7P Drawing tablets
  • Welcome
  • About TheSevenPens
    • My tablet setups
    • Drawing Tablet discord server
    • My drawing tablets
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Basics
    • Beginner's guide to drawing tablets
    • Types of drawing tablets
    • Learning digital art
    • Learning to use a drawing tablet
    • Get started with a drawing tablet
    • Use cases
      • Gaming with a drawing tablet
      • Making educational videos with a drawing tablet
      • Taking notes with drawing tablets
      • Using a drawing tablet as a mouse replacement
    • Contacting support
    • Drawing tablets vs mice
    • The drawing experience
    • Uninstalling tablet drivers
  • Buying a drawing tablet
    • Buying used drawing tablets
    • Inspecting a drawing tablet
    • Pen tablets vs pen displays
    • The case against pen computers
    • Buying a drawing tablet for osu!
    • Buying tips
    • How many pressure levels do you really need?
    • Choosing the right size for a drawing tablet
    • Switching from a pen tablet to a pen display
    • Buying a drawing tablet as a gift
  • Recommendations
    • Recommended drawing tablets for beginners
    • Dedicated note taking devices
    • Pen tablet recommendations
      • Small pen tablet recommendations
      • Medium pen tablet recommendations
      • Large pen tablet recommendations
    • Pen display recommendations
      • Small pen display recommendations
      • Medium pen display recommendations
      • Large pen display recommendations
    • Standalone drawing tablet recommendations
      • Pen computer recommendations
      • Pen-enabled mobile computers
      • Pen-enabled laptop recommendations
    • Comparisons
      • 7P: Drawing tablet tier list (December 2024)
      • 7P: Large pen tablets compared
      • 7P: 13" pen displays compared (2023)
      • 7P: 22" pen displays compared (2024)
  • Brands
    • Huion and XP-Pen
    • Wacom
    • Xencelabs
    • Drawing tablet brands vs digitizers
    • Choosing a drawing tablet brand
  • Core features
    • Active area
    • Active area size
    • Active area aspect ratio
    • Active area mapping
    • Erasing
    • Bezel
    • Pen tilt
    • Disable pen tilt
    • Tilt impact on pressure readings
    • Pen pressure
    • Pen pressure range comparison
    • Pen pressure dead zone
    • Pen pressure instability at low pressure
    • Pen pressure response
    • Pen pressure curve
      • Misc pressure curve notes
      • Pressure curves that constrain output
      • Null pressure curve
      • Implementing pressure curves
      • Pressure curves that ignore input
      • Pressure curve shape support in applications
    • Disable pen pressure
    • Pen hover
    • Pen tracking
    • Pen tilt compensation
    • Pen barrel rotation
    • Pen nib travel
    • Pen nib material
    • Lag
    • Pointer lag
    • Brush lag
    • Diagonal wobble
    • Surface texture
    • Auxiliary inputs
    • Absolute versus relative positioning
    • Mouse mode
    • Powering a pen
    • Powering a drawing tablet
  • Guides
    • Caring for your drawing tablet
      • Dealing with water damage
      • Cleaning a drawing tablet
      • Removing a nib
      • Removing a broken nib
      • Storing your pen
      • Surface wear on pen tablets
      • Scratches on pen tablets
      • Texture erosion on pen tablets
      • Surface wear on pen displays
      • False scratches
      • Removing and replacing the surface film on a pen display
      • Nib wear
      • Replacing a pen
    • Customizing your experience
      • Match aspect ratios with Force Proportions
      • Shrinking the active area
      • Using large pen tablets
      • Using extra-large pen tablets
      • Matching pen tablet size to monitor size
      • Active Area Mapping for pen tablets and widescreen monitors
      • Mirroring or extending your desktop to a pen display
      • Using a pen display as a pen tablet
