Why do Photoshop users love WACOM tablets so much???

In article , TJM wrote:

I’ve been gettin into Photoshop CS and realize I will need to invest in a graphics tablet.

I been reading posts in here and most diehard Photoshop users seem to swear by the WACOMs. Are they that good….and why?

They are well built and the software works. Other manufacturers try to cut costs and end up shooting themselves in the foot. After all, a legal copy of Photoshop is lots of money – not a hobbyist program. Why spend the money on a complex program and then hobble your employees (or yourself) with inferior hardware?

Labor costs are almost always going to be enormously more than your hardware costs. Spend a little more on hardware to get a lot more out of your wetware. Consider also that the Intuos line (probably the commercial "standard") is less money than the CRT display AND CALIBRATION HARDWARE/SOFTWARE required to use it. If you are going to use an adequate (for color production) LCD display, the price difference between an Intuos3 and the cheapest tablet that works at all just disappears into the noise.

Bottom line – it’s more profitable in the long term to buy high quality production equipment.

Another plus: WACOM supports even their oldest hardware with new driver versions. My oldest pad is 10 years old and still going strong. —

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
www.geigy.2y.net

I haft the ArtPad II Tablet model KT-0405-r, I forgot when I got it but I think I got it to work on my old (since gone)CompuAdd 386. and have up graded the drivers to work on my PentiumII450, WinXP. Pressure senistive, eraser and so on.
Sometime I forget and use it 100% of the time and don’t use the mouse at all on my graphics machine.
Yours,
Tom
"Mike Russell" wrote in message

Another plus: WACOM supports even their oldest hardware with new driver versions. My oldest pad is 10 years old and still going strong. —

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
www.geigy.2y.net

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 16:52:17 -0500, "Tom Ellliott" wrote:

I haft the ArtPad II Tablet model KT-0405-r, I forgot when I got it but I think I got it to work on my old (since gone)CompuAdd 386. and have up graded the drivers to work on my PentiumII450, WinXP. Pressure senistive, eraser and so on.
Sometime I forget and use it 100% of the time and don’t use the mouse at all on my graphics machine.
Yours,
Tom

Yeah, I’ve got one of those too. Works fine – I think the only thing that will retire it completely is when computers no longer have a serial port. Meantime I now have an Intuos A4 and my partner has the old Artpad. Rock solid build quality and good drivers are what make Wacom’s the best.

—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 02:19:20 +0000, Hecate wrote:

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 16:52:17 -0500, "Tom Ellliott" wrote:

I haft the ArtPad II Tablet model KT-0405-r, I forgot when I got it but I think I got it to work on my old (since gone)CompuAdd 386. and have up graded the drivers to work on my PentiumII450, WinXP. Pressure senistive, eraser and so on.
Sometime I forget and use it 100% of the time and don’t use the mouse at all on my graphics machine.
Yours,
Tom

Yeah, I’ve got one of those too. Works fine – I think the only thing that will retire it completely is when computers no longer have a serial port.

—>snip<—
I have several devices that use a serial cable (GPS, Programmable Radio Scanner, etc) and my new laptop has no serial port. Fortunately you can now get one of these…
http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/Sku.asp?PageType=1&amp ;Sku=517161

it says it’s for PDAs but in truth it just creates another serial port on the computer and has worked great for everything I’ve needed it for.

Drifter
"I’ve been here, I’ve been there…"

"Drifter" wrote in message

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 02:19:20 +0000, Hecate wrote:

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 16:52:17 -0500, "Tom Ellliott" wrote:

I haft the ArtPad II Tablet model KT-0405-r, I forgot when I got it but

I

think I got it to work on my old (since gone)CompuAdd 386. and have up graded the drivers to work on my PentiumII450, WinXP. Pressure

senistive,

eraser and so on.
Sometime I forget and use it 100% of the time and don’t use the mouse at

all

on my graphics machine.
Yours,
Tom

Yeah, I’ve got one of those too. Works fine – I think the only thing that will retire it completely is when computers no longer have a serial port.

—>snip<—
I have several devices that use a serial cable (GPS, Programmable Radio Scanner, etc) and my new laptop has no serial port. Fortunately you can now get one of these…
http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/Sku.asp?PageType=1&amp ;Sku=517161
it says it’s for PDAs but in truth it just creates another serial port on the computer and has worked great for everything I’ve needed it for.

Drifter
"I’ve been here, I’ve been there…"

As I’ve said, before, Etch-A-Sketch 6.0 rocks!

Peadge 🙂

TJM wrote:

I’ve been gettin into Photoshop CS and realize I will need to invest in a graphics tablet.

