 03 instead of the previous XP-Pen Deco 01 is because the Deco 03 uses a newer more premium looking pen than the Deco 01 which just uses a simple plastic pen.
How good is this tablet?
Design and build quality: Really solid!
Tablet drivers: Very good!
Drawing experience: Quite superb!
Overall: A very worthwhile buy for 100 USD.
My verdict:
-If you are a beginner, I can wholeheartedly recommend this over the XP-Pen Deco 03 . It has a drawing experience on par tablets, and I would certainly recommend spending your 100 USD on this tablet.
-If you are an experienced tablet user, the choice will depend on what you need for your art. If you know you need pen tilt/rotation, then the Wacom Intuos Pro is really your only option, but if you don’t care about those features, this tablet is a completely worthy alternative which feels fantastic to use. I would even go so far as to say this is the closest any company has gotten to Wacom so far.
Important specifications
Price: 99.99 USD (when this review was written) https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Graphics-Battery-free-Shortcut-pressure/dp/B07BF9GNFD .
Active Area: 10 x 5.62 inches
Pen Type: Battery-free
Pen Buttons: 2 side buttons, no eraser
Pen Pressure: 8192
Pen Tilt Sensitivity: None
Expresskeys: 6 buttons, 1 spin wheel
Multi-touch: None
Other features: Wireless
What’s in the box?
The things that come in the box:
Deco 03 tablet
Battery-free pen
Pen case
Tablet cable (USB type-A to USB type-C)
Wireless receiver (USB type-A)
Pen nib replacement x8
4GB USB drive (with tablet drivers and other info on it)
Anti-fouling art glove
User manual
“Thank you” card
There is no driver installation CD. Instead, there is a 4GB USB drive with the drivers and manual on it. However, it is always recommended to get the most current drivers directly from XP-Pen’s site instead of using the included ones because the included ones may be outdated.
The tablet has a fairly simple design with just a flat surface and nothing special going on around it. The only special flair is the red dial in the corner of the tablet.
The tablet feels quite durable when doing a simple twist test by gripping both ends of the tablet and twisting.The surface of the tablet is fairly rough and gives drawing on the tablet a nice amount of resistance.
Since I mainly use XP-Pen Artist 22E screen-less tablets which are much smoother, the rough texture felt a bit coarse to me at first, but it started feeling nice fairly quickly and I found it quite enjoyable to draw on.
The tablet surface is certainly wearing and I can clearly see the marks where I have been drawing. I am completely certain that it will end up smoothing out really quickly from normal use.
I have to question XP-Pen and why they say the surface is “durable and resistant to scratches” on the XP-Pen Deco 03 product page because the surface shows clear signs of wear from normal use. this is not a cause for concern whatsoever as wearing off the texture does not affect the tablets drawing capabilities whatsoever.
The back of the tablet has the usual information sticker and rubber feet. The rubber feet do a good job of keeping the tablet in place while drawing.
Also on the back of the tablet is the wireless on/off switch. Make sure you read the manual to know exactly how to set up and use the wireless mode if you intend to use that.
The edge of the tablet is not rounded like most other tablets. This means that if your table is higher than your elbow, it is possible that the tablet will feel uncomfortable against your wrist because of the edge.
I would have very much preferred a rounded edge to give artists a more comfortable experience while drawing for long periods of time. This is one of my few nitpicks about this tablet.
The tablet has 6 expresskeys and the rotating red dial in one corner of the tablet.
The 6 expresskeys have fairly good feedback when clicking them, but I would have preferred them to be slightly easier to click. They require a bit more force than I would like to click them, and they’re actually pretty loud when you click them. They’re certainly use-able, but I believe they could be better.
The main selling point of this tablet is apparently the red dial. It spins really smoothly and clicks nicely every ~15 degrees of rotation. I have no complaints about its quality, but I was never a fan of wheel-type expresskeys so it only acts as an accessory for me.
The other reviews of the Deco 03 I have seen so far praise the red dial for being the main reason they like the tablet, but I really cannot see it as a plus. In my opinion, the quality rubber grip pen is the real advantage here.
Personally, I need at least 12 expresskeys to do all my art on my tablet without touching the keyboard, so the 6 expresskeys plus red dial are not enough for me. Also, to use multiple functions on the dial, you need to assign a KL/KR Switch function to one of the 6 expresskeys, reducing the number of expresskeys you can actually use to 5.
One other thing about the red dial is that the middle of the dial is a button, but pressing it does nothing and there’s no way to program it in the drivers. I wish they had made the button on the dial programmable, or at least made it the KL/KR Switch function so that I can make use of multiple functions on the dial without committing 1 of the 6 expresskeys to the KL/KR Switch function.
Although I tested the expresskeys for a bit, I decided to mainly use my keyboard for my shortcuts.
The cable port is on the expresskeys side of the tablet. This tablet has a USB type-C port so it is capable of using the L-shaped cable in the opposite direction which makes the tablet completely use-able in left-handed mode.
Many people seem to have a misconception that the buttons are right-hand oriented, but in left-handed mode, you can use your thumb for the red dial and other fingers for the buttons. It is certainly use-able, but it’s a slightly different experience than what right-handed people would deal with.
Of course, this is under the assumption that you’re going to use the expresskeys in the first place.
This pen is XP-Pen’s newest P05 battery-free pen. It mimics the ergonomic design of the Wacom Pro Pen and has a fairly large rubber grip with a bulge near the end to catch your fingers.
Holding the pen is very comfortable and it feels like I am using my old comfortable Wacom Intuos Pro pen again. It has a decent weight to it and is quite pleasing to hold. I’m glad XP-Pen finally decided to create this type of premium pen instead of continuing to use their thinner plastic pens.
The top of the pen has nothing. No eraser or charging port.