      • Using metal nibs
      • Clamping wide-gamut displays to sRGB
      • Calibrate pen position on a pen display
      • Using a pen display as a monitor
      • Controlling the pen tip behavior
    • Connections and cabling
      • Connecting a pen display with a 3-in-1 cable
      • Connecting a pen tablet to a computer
      • Wireless connection
      • Motherboard HDMI vs GPU HDMI ports
      • Connecting a pen display to a computer
      • Connecting a pen display to a mobile device
      • Connecting a pen display with a single USB-C cable
      • Using 3rd-party cables with your drawing tablet
        • Cables I use to connect pen tablets
      • Connecting a pen to a drawing tablet
      • Recessed USB-C ports
      • Connecting a pen display to a USB-C port on a GPU
    • Drawing
      • Drawing smooth strokes
      • How a brush engine uses pen data
      • Configure smoothing in applications
      • Enable tilt for brushes
    • Pen displays
      • Etched glass vs film
      • Etched glass
      • Anti-glare film
      • Anti-glare sparkle
      • Lamination
      • Display resolution
      • Choosing the right display resolution for a pen display
      • Brightness
      • Parallax
      • Display connector types
      • Using HDMI splitters with pen displays
      • Using HDMI adapters with pen displays
        • VGA to HDMI adapters
        • DVI to HDMI adapters
        • USB-C to HDMI adapters
        • DisplayPort to HDMI adapters
      • Color tint on edges of display
      • Pen display refresh rate
      • USB-C DisplayPort alt mode
      • Dead pixels
      • Using an iPad with your computer as a pen display
    • Pens
      • Pen buttons
      • Pen compatibility with drawing tablets
      • Pen weight
      • Pen weight comparison
      • Pen teardowns
    • Drivers
      • OpenTabletDriver
        • Install OpenTabletDriver on Windows
        • Install OpenTabletDriver on MacOS
        • OpenTabletDriver application data directory
        • Uninstalling OpenTabletDriver on Windows
        • OpenTabletDriver usage notes
        • Smoothing with OpenTabletDriver
        • Pressure curves in OpenTabletDriver
        • Slimy Scylla
      • Using a drawing tablet without installing drivers
      • Tablet Driver Cleanup tool
      • Using older tablet drivers
      • Importing and Exporting tablet driver configurations
    • Advanced
      • Firmware
      • Tablet reports
      • PenTracker by Patrick Lauke
    • Ergonomics
      • Body posture when using drawing tablets
      • Handedness of drawing tablets
      • Using a drawing tablet in portrait mode
      • Rotating a drawing tablet
      • Using a drawing tablet on your lap
      • Noise
      • Using a drawing tablet in bed
      • Heat
    • Touch support
      • Tablets that support touch
    • General
      • Total cost of ownership (TCO)
      • Model names vs model numbers
      • Finding the model number of a drawing tablet
      • Using older drawing tablets
      • Electromagnetic Interference
      • Connecting a drawing tablet to an iPad or iPhone
      • Connecting a drawing tablet to an Android device
      • Testing Drawing Tablet Compatibility with Android devices
      • Connecting a drawing tablet to a Chromebook
      • Chromebook testing results
      • Connecting multiple drawing tablets at the same time
    • Linux
    • Windows
      • Using a drawing tablet on Windows
      • Windows on ARM
      • Windows PNP support for drawing tablets
      • Windows PNP driver compatibility testing
      • Disable ripple effect rings in Windows
      • Disable the press-and-hold ring in Windows
      • Windows 7 Tablet PC features
        • Disable Tablet PC features on Windows 7
        • Disable Tablet PC features on Windows 7 using the FixMyPen tool
      • Windows Ink
        • The history of Windows Ink
        • Configure Windows Ink for apps