I been reading posts in here and most diehard Photoshop users seem to swear by the WACOMs. Are they that good….and why?

I am looking for a tablet that is very durable, has built-in WiFi or Bluetooth, and has many capabilities in the pen. Has anyone used a Tablet PC for editing in Photoshop? I was thinking of buying a Tablet PC for other reasons but it seems like it could be capable of being a powerful graphics tablet as well?

Well, that isn’t universally true. I have a Graphire that I have quit using. I used to use it exclusively and it still works.

The real advantage of a tablet (in my view) is relative placement and variable pen pressure. Both of those are great if you are drawing or painting in Photoshop. I don’t do either of those; I just edit photos.

So, I found the relative placement of the pointer to not be that big of advantage. It just didn’t help that much.

The pen pressure feature actually got in the way of my photo editing. I use the Healing Brush and Rubberstamp tools a lot. That is mostly to get rid of spots and annomolies. The Healing Brush for most of them and the Rubberstamp for those on the edges of things. The variable pen pressure always gives you a variable sized hit with these tools. Most of the time I don’t want a variable sized hit and controlling that with the pen wasn’t accurate enough. (Then again a better one than the Graphire might have helped. Also a more artistic hand might have helped too.) I got tired of redoing hits because the first hit wasn’t hard/big enough.

With a mouse, I know exactly how big my ‘brush’ tip is all the time. A simple click will do exactly what I know it will do. I can still quickly change the size with my left hand on the [ and ] keys. I feel I get a lot more control out of my mouse than I did out of the pen.

So, think seriously about how you use Photoshop before you jump into pen use. Think very seriously before you tie yourself to the limitations of a tablet PC.

BTW, most tablet PC aren’t know for their highly accurate LCD colors. They also aren’t very big monitors. I would bet that you would have a lot of trouble with color management with a tablet PC. To me that would be a huge problem.

Also think seriously about getting a Bluetooth input device. I’ve never heard of anyone who likes those. Other wireless is usually much better. I use a Logitech wireless MX700 mouse that is responsive, fast, and accurate. It isn’t Bluetooth.

Clyde

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:36:13 -0600, Clyde wrote:

Also think seriously about getting a Bluetooth input device. I’ve never heard of anyone who likes those. Other wireless is usually much better. I use a Logitech wireless MX700 mouse that is responsive, fast, and accurate. It isn’t Bluetooth.

Clyde:

Thanks for your comments on tablets. Regarding Bluetooth, I use a Micro$oft Bluetooth wireless mouse because of the wrist angle and finger placement – necessary to prevent tendonitis for me.

Does anyone know if any of the tablets are compatible with such a mouse? In other words, can you quickly switch between the tablet and the BT mouse?

Fred

"Clyde" wrote in message

TJM wrote:

I’ve been gettin into Photoshop CS and realize I will need to invest in a graphics tablet.

I been reading posts in here and most diehard Photoshop users seem to swear by
the WACOMs. Are they that good….and why?

I am looking for a tablet that is very durable, has built-in WiFi or Bluetooth,
and has many capabilities in the pen. Has anyone used a Tablet PC for editing
in Photoshop? I was thinking of buying a Tablet PC for other reasons but it
seems like it could be capable of being a powerful graphics tablet as well?

Well, that isn’t universally true. I have a Graphire that I have quit using. I used to use it exclusively and it still works.

The real advantage of a tablet (in my view) is relative placement and variable pen pressure. Both of those are great if you are drawing or painting in Photoshop. I don’t do either of those; I just edit photos.
So, I found the relative placement of the pointer to not be that big of advantage. It just didn’t help that much.

The pen pressure feature actually got in the way of my photo editing. I use the Healing Brush and Rubberstamp tools a lot. That is mostly to get rid of spots and annomolies. The Healing Brush for most of them and the Rubberstamp for those on the edges of things. The variable pen pressure always gives you a variable sized hit with these tools. Most of the time I don’t want a variable sized hit and controlling that with the pen wasn’t accurate enough. (Then again a better one than the Graphire might have helped. Also a more artistic hand might have helped too.) I got tired of redoing hits because the first hit wasn’t hard/big enough.
With a mouse, I know exactly how big my ‘brush’ tip is all the time. A simple click will do exactly what I know it will do. I can still quickly change the size with my left hand on the [ and ] keys. I feel I get a lot more control out of my mouse than I did out of the pen.

But you can turn on/off pressure in Photoshop cant you.
I used a friends tablet and for doing masks and selections it is a million miles better than a mouse

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 22:11:03 -0500, Drifter
wrote:

Yeah, I’ve got one of those too. Works fine – I think the only thing that will retire it completely is when computers no longer have a serial port.