For the people who do not know if a pen eraser is useful or not, here is a fun fact. I did a little poll on the DeviantArt forums regarding the Wacom pen eraser. Only 3 out of 24 people who own a Wacom with a pen eraser said that they actually use it. The most common reason was that using shortcut buttons to switch to eraser is much faster than physically flipping the pen.
The pen nib does wear down on the XP-Pen Deco 03. However, the difference between the Intuos and the Deco 03 is that having a flat nib does not change the drawing experience at all on the Deco 03, so you don’t even need to change the flat nib in the first place.
On the Wacom Intuos 2018, it feels worse drawing with a flat nib than with a new nib because of the rubbery new texture they use, but with the XP-Pen Deco 03 having a flat nib does not change how much the pen grips the tablet at all because the surface is purely plastic.
The only thing you may notice is that the pen nib rolls over the flat side sometimes, but the same thing happens with Wacom’s tablets so it’s not really something you can complain about.
Also, the XP-Pen Deco 03 comes with 8 replacement nibs, and the Wacom Intuos only comes with 3 replacement nibs. That means you don’t have to worry about the nib wear as much on the XP-Pen Deco 03.
Now let’s talk about the pen case. It’s a pleasant surprise that this tablet comes with a pen case since it holds all your essentials when taking your tablet out with you.
One side of the pen case holds the pen. The lid is also quite heavy and is designed to become the pen stand which is a really useful design.
The other side of the pen case holds the pen nibs and wireless USB dongle. The pen nib remover hole is also built into the middle of the circle of nibs. It’s nice that you have everything you need for your pen in the case itself, and you’re way less likely to lose the small wireless USB receiver because there’s a spot for it in your pen case.
The one small problem I have with this design is that it is actually quite hard to pull out the pen nibs with your fingers. The best way to do it is by wedging your nail between the rubber and the pen nib, but I think they could have thought of a slightly better design to make it easier.
Overall, the pen case is a really nice bonus to go alongside an already really satisfactory Computer Drawing Pad for just 100 USD.
The main reason why I decided to buy the XP-Pen Deco 03 instead of the previous XP-Pen Deco 01 is because the Deco 03 uses a newer more premium looking pen than the Deco 01 which just uses a simple plastic pen.
How good is this tablet?
Design and build quality: Really solid!
Tablet drivers: Very good!
Drawing experience: Quite superb!
Overall: A very worthwhile buy for 100 USD.
My verdict:
-If you are a beginner, I can wholeheartedly recommend this over the XP-Pen Deco 03 . It has a drawing experience on par tablets, and I would certainly recommend spending your 100 USD on this tablet.
-If you are an experienced tablet user, the choice will depend on what you need for your art. If you know you need pen tilt/rotation, then the Wacom Intuos Pro is really your only option, but if you don’t care about those features, this tablet is a completely worthy alternative which feels fantastic to use. I would even go so far as to say this is the closest any company has gotten to Wacom so far.
Important specifications
Price: 99.99 USD (when this review was written) https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Graphics-Battery-free-Shortcut-pressure/dp/B07BF9GNFD .
Active Area: 10 x 5.62 inches
Pen Type: Battery-free
Pen Buttons: 2 side buttons, no eraser
Pen Pressure: 8192
Pen Tilt Sensitivity: None
Expresskeys: 6 buttons, 1 spin wheel
Multi-touch: None
Other features: Wireless
What’s in the box?
The things that come in the box:
Deco 03 tablet
Battery-free pen
Pen case
Tablet cable (USB type-A to USB type-C)
Wireless receiver (USB type-A)
Pen nib replacement x8
4GB USB drive (with tablet drivers and other info on it)
Anti-fouling art glove
User manual
“Thank you” card
There is no driver installation CD. Instead, there is a 4GB USB drive with the drivers and manual on it. However, it is always recommended to get the most current drivers directly from XP-Pen’s site instead of using the included ones because the included ones may be outdated.
The tablet has a fairly simple design with just a flat surface and nothing special going on around it. The only special flair is the red dial in the corner of the tablet.
The tablet feels quite durable when doing a simple twist test by gripping both ends of the tablet and twisting.The surface of the tablet is fairly rough and gives drawing on the tablet a nice amount of resistance.
Since I mainly use XP-Pen Artist 22E screen-less tablets which are much smoother, the rough texture felt a bit coarse to me at first, but it started feeling nice fairly quickly and I found it quite enjoyable to draw on.
The tablet surface is certainly wearing and I can clearly see the marks where I have been drawing. I am completely certain that it will end up smoothing out really quickly from normal use.
I have to question XP-Pen and why they say the surface is “durable and resistant to scratches” on the XP-Pen Deco 03 product page because the surface shows clear signs of wear from normal use. this is not a cause for concern whatsoever as wearing off the texture does not affect the tablets drawing capabilities whatsoever.
The back of the tablet has the usual information sticker and rubber feet. The rubber feet do a good job of keeping the tablet in place while drawing.
Also on the back of the tablet is the wireless on/off switch. Make sure you read the manual to know exactly how to set up and use the wireless mode if you intend to use that.
The edge of the tablet is not rounded like most other tablets. This means that if your table is higher than your elbow, it is possible that the tablet will feel uncomfortable against your wrist because of the edge.
I would have very much preferred a rounded edge to give artists a more comfortable experience while drawing for long periods of time. This is one of my few nitpicks about this tablet.
The tablet has 6 expresskeys and the rotating red dial in one corner of the tablet.
The 6 expresskeys have fairly good feedback when clicking them, but I would have preferred them to be slightly easier to click. They require a bit more force than I would like to click them, and they’re actually pretty loud when you click them. They’re certainly use-able, but I believe they could be better.
The main selling point of this tablet is apparently the red dial. It spins really smoothly and clicks nicely every ~15 degrees of rotation. I have no complaints about its quality, but I was never a fan of wheel-type expresskeys so it only acts as an accessory for me.
