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
    • 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
  • 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
  • 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 notes: Drawing tablet tier list (December 2024)
      • 7P notes: Large pen tablets compared
      • 7P: 13" pen displays compared (2023)
      • 7P: 22" pen displays compared (2024)
  • Brands
    • Drawing tablet brands vs digitizers
    • 7P: Huion and XP-Pen
    • 7P notes: Xencelabs
    • 7P notes: Wacom
  • 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
    • ExpressKeys
    • 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
      • Matching aspect ratios
      • 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
      • 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
    • 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
      • Using a drawing tablet with an iPad or iPhone
      • Using a drawing tablet with an Android device
      • Using a drawing tablet with a Chromebook
      • Chromebook testing results
      • Using 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
    • 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
  • Troubleshooting
    • Troubleshoot low pressure drawing problems
    • Troubleshoot difficult to reach maximum pressure
    • Common problems with drawing tablets
    • Reset a drawing tablet
    • Troubleshoot pointer stuck in corner of screen
    • Common drawing troubleshooting steps
    • Check if pen display shows HDMI video signal from other devices
    • Troubleshoot drawing problems
    • Troubleshoot the NO SIGNAL problem
    • Troubleshoot pen moving pointer on the wrong display
    • Troubleshoot pixel noise on display
    • Troubleshoot no pressure while drawing
    • Troubleshoot random gaps in strokes
    • Troubleshoot dots at end of strokes
    • Troubleshoot dots at start of strokes
    • Troubleshoot pen draws while hovering
    • Troubleshoot hooks at start of strokes
    • Troubleshoot shoelaces at end of strokes
    • Troubleshoot straight lines at start of stokes
    • Troubleshoot pen not drawing in vertical or horizontal bands
    • Troubleshoot WiFi and Internet problems with drawing tablets
    • Troubleshoot tablet driver does not detect tablet
    • Testing pressure in the tablet driver
    • Testing with Windows PNP drawing tablet drivers
    • Troubleshoot computer does not detect display
    • Troubleshoot driver no longer supports a drawing tablet
    • Troubleshoot no sound after plugging in drawing tablet
    • Troubleshoot pen display doesn't show anything
    • Troubleshoot not enough HDMI ports
    • Troubleshoot insects in a pen display
    • Troubleshoot pen acting like a mouse
    • Troubleshoot pen display cycles on and off
  • Product info
    • Apple
      • Apple iPad
      • Apple Pencil
      • Using an iPad as a drawing tablet connected to a computer
      • 7P notes: Apple iPad
      • 7P: Apple iPad versus drawing tablets
      • 7P notes: Apple iPad versus Samsung Galaxy Tab S
      • 7P: How I use iPads
      • 7P: M3 MacBook Pro
    • Artisul
    • ASUS
      • ASUS Pro Art Pen Display
    • 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 notes: Huion Inspiroy HS611
      • Huion KeyDial
      • Huion pens
        • Huion PenTech
        • 7P: Huion PW500 pen
        • 7P: Huion PW517 pen
        • 7P: Huion PW550 series pens
        • 7P: Huion PW600 series pens
      • Huion Inspiroy 2
        • 7P: Huion Inspiroy 2 L (H1061P)
    • Microsoft
      • Microsoft Surface Pro
        • 7P notes: Microsoft Surface Pro 8
    • OnePlus
      • OnePlus Pad
    • Samsung
      • Samsung Galaxy Tab S series
      • 7P: Samsung Galaxy Tab S series
      • 7P notes: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
      • 7P notes: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE
      • 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 notes: Samsung S Pen
    • Wacom
      • 7P: Comparison of Wacom pen tablets
      • Wacom model number format
      • Wacom One vs One by Wacom
      • Wacom texture sheets
      • Wacom tablet list
      • One by Wacom
        • 7P: One by Wacom (CTL-x72)
      • Wacom Intuos Pro 2013 series (PTH-x51)
      • Wacom Intuos Pro 2025 series (PTK-x70)
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos Pro 2025 (PTK-x70)
      • Wacom Intuos Pro 2017 series (PTH-x60)