—>snip<—
I have several devices that use a serial cable (GPS, Programmable Radio Scanner, etc) and my new laptop has no serial port. Fortunately you can now get one of these…
http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/Sku.asp?PageType=1&amp ;Sku=517161
it says it’s for PDAs but in truth it just creates another serial port on the computer and has worked great for everything I’ve needed it for.

Thanks. Bookmarked 🙂

—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:36:13 -0600, Clyde wrote:

Well, that isn’t universally true. I have a Graphire that I have quit using. I used to use it exclusively and it still works.

The real advantage of a tablet (in my view) is relative placement and variable pen pressure. Both of those are great if you are drawing or painting in Photoshop. I don’t do either of those; I just edit photos.
So, I found the relative placement of the pointer to not be that big of advantage. It just didn’t help that much.

The pen pressure feature actually got in the way of my photo editing.

So switch off the pressure sensitivity and switch it on again when you need it.

—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:06:31 -0700, Fred Elbel
wrote:

Does anyone know if any of the tablets are compatible with such a mouse? In other words, can you quickly switch between the tablet and the BT mouse?

You can use the mouse in exactly the same way you always have. I use an Intuos A4 tablet and a Logitech Cordless trackball. I have the Intuos set to only cover the main screen area, whilst the trackball can move across both my monitors. I use the trackball to select tools from the toolboxes on the second monitor, the pen to sue the tools.

—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

Dr Hackenbush wrote:

"Clyde" wrote in message

TJM wrote:

I’ve been gettin into Photoshop CS and realize I will need to invest in a graphics tablet.

I been reading posts in here and most diehard Photoshop users seem to swear by
the WACOMs. Are they that good….and why?

I am looking for a tablet that is very durable, has built-in WiFi or Bluetooth,
and has many capabilities in the pen. Has anyone used a Tablet PC for editing
in Photoshop? I was thinking of buying a Tablet PC for other reasons but it
seems like it could be capable of being a powerful graphics tablet as well?

Well, that isn’t universally true. I have a Graphire that I have quit using. I used to use it exclusively and it still works.

The real advantage of a tablet (in my view) is relative placement and variable pen pressure. Both of those are great if you are drawing or painting in Photoshop. I don’t do either of those; I just edit photos.
So, I found the relative placement of the pointer to not be that big of advantage. It just didn’t help that much.

The pen pressure feature actually got in the way of my photo editing. I use the Healing Brush and Rubberstamp tools a lot. That is mostly to get rid of spots and annomolies. The Healing Brush for most of them and the Rubberstamp for those on the edges of things. The variable pen pressure always gives you a variable sized hit with these tools. Most of the time I don’t want a variable sized hit and controlling that with the pen wasn’t accurate enough. (Then again a better one than the Graphire might have helped. Also a more artistic hand might have helped too.) I got tired of redoing hits because the first hit wasn’t hard/big enough.
With a mouse, I know exactly how big my ‘brush’ tip is all the time. A simple click will do exactly what I know it will do. I can still quickly change the size with my left hand on the [ and ] keys. I feel I get a lot more control out of my mouse than I did out of the pen.

But you can turn on/off pressure in Photoshop cant you.
I used a friends tablet and for doing masks and selections it is a million miles better than a mouse

Yes, but what would be the point? I didn’t find that I ever needed it. The pointer placement with the pen also wasn’t an advantage, therefore the tablet didn’t do anything for me.

Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t been too crazy about selection methods that would take advantage of the pen. Using the Pen tool and the Magic Lasso to trace around something never selected it right for me. I’ve always had to do a lot of editing of that edge. I also do a fair bit of selecting that has different levels of opacity. I’ve found many other tools and methods to work better for me.

For example, to erase the background around someone the biggest problem is around the hair. I usually start by making a mask from a channel. It seems like LAB’s "b" is often the case, but not always. Then I edit that mask. Yes, I use the Brush tool a fair bit and that should be a great tool for a tablet. I just haven’t found it to be better than the mouse.

I’m sure part of the reason for my preference is that fact that I can’t draw anything. My art teacher in college concluded that I should stick with photography. I’m sure if you CAN draw, a nice tablet would be great.

My point was that a good Wacom tablet should be a great tool and a fine asset for the vast majority of Photoshop users. Just not ALL Photoshop users.

"Know yourself."

Clyde

Clyde wrote:

TJM wrote:

I’ve been gettin into Photoshop CS and realize I will need to invest in a graphics tablet.

I been reading posts in here and most diehard Photoshop users seem to swear by
the WACOMs. Are they that good….and why?

