Wacom tablet, differences among models?

In article <CTZLc.12204$>, llm
says…

My question does not relate to Photoshop, but this appears to be the forum where Wacom tablets are most frequently discussed, so I hope someone can help me out.

I have carpal tunnel syndrome, and my ability to use a keyboard is very limited. I currently depend on speech recognition software for computer input, but it has significant limitations, and I am interested in trying out a tablet as an alternate input method.

My income is limited, and I don’t know whether the tablet will even prove to be useful, so I would like to buy a used one if I can. I see that discontinued models sell for much less than current ones, but I can’t find any information about how they differ. Thus I can’t make an informed decision about which if any of them would meet my needs.
Can anyone refer me to a source of information about Wacom’s discontinued models? In particular, I need information about their compatibility with handwriting recognition in Microsoft Office, and any characteristics which might make them work less well for handwriting recognition than current models.

Jonathan,

There is an alt.graphics.tablets NG, however it is for practical purposes dead. You might post there also, as someone with more knowledge might be able to help.

On the PS/tablet side, I’ve used them for many years and have four in service now. I’ve two older ArtZII pads in 12×12 & 6×9, an IntuousI 9×12 and IntuousII 9×12. I have never had a Graphire tablet of any model. For PS work, they are a great tool. Painer is another application that comes alive with one. From AI work, I am about 60-40 tablet/mouse.

Now, the main differences in these tablets is the degrees of pressure sensitivity that they offer. As I recall the specs of the older ones, they can sense 128 "stages" of pressure. The newer ones range from 256 with the IntousI to 512 with the IntousII. The Graphire is around 128, as I recall (check out the Wacom site, www.wacom.com), and is limited in size. For me, the larger pad is better, but that is personal. Wacom also offers older refurbished tablets, and they should be a good deal.

As for the handwriting into MS Office, I know nothing, but I’ll bet that Tech Support at Wacom would know.

Hope this helps and good luck,
Hunt

Jonathan

I fractured my right hand twice so using the mouse can get painful for me. I use an intuos2 tablet along with a mouse. I use the tablet mostly for drawing. It is harder for me to double click. You have to tap twice with the pen or use a button on the pen which is somewhat difficult.

I think a lot of the older pens were smaller. Mine is 6 inch x 8 inch.

One thing that I did to relieve pain was to remove the arm from my chair and bolt on a 10 in x 18 in wood plank. I put a cushioned support for my arm and a mouse pad on it. That really helps.

I would go to a computer store and see if they have a computer with a tablet to try. Maybe have them set one up for you. It’s one of those things, you won’t know till you try.

Good luck.

dp

Hunt wrote:

In article <CTZLc.12204$>, llm
says…

My question does not relate to Photoshop, but this appears to be the forum where Wacom tablets are most frequently discussed, so I hope someone can help me out.

I have carpal tunnel syndrome, and my ability to use a keyboard is very limited. I currently depend on speech recognition software for computer input, but it has significant limitations, and I am interested in trying out a tablet as an alternate input method.

My income is limited, and I don’t know whether the tablet will even prove to be useful, so I would like to buy a used one if I can. I see that discontinued models sell for much less than current ones, but I can’t find any information about how they differ. Thus I can’t make an informed decision about which if any of them would meet my needs.
Can anyone refer me to a source of information about Wacom’s discontinued models? In particular, I need information about their compatibility with handwriting recognition in Microsoft Office, and any characteristics which might make them work less well for handwriting recognition than current models.

Jonathan,

There is an alt.graphics.tablets NG, however it is for practical purposes dead. You might post there also, as someone with more knowledge might be able to help.

On the PS/tablet side, I’ve used them for many years and have four in service now. I’ve two older ArtZII pads in 12×12 & 6×9, an IntuousI 9×12 and IntuousII 9×12. I have never had a Graphire tablet of any model. For PS work, they are a great tool. Painer is another application that comes alive with one. From AI work, I am about 60-40 tablet/mouse.