        • Configuring Photoshop to NOT use Windows Ink
        • Configure Windows Ink in the tablet driver
      • Stop using a display on Windows
    • Mini-PCs for digital art
      • 7P: Minisforum Neptune HX99G
    • Laptops for digital art
  • Applications
    • Apps for beginners
    • Apps for Android
    • Apps for iPad
    • List of apps
    • App tips
      • Show document canvas on another display
    • 7P: Recommended apps
  • Developers
    • Pen APIs
    • WinTab versus Windows Ink
    • 7P Tablet Tester
    • WinTab API
    • Force proportions simulator
  • Troubleshooting
    • Common problems with drawing tablets
    • Common drawing troubleshooting steps
    • Testing pressure in the tablet driver
    • Check if pen display shows HDMI video signal from other devices
    • Check tablet driver diagnostics
    • Reset a drawing tablet
    • TSG: Low pressure drawing problems
    • TSG: Difficult to reach maximum pressure
    • Testing with Windows PNP drawing tablet drivers
    • TSG: pointer stuck in corner of screen
    • TSG: Drawing problems
    • TSG: Pen display shows NO SIGNAL message
    • TSG: Pen moving pointer on the wrong display
    • TSG: Pixel noise on display
    • TSG: No pressure while drawing
    • TSG: Random gaps in strokes
    • TSG: Dots at end of strokes
    • TSG: Dots at start of strokes
    • TSG: Pen draws while hovering
    • TSG: Hooks at start of strokes
    • TSG: shoelaces at end of strokes
    • TSG: Straight lines at start of stokes
    • TSG: Pen not drawing in vertical or horizontal bands
    • TSG: WiFi and Internet problems with drawing tablets
    • TSG: Tablet driver does not detect tablet
    • TSG: computer does not detect display
    • TSG: driver no longer supports a drawing tablet
    • TSG: no sound after plugging in drawing tablet
    • TSG: Pen display doesn't show anything
    • TSG: Not enough HDMI ports
    • TSG: Insects in a pen display
    • TSG: Pen acting like a mouse
    • TSG: Pen display turns on and off constantly
    • TSG: computer detects drawing tablet as a keyboard
  • Product links
    • Apple
      • Apple iPad
      • Apple Pencil
      • Connecting an iPad to a computer as a drawing tablet
      • 7P: Apple iPad
      • 7P: Apple iPad versus drawing tablets
      • 7P: Apple iPad versus Samsung Galaxy Tab S
      • 7P: How I use iPads
      • 7P: M3 MacBook Pro
    • Artisul
    • ASUS
      • ASUS Pro Art Pen Display
    • CalDigit
      • 7P: CalDigit USB-C to HDMI 2.1 adapter
      • 7P: CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt Dock
    • Dell
      • Dell Canvas 27
    • Gaomon
      • Gaomon Pen Tablet
      • Gaomon Pro Pen Tablet
      • Gaomon Pen Display
      • Gaomon Pro Pen Display
    • Huion
      • Huion Kamvas Pro
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas Pro 19 (GT1902)
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4K (GT1562)
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas Pro 24 4K (GT2401)
      • Huion Kamvas Studio
      • Huion Kamvas Slate
      • Huion Kamvas
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas 13 GEN3 (GS1333)
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas 16 2021 (GS1562)
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas 13 (GS1331)
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas 22 Plus (GS2202)
        • 7P: Huion Kamvas 16 GEN3 (GS1563)
      • Huion Inspiroy R-series
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy RTP-700
      • Inspiroy Dial
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy Dial 2 (Q630M)
      • Huion Inspiroy Frego
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy Frego M (L610)
      • Huion Inspiroy
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy Giano (G930L)
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy HS611
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy WH1409V2
      • Huion KeyDial
      • Huion pens