The other reviews of the Deco 03 I have seen so far praise the red dial for being the main reason they like the tablet, but I really cannot see it as a plus. In my opinion, the quality rubber grip pen is the real advantage here.
Personally, I need at least 12 expresskeys to do all my art on my tablet without touching the keyboard, so the 6 expresskeys plus red dial are not enough for me. Also, to use multiple functions on the dial, you need to assign a KL/KR Switch function to one of the 6 expresskeys, reducing the number of expresskeys you can actually use to 5.
One other thing about the red dial is that the middle of the dial is a button, but pressing it does nothing and there’s no way to program it in the drivers. I wish they had made the button on the dial programmable, or at least made it the KL/KR Switch function so that I can make use of multiple functions on the dial without committing 1 of the 6 expresskeys to the KL/KR Switch function.
Although I tested the expresskeys for a bit, I decided to mainly use my keyboard for my shortcuts.
The cable port is on the expresskeys side of the tablet. This tablet has a USB type-C port so it is capable of using the L-shaped cable in the opposite direction which makes the tablet completely use-able in left-handed mode.
Many people seem to have a misconception that the buttons are right-hand oriented, but in left-handed mode, you can use your thumb for the red dial and other fingers for the buttons. It is certainly use-able, but it’s a slightly different experience than what right-handed people would deal with.
Of course, this is under the assumption that you’re going to use the expresskeys in the first place.
This pen is XP-Pen’s newest P05 battery-free pen. It mimics the ergonomic design of the Wacom Pro Pen and has a fairly large rubber grip with a bulge near the end to catch your fingers.
Holding the pen is very comfortable and it feels like I am using my old comfortable Wacom Intuos Pro pen again. It has a decent weight to it and is quite pleasing to hold. I’m glad XP-Pen finally decided to create this type of premium pen instead of continuing to use their thinner plastic pens.
The top of the pen has nothing. No eraser or charging port.
For the people who do not know if a pen eraser is useful or not, here is a fun fact. I did a little poll on the DeviantArt forums regarding the Wacom pen eraser. Only 3 out of 24 people who own a Wacom with a pen eraser said that they actually use it. The most common reason was that using shortcut buttons to switch to eraser is much faster than physically flipping the pen.
The pen nib does wear down on the XP-Pen Deco 03. However, the difference between the Intuos and the Deco 03 is that having a flat nib does not change the drawing experience at all on the Deco 03, so you don’t even need to change the flat nib in the first place.
On the Wacom Intuos 2018, it feels worse drawing with a flat nib than with a new nib because of the rubbery new texture they use, but with the XP-Pen Deco 03 having a flat nib does not change how much the pen grips the tablet at all because the surface is purely plastic.
The only thing you may notice is that the pen nib rolls over the flat side sometimes, but the same thing happens with Wacom’s tablets so it’s not really something you can complain about.
Also, the XP-Pen Deco 03 comes with 8 replacement nibs, and the Wacom Intuos only comes with 3 replacement nibs. That means you don’t have to worry about the nib wear as much on the XP-Pen Deco 03.
Now let’s talk about the pen case. It’s a pleasant surprise that this tablet comes with a pen case since it holds all your essentials when taking your tablet out with you.
One side of the pen case holds the pen. The lid is also quite heavy and is designed to become the pen stand which is a really useful design.
The other side of the pen case holds the pen nibs and wireless USB dongle. The pen nib remover hole is also built into the middle of the circle of nibs. It’s nice that you have everything you need for your pen in the case itself, and you’re way less likely to lose the small wireless USB receiver because there’s a spot for it in your pen case.
The one small problem I have with this design is that it is actually quite hard to pull out the pen nibs with your fingers. The best way to do it is by wedging your nail between the rubber and the pen nib, but I think they could have thought of a slightly better design to make it easier.
Overall, the pen case is a really nice bonus to go alongside an already really satisfactory Computer Drawing Pad for just 100 USD.
Whether you are an artist, graphic designer, or architect, a drawing tablet is an essential tool in this digital age. Allowing you to quickly transfer digital drawings into articulated masterpieces, they are a must for any creative professional and can allow hobbyists to take their digital art to the next level.
Figuring out the best tablets for drawing isn’t always easy, so we’ve taken some of the guesswork out of the equation. What you’ll end up with depends both on your needs, and your budget, but the good news is that with such a wide variety of graphics tablets on the market, there’s something for everyone.
Before moving on to our list, it’s important to understand types of tablets available. A graphics tablet hooks into your computer, allowing you to draw on it with a stylus and see the results on your monitor. If you prefer the look and feel of drawing directly on the screen, then you’ll want to consider a tablet monitor. There’s an added expense, but some people find drawing on the screen more intuitive. Here, you’ll want to pay close attention to screen quality in order to get accurate color results.
If you are looking for something that can double as a personal entertainment device (letting you read emails or watch movies when you aren’t getting creative), a tablet computer is your best bet. From Apple to Microsoft and beyond, more and more companies are balancing the perks of a regular tablet with the high-quality screen resolution and drawing applications of a graphic tablet. Scroll down to explore the options!
Best Graphic Monitor for Professionals Beginners Artists Animation
This Artist 22E tablet comes with a stand built into the back that you can unfold to varying degrees. It uses strong rubber legs spread horizontally so it covers a wider base. This limits shaking or any mobility while in use.
The screen itself is brilliant with LED lights and a strong 1920×1080 resolution. This can both mirror your PC or it can work as a secondary monitor.
When you make a mark on the screen it loads fast. The response time is incredible for this model and it’s much better than other XP-Pen devices.
You can draw from any angle and still keep a strong view of the screen. There’s no major glare but there is a thin coating that makes the surface super smooth. Opinions vary on screen textures but I think this smooth screen works great.