Now, the main differences in these tablets is the degrees of pressure sensitivity that they offer. As I recall the specs of the older ones, they can sense 128 "stages" of pressure. The newer ones range from 256 with the IntousI to 512 with the IntousII. The Graphire is around 128, as I recall (check out the Wacom site, www.wacom.com), and is limited in size. For me, the larger pad is better, but that is personal. Wacom also offers older refurbished tablets, and they should be a good deal.

As for the handwriting into MS Office, I know nothing, but I’ll bet that Tech Support at Wacom would know.

Hope this helps and good luck,
Hunt

In article <CTZLc.12204$>,
says…

My question does not relate to Photoshop, but this appears to be the forum where Wacom tablets are most frequently discussed, so I hope someone can help me out.

-snip

In particular, I need information about their compatibility with handwriting recognition in Microsoft Office, and any characteristics which might make them work less well for handwriting recognition than current models.

I’ve used older (discontinued) models with good results. One thing to be sure to check, however, is whether there are drivers for whatever opsys you are using. Windows 2k and XP may not support the older tablets. Wacom will know. (I’ve found them very helpful when I’ve called a time or two.)

Jason

J Warren wrote:

In article <CTZLc.12204$>,
says…

My question does not relate to Photoshop, but this appears to be the forum where Wacom tablets are most frequently discussed, so I hope someone can help me out.

-snip

In particular, I need information about their compatibility with handwriting recognition in Microsoft Office, and any characteristics which might make them work less well for handwriting recognition than current models.

I’ve used older (discontinued) models with good results. One thing to be sure to check, however, is whether there are drivers for whatever opsys
you are using. Windows 2k and XP may not support the older tablets. Wacom will know. (I’ve found them very helpful when I’ve called a time or two.)

Wacom’s been great on drivers for their older tablets – in general the new drivers work for all their older models, so I would not hesitate to get an older model. USB is nicer from a config standpoint, but the older serial tablets are considerably cheaper and work just fine with the new drivers.

Re handwriting – check out Sensiva, which supports stylized characters and moves. Not clear whether they’re still in business, but one place to download is here:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/Mouse_and_Keybo ard_Utilities/Sensiva.html

—

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

Thanks to everyone for the information. I’m kind of reluctant to call Wacom to ask for advice that will enable me to _avoid_ buying one of their products, which is what buying a used one amounts to, but it sounds like driver support is the only factor I need to worry about, and their web site shows that all the models I would consider buying are supported in Windows XP.

I agree that the USB interface is desirable; in fact I consider it a requirement. Buying an older tablet with an RS-232 interface would not be worth the few extra dollars it would save me.

Sensiva… with a name like that I’m not surprised if they’ve gone out of business, or at least have decided to concentrate on making condoms. 🙂 But I will check them out when I have some experience with the tablet and am in a better position to judge what their product would do for me.

In article <zm2Mc.321$>,
says…

J Warren wrote:

In article <CTZLc.12204$>,
says…

My question does not relate to Photoshop, but this appears to be the forum where Wacom tablets are most frequently discussed, so I hope someone can help me out.

-snip

In particular, I need information about their compatibility with handwriting recognition in Microsoft Office, and any characteristics which might make them work less well for handwriting recognition than current models.

I’ve used older (discontinued) models with good results. One thing to be sure to check, however, is whether there are drivers for whatever opsys
you are using. Windows 2k and XP may not support the older tablets. Wacom will know. (I’ve found them very helpful when I’ve called a time or two.)

Wacom’s been great on drivers for their older tablets – in general the new drivers work for all their older models, so I would not hesitate to get an older model. USB is nicer from a config standpoint, but the older serial tablets are considerably cheaper and work just fine with the new drivers.
Re handwriting – check out Sensiva, which supports stylized characters and moves. Not clear whether they’re still in business, but one place to download is here:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/Mouse_and_Keybo ard_Utilities/

Sensiv

a.html

—

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

Mike, thanks for mentioning Sensiva. I had it with one of my Wacoms (IntuosI, I think), loaded it on my NT machine, but never explored it. Then, it came bundled from Wacom. I will have to go find that disk and see if it loads on my XP-P box. That, as I recall the Readme, might be just what Jonathan is looking for. Dang my memory.

