Wacom
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Wacom Co., Ltd. (株式会社ワコム Kabushiki-gaisha Wakomu?) (TYO: 6727 ) is the industry standard company for graphics tablets, headquartered in Otone, Saitama, Japan. It is one of the major graphics tablet producers today and is extremely popular with artists, graphic designers, architects and cartoonists. Wacom tablets are notable for their patented cordless, battery-free and pressure-sensitive pens. Some of their products feature the ability for a user to invert the pen and use it much as one would use an eraser on a regular pencil.
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[edit] Product lines
Wacom produces four main lines of tablets, the "Graphire", "Pen Partner", "Intuos" and "Cintiq". Most tablets are sold with several software programs such as Photoshop Elements and Corel Painter, which incorporate Wacom's tablets.
[edit] PenPartner
The PenPartner tablet is designed for notebooks. The tablet features the battery free, cordless technique used on all Wacom tablets. The second generation is tailored more towards laptops, while the original was the predecessor to the original Graphire. This second version is not available in the Americas.
[edit] Volito
The Volito is designed as a "first-tablet" system. The Volito is designed, technically, to be a computer mouse. Not available in the Americas. This is its second release.
[edit] Graphire
Graphire is a hobbyist tablet. In Japan, its name is FAVO. Currently in its fourth generation (Graphire4). It comes in 4x5 and 6x8 (inches). It currently supports 512 levels of pressure. A wireless Bluetooth version is also available.
[edit] Intuos
Intuos is marketed as suitable for professional graphic artists. It is available in multiple sizes, and includes tilt sensitivity and 1024 levels of pressure. Currently in its third generation.
It comes in the following sizes (active area in inches):
- 4x5
- 4x6.2 (Wide 16:10)
- 6x8
- 6x11
- 9x12
- 12x12
- 12x18
- 12x19
[edit] Cintiq
The Cintiq is a graphics tablet that incorporates an LCD into the tablet itself. It is designed to be completely flat, so that users can work with rulers, protractors, etc right on the screen. This is in its second generation.
[edit] Technology
Wacom tablets use a patented electromagnetic resonance technology. Since the tablet provides power to the pen through resonant coupling, no batteries or cords are required. As a result, there are no batteries inside the pen that will run down and need to be replaced, creating a long and virtually maintenance free lifespan.
Under the tablet’s surface (or LCD in the case of the Cintiq) is a grid of wires that transmits a send and receive signal. In send mode, the tablet’s electromagnetic signal stimulates oscillation in the pen’s coil-and-capacitor circuit. In receive mode, the energy of the resonant circuit’s oscillations in the pen is detected by the tablet’s grid. This information is then analyzed by the computer to determine the pen’s position. In addition, the pen communicates other vital information, such as pressure-sensitivity, side-switch status, tip or eraser orientation and Tool ID. For example, applying more or less pressure to the tip of the pen changes the value of the pen’s timing circuit capacitor. This signal change is communicated to a modulator which distributes the information digitally to the tablet. The tablet forwards this and other relevant information (pen position, side-switch status, Tool ID, etc.) in packets, up to 200 times per second, to the computer.
In addition to the tablets, Wacom also creates the technology used in most TabletPCs, called "Penabled technology".
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- (English) Wacom Co., Ltd.
- (English) Wacom Technology & World Wide sites
- (English) Wacom Europe
- (English) Wacom Asia Pacific
- (English) Wacom Asia Pacific Community Sponsored by Wacom's Asia Pacific Division for Asia Pacific artists, the Community features Community Galleries for users to upload artwork and photos, contests, a pro corner with articles, and a goodies section with downloads and other fun items.
- (English) Linux WACOM Project. The "Linux Wacom" team has made fully-functional, easy-to-install drivers which support most Wacom products.
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