I am looking for a tablet that is very durable, has built-in WiFi or Bluetooth,
and has many capabilities in the pen. Has anyone used a Tablet PC for editing
in Photoshop? I was thinking of buying a Tablet PC for other reasons but it
seems like it could be capable of being a powerful graphics tablet as well?

Well, that isn’t universally true. I have a Graphire that I have quit using. I used to use it exclusively and it still works.

The real advantage of a tablet (in my view) is relative placement and variable pen pressure. Both of those are great if you are drawing or painting in Photoshop. I don’t do either of those; I just edit photos.
So, I found the relative placement of the pointer to not be that big of advantage. It just didn’t help that much.

The pen pressure feature actually got in the way of my photo editing. I use the Healing Brush and Rubberstamp tools a lot. That is mostly to get rid of spots and annomolies. The Healing Brush for most of them and the Rubberstamp for those on the edges of things. The variable pen pressure always gives you a variable sized hit with these tools. Most of the time I don’t want a variable sized hit and controlling that with the pen wasn’t accurate enough. (Then again a better one than the Graphire might have helped. Also a more artistic hand might have helped too.) I got tired of redoing hits because the first hit wasn’t hard/big enough.
With a mouse, I know exactly how big my ‘brush’ tip is all the time. A simple click will do exactly what I know it will do. I can still quickly change the size with my left hand on the [ and ] keys. I feel I get a lot more control out of my mouse than I did out of the pen.

I don’t understand what you are talking about..
I am a photographer, spending many (too many) entire days with my stylus in my hand.
Even if you only use the Healing brush, the pen is much more precise when it comes to make selection, the mouse feels like a bar of soap! As for the size of the brush, as very subtle rotation of my thumb pushes on one of the buttons and opens the brush menu.
Also, I work with three monitors and I just love being able to go through 3904 pixels without having to lift my wrist from its little silicone cushion. Try that with your mouse…

Stephan

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 21:04:51 GMT, Stephan wrote
(with possible editing):

….snip

Also, I work with three monitors and I just love being able to go through 3904 pixels without having to lift my wrist from its little silicone cushion. Try that with your mouse…

Stephan,

If you don’t mind my asking, how do you do that? (work with 3 monitors)

Thanks,
—

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

"L. M. Rappaport" wrote in message

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 21:04:51 GMT, Stephan wrote
(with possible editing):

…snip

Also, I work with three monitors and I just love being able to go through 3904 pixels without having to lift my wrist from its little silicone cushion. Try that with your mouse…

Stephan,

If you don’t mind my asking, how do you do that? (work with 3 monitors)

Thanks,
—

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

Some systems allow for 2 graphic cards. One could concievably be a dual port affair. I’m not sure of the finer details but in theory it *could* work.

Doug

In article ,
says…

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:06:31 -0700, Fred Elbel
wrote:

Does anyone know if any of the tablets are compatible with such a mouse? In other words, can you quickly switch between the tablet and the BT mouse?

You can use the mouse in exactly the same way you always have. I use an Intuos A4 tablet and a Logitech Cordless trackball. I have the Intuos set to only cover the main screen area, whilst the trackball can move across both my monitors. I use the trackball to select tools from the toolboxes on the second monitor, the pen to sue the tools.
—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

In a similar setup, I use both the Intuos II and the M$ wheel-mouse. I haven’t even unboxed my Intuos mouse, but did use the Intuos I’s mouse, and liked the M$ better. There is no problem with either my workstation, or laptop with both devices up and running on all monitors. The Wacoms do not mind anymore, though this was a touch of a problem back in the earlier days of ArtZII serial, but that was many, many years ago. I do not know exactly about the OP’s Bluetooth mouse, but would assume that it would exist just fine with a Wacom, especially a current one. Then, the operator just uses the device that they wish, for what they wish.

Hunt

On 30 Jan 2005 21:44:52 GMT, (Hunt) wrote:

You can use the mouse in exactly the same way you always have. I use an Intuos A4 tablet and a Logitech Cordless trackball. I have the Intuos set to only cover the main screen area, whilst the trackball can move across both my monitors. I use the trackball to select tools from the toolboxes on the second monitor, the pen to sue the tools.

In a similar setup, I use both the Intuos II and the M$ wheel-mouse. I haven’t even unboxed my Intuos mouse, but did use the Intuos I’s mouse, and liked the M$ better.