Thanks,
Hunt

In article <lW7Mc.10790$>, llm040609
@earthlink.net says…

Thanks to everyone for the information. I’m kind of reluctant to call Wacom to ask for advice that will enable me to _avoid_ buying one of their products, which is what buying a used one amounts to, but it sounds like driver support is the only factor I need to worry about, and their web site shows that all the models I would consider buying are supported in Windows XP.

I agree that the USB interface is desirable; in fact I consider it a requirement. Buying an older tablet with an RS-232 interface would not be worth the few extra dollars it would save me.

Sensiva… with a name like that I’m not surprised if they’ve gone out of business, or at least have decided to concentrate on making condoms. 🙂 But I will check them out when I have some experience with the tablet and am in a better position to judge what their product would do for me.

Jonathan,

Wacom has an e-mail support program on their site (or at least they did when IntuosI was new), and it works nicely. I got my answers within two days, and they were extremely helpful. If you buy a refurbished tablet, Wacom has some of the best prices around. I got my IntuosII from them (new), because they had a price within US$10 of the best deals I could find with a ton of search engines. They also have a very liberal return policy and good support ( regarless of whether you buy from them, or even e-bay). I could not be more please with a hardware company (personal experience).

Good luck,
Hunt

"Jonathan Sachs" …

Thanks to everyone for the information. I’m kind of reluctant to call Wacom to ask for advice that will enable me to _avoid_ buying one of their products, which is what buying a used one amounts to, but it sounds like driver support is the only factor I need to worry about, and their web site shows that all the models I would consider buying are supported in Windows XP.

I agree that the USB interface is desirable; in fact I consider it a requirement. Buying an older tablet with an RS-232 interface would not be worth the few extra dollars it would save me.

I bought a 6×9 ArtZ II pad a month or two ago on eBay. It’s an rs-232 model, but came complete, even with the original box and booklet. As you’ve noticed wacom’s newest xp driver works with it, and they still have replacement parts (pens, xformer, clear thingie, etc) for it on their website. I wasn’t sure I’d want one, but a friend loves his and recommended them — but I didn’t want to spend too much just to try. Works great and I love it. This model supports tilts as well as the pen pressure. USB models would be much handier, especially with a laptop. But USB’s costed about twice as much on eBay (which isn’t saying much because it was inexpensive). Someday when I upgrade, I’ll get a USB one (or whatever’s in fashion then).

Mike

Jonathan Sachs wrote:

Thanks to everyone for the information. I’m kind of reluctant to call Wacom to ask for advice that will enable me to _avoid_ buying one of their products, which is what buying a used one amounts to, but it sounds like driver support is the only factor I need to worry about, and their web site shows that all the models I would consider buying are supported in Windows XP.

The drivers may be downloaded directly from the site. No phone interraction needed.

The starting point is here:
http://www.wacom.com/productsupport/select.cfm

—

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

On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 12:56:49 GMT, "Jonathan Sachs" wrote:

Thanks to everyone for the information. I’m kind of reluctant to call Wacom to ask for advice that will enable me to _avoid_ buying one of their products, which is what buying a used one amounts to, but it sounds like driver support is the only factor I need to worry about, and their web site shows that all the models I would consider buying are supported in Windows XP.

Check out the sales part of the Wacom site. You’ll find they sell used models themselves at good prices. Often these tablets have just had light use for demos by Wacom themselves.

There’s no worry about driver support. I have had an old ArtpadII for a number of years and it’s been upgraded with new drivers for the following :
Win95, Win98, WinNT, Win 2000 and WinXP.
Wacom are very good about building drivers for new iterations of the operating system and you never have to wait very long before a new driver is out.

I agree that the USB interface is desirable; in fact I consider it a requirement. Buying an older tablet with an RS-232 interface would not be worth the few extra dollars it would save me.

USB is definitely better. My old Artpad had a serial interface, but the USB with my Intuos is much nicer. It also means it’s much easier to install etc and less likely to give you conflicts on the system.

As far as your question about use:

I have fibromyalgia and I’ve found it helps quite a bit. I also use a trackball which is much better than a mouse if you have problems.

On top of that, there a lot of things that you just can’t do very well if you only have a rodent. 🙂

—

Hecate

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