XP-Pen ships this unit with an optional screen protector which can add some texture if you need it. You’ll also get a free artist glove along with two stylus pens that both include a toggle button to switch between pen & eraser mode.
Both pens do use batteries and they’ll need to be charged every so often. But XP-Pen is nice enough to include 2 so if a pen dies you can always swap to the other while charging the first.
This tablet does not have any hotkeys or express keys on the display. You do have a button on the stylus but it’s not for running actions in your painting software. The only buttons on the display are towards the bottom for adjusting brightness, resolution, and other display settings.
But for the price and for all the extras this is a sweet deal. It’s plenty large enough for concept art and it’ll last a long time even with daily use.
Bottom Line: Grab the Artist 22E if you like the design and can live without any express keys. This tablet is huge and it’s a little smaller/lighter than the UG-2150. They’re both very comparable models so if you have a brand preference then go with this one.
My Review experience about the Graphics Drawing Tablet XP-Pen Artist 22E
I waited a long time after receiving my Artist 22E before writing this review, because after using, and loving, my Artist 10S, I wanted to really put the 22E through its paces.
I knew that it was going to be useful, if only for the workflow of sitting at a desk, retouching and drawing with a pen directly on a screen at a high resolution and large size.
Although the screen is only 1920 x 1080, which is beginning to be on the low end of monitor resolution for editing, I can’t imagine needing any more when working in a tactile way. Potentially, a professional photographer might want to use a 4K monitor in addition, to check and view photos, but the actual process of working on images is well suited to the HD resolution and doesn’t leave me wanting any more.
I will go into it further, but I will say one thing: the Artist 22E has revolutionalised my workflow. I have ceased to use my laptop for anything but a keyboard when working on photo or video editing, and I regularly use it for regular tasks as well. When I don’t want to use the pen, I use it as my main monitor and my previous 22" monitor has been sitting on the floor since the 22E arrived.
I don’t want to repeat myself too much, so if you want to see a little more of the workflow with both the Artist 10S and the Artist 22E , go check out my review of the Artist 10S.
Now, the reasons for wanting a graphics pen are very obvious, but a pen display is another beast. A pen display is amazing for retouching photos, because you see the changes you are making, underneath the pen you are using. It makes retouching so much more intuitive. Things that I would ordinarily be changing and altering and erasing can be done in a few quick strokes because I get it right the first time.
The same can be said for drawing. Seeing the image appear underneath the pen, as it would on paper, speeds up your workflow and gives a natural feel to the work.
Getting away from pressure sensitivity, one of the main sales points of any graphics tablet, using a pen to do simple mouse work is also much quicker. Working in Adobe Lightroom, which is full of sliders and toggles, is much faster because I don’t have to drag the cursor across the screen. The buttons on the side of the Artist 22E (being right handed, I only use the ones of the left side, but it’s a nice addition that they are repeated on both sides for those who are left handed or ambidextrous) helps with the process too.
Mostly, my button configuration is as follows - Increase Brush Size, Decrease Brush Size, Zoom in, Zoom out. Those four buttons save so much time when airbrushing.
Oh, and speaking of VESA mounts, the XP-Pen Artist 22E comes with a stand but there was just no way I could have used it. I don’t want to constantly have to put something this large away. And I have no desk space to leave it permanently on the desk. More room would be great but I’m having to work with the space I have right now. So, I have nothing to say about the stand that comes with it. It seemed well built and sturdy enough, but the first thing I did was remove it! I’m using an AmazonBasics ergonomic arm mount that has two benefits for me. One I can swing the whole thing away from my desk when I’m not using it. Otherwise, it would block my keyboard. And when I am using it, I can basically have the display closer to me and move it around as I work. This keeps me from getting a stiff neck or from having to squint at the monitor. Remember those aging eyes that set me down this path in the first place!
By the way, I have two other arm mounts at my desk – one for my main screen and one for a laptop stand. After using this AmazonBasics one, I’d love to have the spare change to replace the rest. It just moves around and adjusts so much easier! I don’t move the others as much but maybe I would if they moved this easy!
What’s Good:
Good color definition on the monitor and good viewing angles
Very large drawing area, a pleasure to draw on
Pen works really well, good range of pressure though it does blow out a little on the medium to high end a little bit
A nice alternative for those not ready to invest in a Cintiq, as they have a lot of similar features. Includes a rechargeable pen with 2,048 levels of pressure and 8 express buttons, but is not capable of multitouch (meaning you can’t draw with your fingers).
XP-Pen is also the safest brand for non-techies who don’t want to risk dealing with a messy setup process. Most other tablets work fine as long as you have the newest version of Windows or OS X. But there have even been tablets that had issues with Windows 10 in the past.When you go with XP-Pen you know your money is going to a trustworthy brand.
Recommendation
Software and Driver installation was really smooth ,All of the outputs you could want. And all cables included ,Screen size, Resolution, and Color reproduction quality ,Priced at $550 USD currently on https://www.amazon.com/Artist22E-22-Inch-Display-Graphic-Monitor/dp/B01M9EURM1 .With the pros definitely outweighing the minor cons of this product, I can’t help but have to recommend this to anyone considering this unit. well exactly like it, this product has an outstanding value that can’t be beat. Stop thinking about, just buy this now.
Figuring out the best tablets for drawing isn’t always easy, so we’ve taken some of the guesswork out of the equation. What you’ll end up with depends both on your needs, and your budget, but the good news is that with such a wide variety of graphics tablets on the market, there’s something for everyone.
Before moving on to our list, it’s important to understand types of tablets available. A graphics tablet hooks into your computer, allowing you to draw on it with a stylus and see the results on your monitor. If you prefer the look and feel of drawing directly on the screen, then you’ll want to consider a tablet monitor. There’s an added expense, but some people find drawing on the screen more intuitive. Here, you’ll want to pay close attention to screen quality in order to get accurate color results.