Wacom mice, I find are really useful. I use them as paperweights 🙂

—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 20:40:34 GMT, "Ryadia" wrote:

"L. M. Rappaport" wrote in message

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 21:04:51 GMT, Stephan wrote
(with possible editing):

…snip

Also, I work with three monitors and I just love being able to go through 3904 pixels without having to lift my wrist from its little silicone cushion. Try that with your mouse…

Stephan,

If you don’t mind my asking, how do you do that? (work with 3 monitors)

Thanks,
—

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

Some systems allow for 2 graphic cards. One could concievably be a dual port affair. I’m not sure of the finer details but in theory it *could* work.

There is also a Matrox Triplehead card.

—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 01:59:11 +0000, Hecate wrote
(with possible editing):

Some systems allow for 2 graphic cards. One could concievably be a dual port affair. I’m not sure of the finer details but in theory it *could* work.

Not sure how you’d manage the real estate with that setup, but I suppose you’re right – it might be possible.

There is also a Matrox Triplehead card.

Thanks, that sounds more realistic.

I work with two monitors and am not sure that I would want to manage three, but would also like to know what it’s like. While not a problem, it is a nuisance to move the cursor from the extreme right to the extreme left, and I find that some apps (Pixel Toolbox comes to mind) start out in the center of the screen and don’t seem to be movable.
—

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

L. M. Rappaport wrote:

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 21:04:51 GMT, Stephan wrote
(with possible editing):

…snip

Also, I work with three monitors and I just love being able to go through 3904 pixels without having to lift my wrist from its little silicone cushion. Try that with your mouse…

Stephan,

If you don’t mind my asking, how do you do that? (work with 3 monitors)

Thanks,
—

One Matrox dual head card plus a PCI card.
I think Windows supports up to 24 monitors on one system. Then just a little tweaking to have your desktop on the three monitors. Just remember that Adobe Gamma will work only on monitor 1

Stephan

Here is how it looks:
http://tinyurl.com/3oncn

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 22:39:25 GMT, Stephan wrote:

Here is how it looks:
http://tinyurl.com/3oncn

That’s the trouble with men – always going on about their desktops being bigger than everyone else’s…..

—

Hecate – The Real One

veni, vidi, reliqui

Hecate wrote:

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 22:39:25 GMT, Stephan wrote:

Here is how it looks:
http://tinyurl.com/3oncn

That’s the trouble with men – always going on about their desktops being bigger than everyone else’s…..

LOL

S

Clyde wrote:

TJM wrote:

I’ve been gettin into Photoshop CS and realize I will need to invest in a graphics tablet.

I been reading posts in here and most diehard Photoshop users seem to swear by
the WACOMs. Are they that good….and why?

I am looking for a tablet that is very durable, has built-in WiFi or Bluetooth,

With a mouse, I know exactly how big my ‘brush’ tip is all the time. A simple click will do exactly what I know it will do. I can still quickly change the size with my left hand on the [ and ] keys. I feel I get a lot more control out of my mouse than I did out of the pen.
So, think seriously about how you use Photoshop before you jump into pen use. Think very seriously before you tie yourself to the limitations of a tablet PC.

Clyde

Well, I have to terribly disagree with you on that one Clyde. Having used a graphics tablet and stylus for years, I would never want to go back. I occasionally use my backup computer with a mouse and it does not compare to using a stylus. As one person once said, it is like trying to draw with a block of soap compared to a pen! How true!
Do you ever mask things off (make selections) in PS? If so, you would have to see how much more control you have with a stylus!

Brian.

Wacom are the ones that invented it
They have been doing it for quite some time now
the pen uses no batteries and is sensed by the tablet plugged into a usb Why Blue tooth its teriby slow usb is faster by a big bunch

"Brian" wrote in message

Clyde wrote:

TJM wrote:

I’ve been gettin into Photoshop CS and realize I will need to invest in a
graphics tablet.

I been reading posts in here and most diehard Photoshop users seem to swear by
the WACOMs. Are they that good….and why?

I am looking for a tablet that is very durable, has built-in WiFi or Bluetooth,

With a mouse, I know exactly how big my ‘brush’ tip is all the time. A simple click will do exactly what I know it will do. I can still quickly change the size with my left hand on the [ and ] keys. I feel I get a lot more control out of my mouse than I did out of the pen.

So, think seriously about how you use Photoshop before you jump into pen use. Think very seriously before you tie yourself to the limitations of a tablet PC.

Clyde

Well, I have to terribly disagree with you on that one Clyde. Having used a graphics tablet and stylus for years, I would never want to go back. I occasionally use my backup computer with a mouse and it does not compare to using a stylus. As one person once said, it is like trying to draw with a block of soap compared to a pen! How true!
Do you ever mask things off (make selections) in PS? If so, you would have to see how much more control you have with a stylus!

Brian.