        • Huion PenTech
        • 7P: Huion PW500 pen
        • 7P: Huion PW517 pen
        • 7P: Huion PW550 series pens
        • 7P: Huion PW600 series pens
        • 7P: Huion PW507 pen
      • Huion Inspiroy 2
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy 2 L (H1061P)
    • Microsoft
      • Microsoft Surface Pro
        • 7P: Microsoft Surface Pro 8
    • OnePlus
      • OnePlus Pad
    • Samsung
      • Samsung Galaxy Tab S series
      • 7P: Samsung Galaxy Tab S series
      • 7P: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE
      • 7P: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
      • 7P: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 lite (2022 edition)
      • Samsung Galaxy Tab A
      • Samsung Galaxy Book 360
      • Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
      • Samsung Galaxy Tab S7
      • Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
      • Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
      • Samsung S Pen
        • 7P: Samsung S Pen
    • Wacom
      • 7P: Comparison of Wacom pen tablets
      • Wacom model number format
      • Wacom One vs One by Wacom
      • Wacom tablet list
      • One by Wacom
        • 7P: One by Wacom (CTL-x72)
      • Wacom Intuos Pro 2025
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos Pro 2025 (PTK-x70)
      • Wacom Intuos Pro 2017
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos Pro 2017 Medium (PTH-660)
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos Pro 2017 (PTH-x60)
      • Wacom Intuos Pro 2013
      • Wacom Intuos5
      • Wacom Intuos4
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos 4 XL (PTK-1240)
      • Wacom Intuos3
      • Wacom Intuos2
      • Wacom Intuos1
      • Wacom Intuos
      • Wacom UD tablets
      • Wacom SD tablets
      • Wacom Cintiq
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq 22 (DTK-2260)
      • Wacom Cintiq Pro
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 (DTH-167)
        • 7P: Cintiq Pro 24 (DTx-2420)
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 (DTH-271)
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-227)
      • Wacom Movink
        • 7P: Wacom Movink 13 (DTH-135)
      • Wacom One 2019 GEN1
        • 7P: Wacom One 2019 GEN1 (DTC-133)
      • Wacom One 2023 GEN2
        • 7P: Wacom One 2023 GEN2 pen displays
        • 7P: Wacom One 2023 pen tablets
      • Wacom accessories
        • 7P: Wacom Converter (ACK45219Z)
        • Wacom texture sheets
        • Wacom pens
          • 7P: Pro Pen 2 (KP-504E)
          • 7P: Wacom 2K Pen (LP-190K)
          • 7P: Wacom One 2019 GEN1 Pen (CP-913)
          • 7P: Wacom One 2023 Pen (CP-923)
          • 7P: Wacom Pro Pen 3 (ACP-500)
          • 7P: Wacom Intuos 2 Airbrush pen (XP-400E)
        • Wacom pen compatibility
    • Xencelabs
      • Xencelabs Quick Keys
      • 7P: Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium (BPH1212W-A)
      • 7P: Xencelabs Pen Display 16 (LPH1612U-A)
      • 7P: Xencelabs V2 pens
      • 7P: Xencelabs Mobile Easel
      • 7P: Xencelabs Pen Display 24 (LPH2412U-A)
    • XP-Pen
      • XP-Pen Magic Note Pad (MNP1095)
      • XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad
      • XP-Pen Artist
        • 7P: XP-Pen Artist 22 Plus (MD220FH)
      • XP-Pen Artist GEN2
        • 7P: XP-Pen Artist 12 Gen2 (CD120FH)
        • 7P: XP-Pen Artist 13 GEN2 (CD130FH)
        • 7P: XP-Pen Artist 16 GEN2 (CD160FH)
      • XP-Pen Artist Pro
      • XP-Pen Artist Pro GEN2
        • 7P: XP-Pen Artist Pro 22 GEN2 (MD220QH)
        • 7P: XP-Pen Artist Pro 19 GEN2 (MD180UH)
        • 7P : XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 GEN2 (MD160QH)
      • XP-Pen Shortcut Remote
      • XP-Pen Deco
        • 7P: XP-Pen Deco LW (IT1060B)
      • XP-Pen Deco Pro GEN2
        • 7P: XP-Pen Deco Pro XLW GEN2 (MT1592B)
      • XP-Pen Innovator
      • XP-Pen protective sheets