If you are looking for something that can double as a personal entertainment device (letting you read emails or watch movies when you aren’t getting creative), a tablet computer is your best bet. From Apple to Microsoft and beyond, more and more companies are balancing the perks of a regular tablet with the high-quality screen resolution and drawing applications of a graphic tablet. Scroll down to explore the options!
Best Graphic Monitor for Professionals Beginners Artists Animation
This Artist 22E tablet comes with a stand built into the back that you can unfold to varying degrees. It uses strong rubber legs spread horizontally so it covers a wider base. This limits shaking or any mobility while in use.
The screen itself is brilliant with LED lights and a strong 1920×1080 resolution. This can both mirror your PC or it can work as a secondary monitor.
When you make a mark on the screen it loads fast. The response time is incredible for this model and it’s much better than other XP-Pen devices.
You can draw from any angle and still keep a strong view of the screen. There’s no major glare but there is a thin coating that makes the surface super smooth. Opinions vary on screen textures but I think this smooth screen works great.
XP-Pen ships this unit with an optional screen protector which can add some texture if you need it. You’ll also get a free artist glove along with two stylus pens that both include a toggle button to switch between pen & eraser mode.
Both pens do use batteries and they’ll need to be charged every so often. But XP-Pen is nice enough to include 2 so if a pen dies you can always swap to the other while charging the first.
This tablet does not have any hotkeys or express keys on the display. You do have a button on the stylus but it’s not for running actions in your painting software. The only buttons on the display are towards the bottom for adjusting brightness, resolution, and other display settings.
But for the price and for all the extras this is a sweet deal. It’s plenty large enough for concept art and it’ll last a long time even with daily use.
Bottom Line: Grab the Artist 22E if you like the design and can live without any express keys. This tablet is huge and it’s a little smaller/lighter than the UG-2150. They’re both very comparable models so if you have a brand preference then go with this one.
My Review experience about the Graphics Drawing Tablet XP-Pen Artist 22E
I waited a long time after receiving my Artist 22E before writing this review, because after using, and loving, my Artist 10S, I wanted to really put the 22E through its paces.
I knew that it was going to be useful, if only for the workflow of sitting at a desk, retouching and drawing with a pen directly on a screen at a high resolution and large size.
Although the screen is only 1920 x 1080, which is beginning to be on the low end of monitor resolution for editing, I can’t imagine needing any more when working in a tactile way. Potentially, a professional photographer might want to use a 4K monitor in addition, to check and view photos, but the actual process of working on images is well suited to the HD resolution and doesn’t leave me wanting any more.
I will go into it further, but I will say one thing: the Artist 22E has revolutionalised my workflow. I have ceased to use my laptop for anything but a keyboard when working on photo or video editing, and I regularly use it for regular tasks as well. When I don’t want to use the pen, I use it as my main monitor and my previous 22" monitor has been sitting on the floor since the 22E arrived.
I don’t want to repeat myself too much, so if you want to see a little more of the workflow with both the Artist 10S and the Artist 22E , go check out my review of the Artist 10S.
Now, the reasons for wanting a graphics pen are very obvious, but a pen display is another beast. A pen display is amazing for retouching photos, because you see the changes you are making, underneath the pen you are using. It makes retouching so much more intuitive. Things that I would ordinarily be changing and altering and erasing can be done in a few quick strokes because I get it right the first time.
The same can be said for drawing. Seeing the image appear underneath the pen, as it would on paper, speeds up your workflow and gives a natural feel to the work.
Getting away from pressure sensitivity, one of the main sales points of any graphics tablet, using a pen to do simple mouse work is also much quicker. Working in Adobe Lightroom, which is full of sliders and toggles, is much faster because I don’t have to drag the cursor across the screen. The buttons on the side of the Artist 22E (being right handed, I only use the ones of the left side, but it’s a nice addition that they are repeated on both sides for those who are left handed or ambidextrous) helps with the process too.
Mostly, my button configuration is as follows - Increase Brush Size, Decrease Brush Size, Zoom in, Zoom out. Those four buttons save so much time when airbrushing.
Oh, and speaking of VESA mounts, the XP-Pen Artist 22E comes with a stand but there was just no way I could have used it. I don’t want to constantly have to put something this large away. And I have no desk space to leave it permanently on the desk. More room would be great but I’m having to work with the space I have right now. So, I have nothing to say about the stand that comes with it. It seemed well built and sturdy enough, but the first thing I did was remove it! I’m using an AmazonBasics ergonomic arm mount that has two benefits for me. One I can swing the whole thing away from my desk when I’m not using it. Otherwise, it would block my keyboard. And when I am using it, I can basically have the display closer to me and move it around as I work. This keeps me from getting a stiff neck or from having to squint at the monitor. Remember those aging eyes that set me down this path in the first place!
By the way, I have two other arm mounts at my desk – one for my main screen and one for a laptop stand. After using this AmazonBasics one, I’d love to have the spare change to replace the rest. It just moves around and adjusts so much easier! I don’t move the others as much but maybe I would if they moved this easy!
What’s Good:
Good color definition on the monitor and good viewing angles
Very large drawing area, a pleasure to draw on
Pen works really well, good range of pressure though it does blow out a little on the medium to high end a little bit
A nice alternative for those not ready to invest in a Cintiq, as they have a lot of similar features. Includes a rechargeable pen with 2,048 levels of pressure and 8 express buttons, but is not capable of multitouch (meaning you can’t draw with your fingers).
XP-Pen is also the safest brand for non-techies who don’t want to risk dealing with a messy setup process. Most other tablets work fine as long as you have the newest version of Windows or OS X. But there have even been tablets that had issues with Windows 10 in the past.When you go with XP-Pen you know your money is going to a trustworthy brand.
