subject: Graphics Tablets Will Strengthen Your Digital Life [print this page] Graphics tablets introduce an enjoyable way to work with your personal computer that could enhance completely your digital life. A tablet is a equipment that simulates the use of a digital pen interacting with a laptop or desktop. Building on the recognition and success of touch revolution, graphics tablets will allow you to use familiar gesture (hand movement and pen writing). You can open applications, scroll, zoom, retouch, rotate images, draw and considerably more. This high-tech device is multi tasks and easy to use, it should only take you a few hours to get used to. Some models permit left- or right-handed users to express their creative skills. Graphics tablets are compatible with Mac or PC and connects with just a straightforward USB cable.
Wacom is by far the market leader and is widely supported by photographers and artists.
If you are an amateur home user, prefer the Wacom Bamboo tablet range, generally available in A6 or A5 formats, this will minimise your arm motion and make your experience more pleasant. There are five Bamboo range models: Pen and Touch, Pen, Touch, Fun, and Craft. The Fun and Craft models include an eraser-equipped stylus, and additional bundled graphics software.
On the other hand, professional graphic artists that are designing or drawing in large format will feel at ease with all Wacom Intuos4 products; however bear in mind, the bigger the dimension, the more physically challenging it will get. Intuos fans can use the device at its full capacity and gain from the multi-touch functionality and battery-free pen tablet technology at the highest level of sensitivity available today.
Size matters but more critical is your tablet sensitivity. Another characteristic of the tablet is pressure levels; this is basically the thinnest and closest with which the tablet can reproduce your actions. Pressure sensitivity of 512 is the minimum required especially if you are a complete novice. The more appealing tablets will provide 1024 of pressure sensitivity, for ultimate precision.
Another important criteria is resolution; this is expressed in DPI (dot per inch) and it defines the accuracy of your tablet. 1000 DPI will be the minimum expected, however, the larger your tablet, the more accurate you will be.
Price-wise, smaller graphics tablets are retailing at less than 70 GBP for the basic model and up to 400 GBP for the larger, most advanced tablets.