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos Pro 2017 Medium (PTH-660)
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos Pro 2017 (PTH-x60)
      • Wacom Intuos 5
      • Wacom Intuos 4
        • 7P: Wacom Intuos 4 XL (PTK-1240)
      • Wacom Intuos 3
      • Wacom Intuos 2
      • Wacom Intuos
      • Wacom Cintiq
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq 22 (DTK-2260)
      • Wacom Cintiq Pro
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 (DTH-167)
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-227)
        • 7P: Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 (DTH-271)
      • 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 GEN2 pen tablets
      • 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)
      • Wacom pen compatibility
      • 7P: Wacom Converter (ACK45219Z)
    • Xencelabs
      • Xencelabs Quick Keys
      • 7P notes: Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium (BPH1212W-A)
      • 7P: Xencelabs Pen Display 16 (LPH1612U-A)
      • 7P notes: Xencelabs V2 pens
      • 7P: Xencelabs Mobile Easel
      • 7P notes: 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 notes: XP-Pen Artist Pro 19 GEN2 (MD180UH)
        • 7P : XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 GEN2 (MD160QH)
      • XP-Pen Shortcut Remote
      • XP-Pen Deco
        • 7P notes: XP-Pen Deco LW (IT1060B)
      • XP-Pen Deco Pro GEN2
        • 7P notes: XP-Pen Deco Pro XLW GEN2 (MT1592B)
      • XP-Pen Innovator
      • XP-Pen protective sheets
      • XP-Pen pens
        • 7P notes: XP-Pen X3 Pro pens
        • 7P: XP-Pen X3 Elite pen
    • Ugee
  • Application info
    • MyPaint
    • Adobe Photoshop
      • 7P: Adobe Photoshop
    • ArtRage
    • Affinity Photo
      • 7P notes: Affinity Photo
    • Autodesk Maya
    • Blender
    • Clip Studio Paint
      • 7P notes: Clip Studio Paint
    • Concepts app
    • FireAlpaca
    • Freeform
    • Fresco
    • HEAVYPAINT
    • HiPaint
    • Ibis Paint
    • Infinite Painter
    • Inkscape
    • Kleki
    • Krita
      • 7P notes: Krita
    • Medibang Paint
    • Medibang Pro
    • Microsoft Whiteboard
    • Microsoft PowerPoint
    • Microsoft OneNote
    • Microsoft Paint
    • Painter
    • Paintstorm Studio
    • PaintTool Sai
    • Photoshop
    • Procreate
      • 7P notes: Procreate
    • Rebelle
    • Samsung Notes
    • ZoomIt
    • Feather 3D
  • Accessories
    • Screen cleaning sprays
    • Monitor arms
      • 7P notes: Ergotron monitor arms
    • Cables
      • 7P notes: 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
    • Stands
      • 7P: VIVO Pneumatic Arm Monitor Desk Stand (STAND-V100R)
      • Parblo PR-100 stand
        • 7P notes: 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 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
  • Misc
    • Circuit simulations
    • History of drawing tablets
      • Preface
      • Chapter 1: Antiquity
      • Chapter 2: Terms
      • Appendix: Timeline
      • Appendix: Other histories
      • Appendix: References
    • Mobile computer recommendations
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  • Overview
  • EMR
  • NON-EMR
  • Reddit threads
  • References
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  1. Technology

Digital pen tech

Last updated 11 months ago

Overview

There are a lot of digital pen technologies out there. Drawing tablets use EMR but there are technologies that offer a similar feature set

EMR

Traditional drawing tablets ALL use EMR (Electromagnetic Resonance) More here: . It is also used prominently by some mobile devices such as Samsung Galaxy Tab S series tablets. We believe that EMR overall offers the best drawing experience.

NON-EMR

  • Active Electrostatic (AES) - Used by many mobile devices. More here:

  • Apple Pencil tech - Used only by Apple devices: More here:

  • Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) - Used by Microsoft surface devices and a few others:

  • N-Trig - Used by some older Microsoft surface models

Reddit threads

  • r/stylus:

  • r/stylus:

  • r/stylus:

  • r/stylus:

References

SLRLounge -

EMR
AES
Apple Pencil tech
MPP
Wacom AES vs EMR vs N-Trig
MPP vs AES? For digital drawing
AES, EMR or both? How Apple Pencil exactly works?
Apple pencil (Active capacitive pen) vs Wacom feel EMR
AES VS EMR | Choosing Between Wacom, iPad Pro, and Microsoft Surface Tech
Wikipedia - Surface pen