Recommendation
Software and Driver installation was really smooth ,All of the outputs you could want. And all cables included ,Screen size, Resolution, and Color reproduction quality ,Priced at $550 USD currently on https://www.amazon.com/Artist22E-22-Inch-Display-Graphic-Monitor/dp/B01M9EURM1 .With the pros definitely outweighing the minor cons of this product, I can’t help but have to recommend this to anyone considering this unit. well exactly like it, this product has an outstanding value that can’t be beat. Stop thinking about, just buy this now.
The Deco 01 has a classy matt black finish. The downside is you can have any color as long as it’s black! On saying that I don’t think this tablet would look as good in any other color as the matt black really does look cool!
Retro Backplate and Secure Tablet Feet
The back of the tablet is described as ‘Retro’ on the XP-Pen.com web page for the Deco 01. To be honest the back of a tablet really doesn’t really interest me much – however that’s just my opinion. What I am interested in on the reverse side of any tablet is how it sits on a worksurface. It needs to be secure on whatever surface it is placed on. In my case I usually work at a desk or inclined flat easel stand.
I was pleased to find that the reverse of the Deco 01 has rubber padded feet in each corner with a neoprene feel to them – slightly tactile for grip. They are not just stuck onto the back of the tablet and liable to peel off.
They are secured in small depressions in the back plastic casing. This is thoughtful design as it adds a lot of strength and durability to the pads. As a result the tablet sits rock solid on any surface letting me draw without a hint of tablet movement.
Express Key Positioning
There are 8 customizable express keys which are right at your fingertips without being obtrusive. Some tablets are rammed with ‘on surface features’ that just get in the way.
The express keys are lined up in two groups of four on one side (reversible depending on left or right hand use of the tablet).
This is far enough from the active area but near enough for instant use. The keys are also large enough and separated from each other to make them easy to use.
Again this has been well thought out at design stage to make optimum use of the express keys.
I have tried other tablet brands where the express keys are in such an awkward place that it is often quicker to switch tools on screen – taking the ‘express’ out of the express keys!
XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet – Installing the Tablet Driver
Things that really bug me about any gadget, that requires some form of installation is the lack of information on how to install / program the device. I was recently asked to review another digital drawing tablet but due to a total lack of logical information I could not get it to work. I contacted the supplier who wanted the review but they failed to respond – the result as you can imagine was no review!
Thankfully the instructions for the Deco 01 were easy to follow and worked first time I downloaded the driver from the XP-Pen.com web site. It placed the Pen Tablet Setting application in my applications folder (program files in Windows) and a shortcut on the desktop (optional).
The Pen Tablet Setting App allows you to tailor the shortcut keys to different software that you may use. I find it off putting when any gadgets get so complicated that you end up being overdosed with technical capability. However, XP-Pen.com have got it cracked.
That’s a huge tick in the box for me! I hate it when tyou have to borrow Einstein’s brain to be able to understand, program and use the features!!!
It is simple to recallibrate the tablet from right to left hand use (or vice versa). This is easy in the Pen Tablet Settings.
To reprogram the customizable express keys was also very straightforward. The whole setting up process was smooth as silk and I believe that most people would be able to navigate the Pen tablet Setting control interface easily.
There is also have the newest XP-Pen Deco 03 Graphics Drawing Tablet !
Like most of the latest tablets coming out it has a C-USB connection. The power lead supply has a male C-USB connector which attaches to the tablet and a standard USB connected to the computer. The cable is 1.5m in length which is a decent size to work with.
XP-Pen Deco 01 Graphics Drawing Tablet – Active Drawing Area
On the top surface of the tablet are four white right angled markers which light up to indicate the active area thus defining your drawing space. These ‘landing lights’ are a nice feature as it allows you to see exactly where the active area is when drawing in lower lighting and even in pitch dark conditions. It also adds to the stylish look of the tablet.
XP-Pen Deco 01 Graphics Drawing Tablet – Pen Stylus
The battery free pen stylus is another big plus for me. It is not as ‘clunky’ as a lot of graphics drawing pens I have reviewed are and has a nice thin profile with ergonomic shaping to the barrel. The profile of the pen is triangular with rounded corners – far easier to grip and doesn’t kill your fingers after you have been drawing for a long time without a break.
I use LAMY Calligraphy pens for pen and ink drawing and they have a very similar design this makes the drawing experience much more comfortable. Round pens tend to make your hands hurt and often cramp up after prolonged use.
The pen stylus draws beautifully and is one of the best graphics drawing tablet pens that I have used. Due in part to the ergonomically shaped barrel and also to the excellent responsiveness.
The stylus has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which is a big step up from the general standards of 2048 LPS. As technology advances the drawing experience gets much closer to the real thing. On saying that a graphics drawing tablet can in some ways be better than the real thing!
XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet – Pen Stand and Spare Nib Store
With the pen is another great feature the pen stand. It has a nice weight so it’s not going to be rattling around the table and doesn’t take up much room.
On the downside (and this is a very minor blip) the pen is stored horizontally on the top of the pen stand – but this is just my personal preference. I would love it to stand upright in a secure slot as would a quill pen in an ink pen stand.
The stand is approx.1.5 inch square with a domed top. It has a neat feature as XP-Pen have designed this to store the 8 spare nibs. With a simple twist action the pen stand separated into two pieces with the bottom half securely containing the nibs. The base of the pen holder has a small slot to extract nibs and replace them in the pen stylus.
XP-Pen.com have got it just about right with awaiting stylish pen on the holder. Just a pity about resting the pen horizontally.
XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet – Other Features and Freebies
Graphics Tablet Anti Fouling Glove Included
One thing I really liked was the inclusion of the tablet glove in this set. For those on the tight budget it is one less item to buy amounts another tick in the box for XP-Pen.com.
