7P notes: Comparison of Wacom pen tablets

Overview

If you are interested in a pen tablet (a drawing tablet without a screen) for drawing/sketching/painting and want to go with the "safe choice" then you should pick a Wacom tablet. In particular the Wacom Intuos Pro models identified here (PTH-860, PTH-660, PTH-460) are THE BEST PEN TABLETS EVER MADE.

Here are my detailed notes on the Intuos Pro (PTH-x60) series.

Wacom has several separate lines of pen tablets. This document will help you understand the difference and help you make your choice.

• One by Wacom -> product page

• Intuos -> product page

• Wacom One GEN2 -> product page

• Intuos Pro -> product page

Wacom One GEN2 tablets

Wacom One GEN refer 2 pen tablets and 2 pen displays

The Wacom One GEN2 pen tablets are intended to be upgrades to the consumer-level Intuos tablets.

Currently Wacom One GEN2 pen tablets and pen displays seem to suffer from pressure issues and I do not recommend purchasing them.

More here: 7P notes: Wacom One GEN2

Recommendation summary

• Sketching, digital painting, illustration, etc. -

  • If budget permits, get a Wacom Intuos Pro MEDIUM (PTH-660).

  • If you tend do draw with larger gestures then consider a Wacom Intuos Pro LARGE (PTH-860).

  • If you want to spend less get a One by Wacom MEDIUM (CTL-672) or a Intuos Medium (CTL-6100, CTL-6100WL)

• Photo-editing - i.e. you aren't doing anything that requires "strokes" - then the One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) is fine.

• Using the tablet as a mouse replacement - i.e. you aren't doing anything that requires "strokes" but instead just clicking on things or dragging them - then the One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) is fine.

• Taking notes. I don't recommend pen tablets in general for taking notes. Use an alternative (like an iPad) instead. More here: Taking notes with drawing tablets.

• Play Osu! - One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) or One by Wacom SMALL MEDIUM (CTL-672) are the best choices. For more information regarding tablets for osu! and other tablet options consult Kuuube's tablet buying guide.

• Exploring drawing tablets - this is if you are not sure if you are going to use a drawing tablet, but just want to dabble without spending a lot.

  • Start with a One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) for general usage.

  • Start with a One by Wacom MEDIUM (CTL-672) if you intend to draw on it.

• Want the best and don't care about the cost. Either:

  • Wacom Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860)

  • Wacom Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-660)

• Picking the right size - More information about picking the right size: tablet size.

Pens

Each product line uses different pens. And the pens can only be used within that product line. For example if you try to use the LP190K pen with the PTH-860, the tablet does not even recognize there is a pen there. More here: Wacom pen compatibility

REMEMBER: You cannot MIX AND MATCH these pens. For example, it is not possible to use the amazing Wacom Pro Pen 2 with the One by Wacom, Wacom Oner, or Intuos tablets.

Of the pens identified, the Wacom Pro Pen 2 is the best in terms of design, materials, shape, weight distribution.

Overall drawing experience

All of the tablets except the Wacom One GEN2 tablets have a very very good drawing experience. The Intuos Pro PTH-x60 series definitely the best of all of them though - largely driven by the amazing pressure handling of the Wacom Pro Pen 2.

Pen pressure

Learn more here: Pen pressure

2048 pressure levels is all you need for creative work. All of these pens are enough in that regard. Wacom has strong marketing towards their higher pressure level tablets, but the vast majority of users will not be able to make use of these higher levels in their work.

More than pressure levels, the pressure range has a greater impact on your drawing experience. And this is driven by the quality of the pressure sensor in the pen.

Pens pressure range compared

Notes:

• Data for IAF and max pressure measurements independently made by Kuuube.

• Learn more about pen pressure

• Learn more about how pen pressure ranges compare across pens

Drawing features

Notes on pen tilt

TILT - Not all drawing styles require tilt. And if you do want to control the rotation of your brush many drawing apps let you control the brush rotation based on the direction of the pen movement instead of tilt. Lean more here: Pen tilt

Tablet resolution

Resolution means how many separate points the tablet can distinguish (i.e. resolve) in a given length. This is specified as Lines Per Inch (LPI) though it is also useful to think about it as lines per millimeter (LPMM)

You will not notice the difference between 2048 LPI and 5080 LPI.