      • XP-Pen pens
        • 7P: XP-Pen X3 Pro pens
        • 7P: XP-Pen X3 Elite pen
      • XP-Pen ACS15 Ergo Stand
    • Ugee
  • Application links
    • MyPaint
    • Adobe Photoshop
      • 7P: Adobe Photoshop
    • ArtRage
    • Affinity Photo
      • 7P: Affinity Photo
    • Autodesk Maya
    • Blender
    • Clip Studio Paint
      • 7P: Clip Studio Paint
    • Concepts app
    • FireAlpaca
    • Freeform
    • Fresco
    • HEAVYPAINT
    • HiPaint
    • Ibis Paint
    • Infinite Painter
    • Inkscape
    • Kleki
    • Krita
      • 7P: Krita
    • Medibang Paint
    • Medibang Pro
    • Microsoft Whiteboard
    • Microsoft PowerPoint
    • Microsoft OneNote
    • Microsoft Paint
    • Painter
    • Paintstorm Studio
    • PaintTool Sai
    • Photoshop
    • Procreate
      • 7P: Procreate
    • Rebelle
    • Samsung Notes
    • ZoomIt
    • Feather 3D
  • Accessories
    • Screen cleaning sprays
    • Cables
      • 7P: CableMatters Thunderbolt 3 cable
    • Cable adapters
    • Drawing gloves
    • Extension cables
    • Keyboards
    • Auxiliary input devices
      • TourBox
        • 7P: TourBox
      • 8bitdo controller
      • Clip Studio Tabmate
    • Pen grips
    • Protective cases
    • Surface protectors
      • Foxbox covers
      • Photodon screen protectors
      • ePlastic polycarbonate sheets (velvet lexan)
      • Paperlike for iPad
    • Monitor arms
      • 7P: Ergotron monitor arms
    • Stands
      • 7P: VIVO Pneumatic Arm Monitor Desk Stand (STAND-V100R)
      • Parblo PR-100 stand
        • 7P: Parblo PR-100 Stand
      • XP-Pen AC41/AC42 stands
      • XOOT Stand
      • iPad stands
  • Resources
    • Drawing tablet community
    • Kuuube
      • Kuuube's Wacom tablet mastersheet
      • Kuuube's tablet buying guide
      • Kuuube's Wacom pen compatibility mastersheet
    • YouTube channels
    • Subreddits for drawing tablets
    • Koneko_w
    • Project Patchouli
  • Process
    • Pressure range data
    • Measuring hover height
    • Measuring pressure
    • Measuring display sharpness
    • Measuring report rate
    • Measuring diagonal wobble
    • Diagonal wobble samples
    • Perfect pressure sensitive lines
    • Tablet evaluation
    • Microscope
  • Reference
    • Resolution info
    • Aspect ratio math
    • Standard paper sizes
  • Technology
    • Display panel technology
    • VESA
    • Wacom patents
    • AES
    • Apple Pencil tech
    • EMR
      • EMR technical resources
      • EMR position detection
      • EMR pressure detection
      • Active EMR vs Passive EMR
      • EMR tilt detection
      • The realities of building your own EMR pen
    • MPP
    • Digital pen tech
    • Wacom UD EMR
      • Pens that support UD EMR 2nd gen
      • Tablets that support UD EMR 2nd gen
    • USI
  • Misc
    • Circuit simulations
    • History of drawing tablets
      • Preface
      • Chapter 1: Antiquity
      • Chapter 2: Terms
      • Appendix: Timeline
      • Appendix: Other histories
      • Appendix: References
    • Mobile computer recommendations
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • Overview
  • Approach
  • Details
  • Dispelling common myths
  • MYTH: A pen display is inherently better than a pen tablet
  • MYTH: Professional artist only use pen displays
  • MYTH: People naturally prefer using a pen display. The only reason they use pen tablets is because they are cheaper.
  • MYTH: Pen displays let you create better art
  • Advice for first-time tablet users
  • Need to be used with a computer
  • Posture
  • Cost
  • Reliability
  • Cabling
  • Pointer lag
  • Wireless connectivity
  • Taking notes
  • Surviving a fall
  • Power requirements
  • Hand covering what you are drawing
  • Physical size and weight
  • Drawing experience
  • Portability
  • Diagonal wobble
  • Pen pressure handling
  • You can use both kinds of tablets
  • Videos
Export as PDF
  1. Buying a drawing tablet