For those who have never used a graphics tablet glove they are a fantastic asset to have as they keep your hand gliding smoothly with the pen (particularly when your hands get clammy in hot weather) and also keep the tablet surface dust free.
Compatability with Operating Systems and Graphics Software
The deco 01 tablet is compatible with Windows 10/ 8/ 7 Mac OS version 10.8 and higher. It is stated as running with Photoshop, SA 1, painter, illustrator, trip station plus more in other words it works with all the major graphics software that you are likely to use.
I sent the Deco 01 up on my Mac book Pro. After removing an existing tablet driver (as you need to remove previous drivers for this to work) the installation of the driver from the XP pen.com website was easy to follow and use.
There is a hardcopy manual that comes with the set or you can download a Pdf from the XP-pen.com website. I found it easier to read a Pdf – being of an age when the eyes don’t like small print!.
The beauty of the downloadable Pdf is that it is always to hand on my Mac and I don’t have to go rummaging around to find it (and I can see it to read it!).
Another enhanced feature that XP-Pen.com have put into the Deco 01 is the report rate. In other words the speed at which the interaction between the stylus nib on tablet surface is reported to the software to appear on the screen.
The report rates of the deco 01 is now 266 PS which is very fast and in conjunction with with the 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity gives a great performance and one experience.
Another enhanced feature that XP-Pen.com have put into the Deco 01 is the report rate. In other words the speed at which the interaction between the stylus nib on tablet surface is reported to the software to appear on the screen.
The report rates of the deco 01 is now 266 PS which is very fast and in conjunction with with the 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity gives a great performance and one experience.
Conclusion – How did I rate the XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet?
Only one very minor nit picky things for me and it’s just my personal preference. That was the pen holder i.e pen placement, which I mentioned earlier (pen lies flat on the pen holder and I would have liked to see it more secure in a slot in the upright position).
In the big scheme of things does not detract from the overall standard. As you can see from my verdict this is a great all round tablet.
It has actually made me rethink which is the best tablet in this class and I have to say this is as good or maybe even better than other similar tablets. My previous front runner was the Wacom Intuos Range (Art, Comic, Photo and Draw) but the XP-Pen Deco 01 has really given that particular range of Wacom Intuos tablets a really good run for its money.
The differences between the two brands are cost and software (included graphics software as a package). Wacom do offer included software. However, there is such a price difference between the Deco 01 and the equivalent Wacom Tablet that the XP-Pen Deco 01 gets the edge.
I always tell anyone that wants Procartoon to review a product that I will always give an honest review. in this case it was a pleasure to put the Deco 01 through it’s paces and discover that it passed with flying colors in every aspect.
Who is the XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet for?
This will suit any level of drawing skill from absolute beginners to professional artists.
If you’re on a tight budget but want quality a lot of great features this fits the bill.
If you are looking for second more mobile tablet, this is just the right size with lots of valuable features. Plus it is very strong and durable to be carried around.
This could also be perfect for getting kids into digital drawing. The Deco 01 is very reasonable in cost and not too overcomplicated for young artists. Possibly a good bulk buy for schools and colleges.
If you would like more information on the XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet visit the website : https://www.amazon.com/10x6-25-Graphics-Battery-free-shortcut-pressure/dp/B077P6BQP7 .
Retro Backplate and Secure Tablet Feet
The back of the tablet is described as ‘Retro’ on the XP-Pen.com web page for the Deco 01. To be honest the back of a tablet really doesn’t really interest me much – however that’s just my opinion. What I am interested in on the reverse side of any tablet is how it sits on a worksurface. It needs to be secure on whatever surface it is placed on. In my case I usually work at a desk or inclined flat easel stand.
I was pleased to find that the reverse of the Deco 01 has rubber padded feet in each corner with a neoprene feel to them – slightly tactile for grip. They are not just stuck onto the back of the tablet and liable to peel off.
They are secured in small depressions in the back plastic casing. This is thoughtful design as it adds a lot of strength and durability to the pads. As a result the tablet sits rock solid on any surface letting me draw without a hint of tablet movement.
Express Key Positioning
There are 8 customizable express keys which are right at your fingertips without being obtrusive. Some tablets are rammed with ‘on surface features’ that just get in the way.
The express keys are lined up in two groups of four on one side (reversible depending on left or right hand use of the tablet).
This is far enough from the active area but near enough for instant use. The keys are also large enough and separated from each other to make them easy to use.
Again this has been well thought out at design stage to make optimum use of the express keys.
I have tried other tablet brands where the express keys are in such an awkward place that it is often quicker to switch tools on screen – taking the ‘express’ out of the express keys!
XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet – Installing the Tablet Driver
Things that really bug me about any gadget, that requires some form of installation is the lack of information on how to install / program the device. I was recently asked to review another digital drawing tablet but due to a total lack of logical information I could not get it to work. I contacted the supplier who wanted the review but they failed to respond – the result as you can imagine was no review!
Thankfully the instructions for the Deco 01 were easy to follow and worked first time I downloaded the driver from the XP-Pen.com web site. It placed the Pen Tablet Setting application in my applications folder (program files in Windows) and a shortcut on the desktop (optional).
The Pen Tablet Setting App allows you to tailor the shortcut keys to different software that you may use. I find it off putting when any gadgets get so complicated that you end up being overdosed with technical capability. However, XP-Pen.com have got it cracked.
That’s a huge tick in the box for me! I hate it when tyou have to borrow Einstein’s brain to be able to understand, program and use the features!!!
It is simple to recallibrate the tablet from right to left hand use (or vice versa). This is easy in the Pen Tablet Settings.
To reprogram the customizable express keys was also very straightforward. The whole setting up process was smooth as silk and I believe that most people would be able to navigate the Pen tablet Setting control interface easily.
There is also have the newest XP-Pen Deco 03 Graphics Drawing Tablet !