• One by Wacom -> 2048 LPI = 80.62 LPMM

• Wacom One GEN2 = Unknown

• Intuos -> 2540 LPI = 100 LPMM

• Intuos Pro -> 5080 LPI = 200 LPMM

Accuracy

Accuracy = tablet & computer know the correct position of the tip of the pen. As far as I have observed, all three tablets are very accurate.

Pointer lag

Pointer lag is the difference between the physical position of the pen and where the operating system pointer is drawn. Pen tablets in general display very little pointer lag. In comparison, all pen displays all show very noticeable lag.

• One by Wacom -> almost no pointer lag

• Wacom One GEN2 -> almost no pointer lag

• Intuos -> almost no pointer lag (has a extra lag due to position smoothing on hover)

• Intuos Pro -> almost no pointer lag

Learn more here: Lag

Accuracy / Diagonal wobble

The Intuos Pro models exhibit less wobble than the Intuos of One by Wacom. But all three are acceptable.

Position smoothing

Position smoothing makes for better looking strokes but introduces pointer lag. All of these Wacom tablets are great for artists in terms of position smoothing.

Driver position smoothing

Wacom drivers by default add a little bit of position smoothing - which is needed - to make their strokes look better. The smoothing is not much and Wacom pen tablets still feel more responsive than other tablet brands.

Hardware position smoothing

Wireless/Bluetooth

Touch support

USB port on tablet

The consumer series use older USB ports than the professional series.

ExpressKeys

Touch support

For these tablets that do support touch, touch can be enabled/disabled with a physical switch on the side of the tablet.

More here:

• My detailed notes on the Intuos Pro (PTH-x60) series.

• Touch support

Tablet design

With the Intuos Pro tablets and pens - everything feels great to me. The texture the weight of the pen, etc.

The One by Wacom, Wacom ONE GEN2, and Intuos models feel a more plasticy/cheaper. Also I just don't enjoy how their pens feel in my hand.

Active Area

The size of the tablet is based on it's active area which is the region on the tablet that is sensitive to the EMR pen. Besides the height and width of this area it is also convenient to discuss them in terms of their diagonal lengths.

Aspect Ratio: Most monitors are 16:9 (1.78) or 16:10 (1.60) If the Aspect Ratio of the tablet does not match the monitor, that means your strokes will be slightly distorted. So, remember to enable the Force Proportions checkbox to have undistorted strokes. More info here: https://youtu.be/9oAvsJk5ESU

Reliability

All of these are very reliable tablets. Their pens are also very reliable. But remember, DO NOT drop your pens. they are much more delicate than the tablets and you can break from a fall.

Drivers

The same Wacom driver works with all three product lines.

Surface texture

The Intuos Pro has a more textured surface, the Intuos and One by Wacom have less texture.

The Intuos Pro MEDIUM and LARGE model surface texture can by change using texture sheets.

More here: My detailed notes on the Intuos Pro (PTH-x60) series.

Future versions

Intuos

In August of 2023, The Intuos models seem to be replaced by the One by Wacom GEN2 pen tablets.

One by Wacom

No sign of any updates coming

Intuos Pro

Having said that since Wacom has upgraded its professional Cintiq line of pen displays in late 2022, there is a natural expectation that updates to their Intuos Pro pen tablets may be coming. Wacom has unfortunately not signaled anything about new Intuos Pro pen tablet products.

Notes on pen tablet models

Intuos Pro

There are two Intuos Pro generations and unfortunately the have the same name "Intuos Pro". So if you are purchasing an Intuos Pro you really need to pay attention to the model numbers.

• The current generation (sometimes referred to as "GEN2")

  • Intuos Pro Small (PTH-460) -> 2019

  • Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-660) -> 2017

  • Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860) -> 2017

• The older generation (sometimes referred to as "GEN1")

  • Intuos Pro Large (PTH-851) -> 2013

  • Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-651) -> 2013

  • Intuos Pro Small (PTH-451) -> 2013

Notes on older Wacom tablets series

• The Wacom Bamboo series has now been renamed to the One by Wacom series

Distinguishing physical features

• the One by Wacom has a bright red back

• the One by Wacom has a fabric pen holder on the side of the tablet

• The Intuos in available in several colors for the back plastic

• The Intuos has a fabric pen holder on the top of the tablet

• The Intuos Pro is always black both front and back

• The Intuos Pro has no fabric pen holder

• The Intuos Pro has a circular dial on the left of the tablet.