Pen tablets vs pen displays

Last updated 7 months ago

Overview

There are three kinds of drawing tablets. This document is discussing how you might choose between a pen tablet and a pen display.

  • pen tablets - that don't have a screen

  • pen displays - that do have a screen

  • standalone tablets- that have a screen and you can use them without being connected to a computer

Approach

Choosing between a pen tablet and pen display is not easy. There is no single answer that applies to everyone.

This document will identify the different dimensions across which you can compare a pen tablet and a pen display. And it will identify those cases in which pen tablets have an advantage and those cases in which a pen display has an advantage.

And ultimately the goal is to provide you enough information so that you can make an informed decision.

Details

Dispelling common myths

MYTH: A pen display is inherently better than a pen tablet

REALITY: Neither is inherently better. Which one you should use depends on a lot of factors

Pen displays look really fancy and cost much more than a pen tablet. And it would be natural to think that this means that pen displays are in some way fundamentally better than a pen tablet. That is absolutely not true. Pen tablets have their own merits. So do not think about a pen tablet as simply a lower cost option that you have to “settle for.” For many people it is the right answer.

MYTH: Professional artist only use pen displays

REALITY: Professional artists use both pen displays and pen tablets

Another common myth is that professionals only use pen displays. Again this is absolutely not true. There are many professional artists who use pen tablets out of preference and or doing high quality professional work with those pen tablets.

MYTH: People naturally prefer using a pen display. The only reason they use pen tablets is because they are cheaper.

REALITY: Lots of people try pen displays, and go back to pen tablets

I see countless stories of people who love using their pen tablet but feel the need to get a pen display and then when they tried the pen display they realized that the pen tablet worked much better for them. And then they end up returning.

MYTH: Pen displays let you create better art

REALITY: Both pen displays and pen tablets can create equivalently good art

Some people worry that the quality of art they want to produce can only be produced by a pen display. You shouldn't let that worry you. People have been producing amazing art with pen tablets for decades. There are definitely some benefits to using a pen display, but the quality of art than can be made is not a factor.

Advice for first-time tablet users

If you are just getting started using a drawing tablet - for example maybe this is going to be the first tablet you own - my advice is to start with a pen tablet. And learn to use it and if you can't adjust to a pen tablet in a few weeks then return it and get a pen display.

Need to be used with a computer

WINNER: TIE

Both pen tablets and pen displays need a computer to work. They can't be used standalone like an Apple iPad.

Posture

WINNER: Pen tablets

Cost

WINNER: Pen tablets

Pen tablets cost much less than pen displays. Even the most expensive pen tablet cost less than the majority of pen displays.

  • Pen tablets cost between $50 to $250. The most expensive on the market is $500 and often discounted to $400.

  • Pen displays start at around $300 and can go up to about $1300. Wacom professional pen displays are in a special price category and can cost from $2500 to $3500.

Reliability

WINNER: Pen tablets

Pen tablets are the clear winner for reliability. Pen tablets are very simple devices compared to pen displays. They have far fewer components. And so there's just less of a probability that something will go wrong with the hardware of a pen tablet. And the components they have are not as delicate.

Cabling

WINNER: Pen tablets

Pointer lag

WINNER: Pen tablets

All tablets have some amount of pointer lag. But in my observation pen tablets have less pointer lag than pen displays.

Wireless connectivity

WINNER: Pen tablets

Many pen tablets support wireless connectivity. These days that is via Bluetooth.

However no pen displays support wireless connectivity. You will always have at least one wire connecting your end display to your computer. And if you have a larger pen display - anything at 16 inches and above - it's almost guaranteed you'll have at least two wires - one going to your computer and one for power.

Taking notes

WINNER: Pen displays

Surviving a fall

WINNER: Pen tablets

If you knock a pen tablet off your desktop and it hits the floor almost certainly nothing bad will happen. Pen tablets generally don't have any moving parts aside from maybe some buttons. But if you drop a pen display almost certainly that pen display will be severely damaged by the drop. This could shatter the glass of the pen display. Or it could do some severe internal damage to the display panel that's inside the tablet. And this damage to a pen display is not user repairable and it's often extremely expensive to have it repaired if it is even possible to repair.