Like most of the latest tablets coming out it has a C-USB connection. The power lead supply has a male C-USB connector which attaches to the tablet and a standard USB connected to the computer. The cable is 1.5m in length which is a decent size to work with.
XP-Pen Deco 01 Graphics Drawing Tablet – Active Drawing Area
On the top surface of the tablet are four white right angled markers which light up to indicate the active area thus defining your drawing space. These ‘landing lights’ are a nice feature as it allows you to see exactly where the active area is when drawing in lower lighting and even in pitch dark conditions. It also adds to the stylish look of the tablet.
XP-Pen Deco 01 Graphics Drawing Tablet – Pen Stylus
The battery free pen stylus is another big plus for me. It is not as ‘clunky’ as a lot of graphics drawing pens I have reviewed are and has a nice thin profile with ergonomic shaping to the barrel. The profile of the pen is triangular with rounded corners – far easier to grip and doesn’t kill your fingers after you have been drawing for a long time without a break.
I use LAMY Calligraphy pens for pen and ink drawing and they have a very similar design this makes the drawing experience much more comfortable. Round pens tend to make your hands hurt and often cramp up after prolonged use.
The pen stylus draws beautifully and is one of the best graphics drawing tablet pens that I have used. Due in part to the ergonomically shaped barrel and also to the excellent responsiveness.
The stylus has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which is a big step up from the general standards of 2048 LPS. As technology advances the drawing experience gets much closer to the real thing. On saying that a graphics drawing tablet can in some ways be better than the real thing!
XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet – Pen Stand and Spare Nib Store
With the pen is another great feature the pen stand. It has a nice weight so it’s not going to be rattling around the table and doesn’t take up much room.
On the downside (and this is a very minor blip) the pen is stored horizontally on the top of the pen stand – but this is just my personal preference. I would love it to stand upright in a secure slot as would a quill pen in an ink pen stand.
The stand is approx.1.5 inch square with a domed top. It has a neat feature as XP-Pen have designed this to store the 8 spare nibs. With a simple twist action the pen stand separated into two pieces with the bottom half securely containing the nibs. The base of the pen holder has a small slot to extract nibs and replace them in the pen stylus.
XP-Pen.com have got it just about right with awaiting stylish pen on the holder. Just a pity about resting the pen horizontally.
XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet – Other Features and Freebies
Graphics Tablet Anti Fouling Glove Included
One thing I really liked was the inclusion of the tablet glove in this set. For those on the tight budget it is one less item to buy amounts another tick in the box for XP-Pen.com.
For those who have never used a graphics tablet glove they are a fantastic asset to have as they keep your hand gliding smoothly with the pen (particularly when your hands get clammy in hot weather) and also keep the tablet surface dust free.
Compatability with Operating Systems and Graphics Software
The deco 01 tablet is compatible with Windows 10/ 8/ 7 Mac OS version 10.8 and higher. It is stated as running with Photoshop, SA 1, painter, illustrator, trip station plus more in other words it works with all the major graphics software that you are likely to use.
I sent the Deco 01 up on my Mac book Pro. After removing an existing tablet driver (as you need to remove previous drivers for this to work) the installation of the driver from the XP pen.com website was easy to follow and use.
There is a hardcopy manual that comes with the set or you can download a Pdf from the XP-pen.com website. I found it easier to read a Pdf – being of an age when the eyes don’t like small print!.
The beauty of the downloadable Pdf is that it is always to hand on my Mac and I don’t have to go rummaging around to find it (and I can see it to read it!).
Another enhanced feature that XP-Pen.com have put into the Deco 01 is the report rate. In other words the speed at which the interaction between the stylus nib on tablet surface is reported to the software to appear on the screen.
The report rates of the deco 01 is now 266 PS which is very fast and in conjunction with with the 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity gives a great performance and one experience.
Another enhanced feature that XP-Pen.com have put into the Deco 01 is the report rate. In other words the speed at which the interaction between the stylus nib on tablet surface is reported to the software to appear on the screen.
The report rates of the deco 01 is now 266 PS which is very fast and in conjunction with with the 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity gives a great performance and one experience.
Conclusion – How did I rate the XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet?
Only one very minor nit picky things for me and it’s just my personal preference. That was the pen holder i.e pen placement, which I mentioned earlier (pen lies flat on the pen holder and I would have liked to see it more secure in a slot in the upright position).
In the big scheme of things does not detract from the overall standard. As you can see from my verdict this is a great all round tablet.
It has actually made me rethink which is the best tablet in this class and I have to say this is as good or maybe even better than other similar tablets. My previous front runner was the Wacom Intuos Range (Art, Comic, Photo and Draw) but the XP-Pen Deco 01 has really given that particular range of Wacom Intuos tablets a really good run for its money.
The differences between the two brands are cost and software (included graphics software as a package). Wacom do offer included software. However, there is such a price difference between the Deco 01 and the equivalent Wacom Tablet that the XP-Pen Deco 01 gets the edge.
I always tell anyone that wants Procartoon to review a product that I will always give an honest review. in this case it was a pleasure to put the Deco 01 through it’s paces and discover that it passed with flying colors in every aspect.
Who is the XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet for?
This will suit any level of drawing skill from absolute beginners to professional artists.
If you’re on a tight budget but want quality a lot of great features this fits the bill.
If you are looking for second more mobile tablet, this is just the right size with lots of valuable features. Plus it is very strong and durable to be carried around.
This could also be perfect for getting kids into digital drawing. The Deco 01 is very reasonable in cost and not too overcomplicated for young artists. Possibly a good bulk buy for schools and colleges.
If you would like more information on the XP-Pen Deco 01 Digital Drawing Tablet visit the website : https://www.amazon.com/10x6-25-Graphics-Battery-free-shortcut-pressure/dp/B077P6BQP7 .