Most of the time when I've seen someone have significant damage to their appendix display the cost to repair is as much as a new pen display.

Power requirements

WINNER: Pen tablets

Hand covering what you are drawing

WINNER: Pen tablets

In many ways a pen display mimics how it feels to draw with pen and paper. Usually this is an advantage. However it also has some of the same limitations of pen and paper. In particular with the pen display your hand and arm are between you and what you are drawing. So quite naturally you have to accommodate for this. You might have to draw from a different angle or rotate the canvas.

A pen tablet of course separates what you see from where you draw. And so your hand is never in the way of what you are drawing.

Physical size and weight

WINNER: Pen tablets

Pen tablets are considerably thinner and weigh less.

Drawing experience

WINNER: Pen displays

  • Pen displays have a more natural feel because you looking at the same place your are drawing. With a pen tablet you are drawing in one place but looking somewhere else.

  • Most people feel like they have press UNDO much less frequently with a pen display because the stroke more often goes where they intended.

  • With a pen display you do have to ensure you configure the tablets active area to map to your display so that there is no distortion. With pen displays you don't have to do this.

Portability

WINNER: Pen tablets

Given their size and weight and need for a single cable (or even wireless capability) pen tablets have a lot of advantages for carrying around with you.

Diagonal wobble

In my testing I have found no clear pattern that indicates that pen tablets or pen displays are prone to more or less diagonal wobble. Instead it seems to be linked to the specific tablet model involved.

Pen pressure handling

The behavior of a tablet with regard to pressure (IAF, max pressure, etc.) depends on the pen that is used, not the tablet.

There are a few exceptions - there are 1 or 2 tablets that I think do a particularly bad job of pressure independent of the pen, but those are exceedingly rare.

You can use both kinds of tablets

Videos

This document summarizes many very deep topics. If you want more information, consult the which covers all these topics in detail.

With a pen tablet you are drawing in generally a better posture. You will be sitting in a way such that your back is vertical and your head will be looking straight ahead at your monitor. With a pen display you will almost always have to lean over a little bit and look down at the tablet to draw. This can place strain on your lower back and on your neck. This is one of the most popular reasons why someone buys a pen display but then returns it. They just find using a pen display to be very hard on their bodies. More here:

Pen tablets work with a single USB cable (And some are wireless). Pen displays are more complex. Depending on your computer and which pen display there are multiple cabling options and sometimes they can be difficult to configure. More here:

And on top of it even if they have the same amount of lag you will notice it more with the pen display because you can see the tip of the pen and the pointer next to each other. And looking seeing them next to each other on the same screen highlights the pointer lag. More here:

In general I do not recommend taking notes with pen displays. I think that standalone tablets are much better for no taking. But compared to a pen tablet a pen display is certainly much better because you can see what you're doing with the pen and so it's just more intuitive and feels like you're working with pen and paper. More here: .

A pen tablet doesn't require much power. If connected to your laptop it won't drain the battery as much. A pen display requires much more power. If connected to your laptop, it will draw much more power and run your battery down faster. More here: .

More here:

Also with a pen display, you will need to protect it more because it is more sensitive to damage. See .

is a slight "wobbly" inaccuracy in tracking the pen position. It is present in ALL drawing tablets to various degrees.

You can see the different diagonal wobble samples I have collected here: .

And there is no rule that says you have to use only one kind of tablet. There are many people who have both a pen tablet and a pen display. And depending on what they're doing they will switch between using one or the other. See:

Jan 6, 2023

July 10, 2023

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buying guide
Body posture when using drawing tablets
Connecting a pen display
lag
taking notes with drawing tablets
powering a drawing tablet
The drawing experience
protective cases
Diagonal wobble samples
Using multiple drawing tablets at the same time
Teoh on Tech - 9 things to know about pen displays before you buy one
EyeKooDrawsStuff - What drawing tablet to buy... a screenless graphics tablet or pen display?
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Diagonal wobble