XPPen Deco LW Bluetooth Drawing Pad Review: Great alternative to Wacom Intuos

 

It's a common question in photography and digital art groups: “Should I get a drawing tablet?” The benefits of using a tablet are many, including health benefits.

Drawing tablets offer consumers a welcome alternative to a traditional mouse. Using a mouse can be like trying to draw with a bar of soap, requiring lots of repositioning and repetitive movements.

By contrast, Graphics tablets are designed to provide a more natural experience, similar to touching pen to paper. The tablet represents your computer monitor in a one-to-one relationship, so that a stroke of the pen translates to a matching line on the screen.

The pen that comes with the Graphic tablet is pressure-sensitive, allowing you to make fine lines or bold strokes by varying how hard you press.

It's also more comfortable to use for long periods. you can rest your arm/hand in a more natural position and it is easier on your wrist.

Drawing tablets are great for creative activities, from sketching to drawing to photo retouching. They also offer a unique opportunity to integrate handwriting with digitised documents.

With it, you can record yourself online using your webcam and Zoom while writing with the digital pad on your your laptop screen. which provide a better online teaching and writing experience!

Use a Pen tablet to add a handwritten signature to a typed letter, jot down quick notes, or mark up a document. You can leave your handwriting as is, or automatically convert it into typewritten text.

The screen drawing pad is objectively better in every concievable way over the non-screen versions, Drawing directly on the screen is really nice to have, and it is highly functional if you're on a budget.

The non-screen tablets are by no means bad in any way, and It's actually a lot more handy than you would think.

It's actually not hard but in the beginning there will be a learning curve. The key is to keep your eyes on the screen instead of looking down at the tablet.

10 years ago I'd have recommended Wacom every time, within all budget ranges. But now they have competitors that are absolutely comparable.

Think about wacom like if they were apple from the drawing tablets market... their products are good, but super overpriced when compared with the quality of the other brands that have been entering the market.

From personal experience XP-Pen is my favourite, wide variety of price points and models, screen and non-screen.

XPPen are a good brand for beginners on a budget, The price of an XP-PEN is significantly more affordable compared to a Wacom device with almost identical specifications.

Review

XPPen's latest Deco L & Deco LW graphics tablet is a professional model aimed at professionals rather than consumers. it's a type of drawing tablet without screen.

This is my 2nd XPPen device, bought because I wanted a wireless option vs dragging cables around with me. And this new X3 Chip pen technology appealed to me.

When I decided I wanted to upgrade my tablet, my biggest concern was: Is it worth it to go from XPPen Star G640 to XPPen Deco LW? Is it a significant improvement, or should I save money for a XPPen Artist instead?

XPPen Deco L & Deco LW is available in a choice of four colours (Black, blue, green, or pink) and two versions (normal Deco L model or Deco LW which support wireless connection via bluetooth v5.0 ).

Both versions include a cordless pen, and has a 10＂x 6＂large active area for use on the tablet. The XPPen Deco L & Deco LW package also comes with a collection of popular design software -- Zoner Photo Studio X photo editing software, Explain Everything whiteboard software and ArtRage Lite digital painting program.

The normal XPPen Deco L model, at $69.99, is the best value in the line, taking into account these extra goodies. The XPPen Deco L Bluetooth model costs $89.99.

Unboxing

For the price they are charging, it's good to see a good number of items included.

In the box you get a tablet and pen, USB-A to USB-C cable, USB-A to USB-C adapter, USB-A to Micro USB adapter, paper documentation, Bluetooth Receiver, plus ten spare identical nibs and a metal nib-remover, though unlike the other XPPen Deco models there's no pen holder to store these in.

I like that it includes adapters for micro USB and USB-C so you can use it right away with mobile and other devices.

Design

The two XPPen Deco L & Deco LW tablets are thin, lightweight and stylish. But yet feels solid due to a high-quality plastic build.

The 8 short keys are located next to the working surface, useful for accessing frequent keystrokes or launching selected applications.

On the back of the tablet are four tiny rubber feet. Without these, the tablet would surely slide around your desktop.

The X3 Elite Stylus is sleek and comfortable. It features two buttons that can be set to a choice of functions, or to which you can assign a custom pop-up menu of your favourite commands.

Compatiblity

XPPen designed the Deco L & Deco LW tablet to work across multiple platforms, and the level of support is excellent. XPPen Deco L & Deco LW model is now compatible with Chrome OS, Windows, Mac and select Android devices.

There are a good number of apps that support the XPPen Deco L & Deco LW and all of its available features. ArtRage, Photoshop, Illustrator, SAI, GIMP, Krita, MediBang Paint, Clip Studio Paint, FireAlpaca, and Sketchbook all support pressure sensitivity and shortcut functionality.

Bluetooth

The XPPen Deco LW has a wireless adapter which determines the range and the stableness of the connection. I love not having even more cables on my desk!

While using Bluetooth, it was still very responsive, but I did have an occasional jitter. It wasn't often at all, and it didn't really affect me at all.

I've found the battery life to be more than enough for long editing sessions (a few days or more if I don't use it constantly all day) and the recharge times to be good (I do admit that I charge overnight usually if needed).

The tablet can also be used plugged in via USB while charging, so you won't miss any pen time. As far as Bluetooth connection, I haven't experienced any lag nor did I have any issue with the initial connection.

Working Surface

10＂x 6" working area seem the perfect compromise between larger workspace, portability, and affordability to me, and I haven't regretted the choice.

I personally prefer this 10＂x 6" size as you can draw more freely. Working for long hours on the small Star G640 tablet makes my wrist hurt. Have to zoom in/out a lot.

The tablet surface has a slight texture to it too, probably to allow some kind of feedback whilst drawing.

A lot of people on Internet said that the surface scratches easily (in like a week or two of use). They said the same thing about the Star G640 – didn't happen to any of my tablets.

All you have to do to avoid this is change the pen pressure levels, make it more sensitive, so that you don't need to put much pressure on the pen.

Another thing you can do to further protect the surface is to put a paper on top of it, it actually feels pretty cool!

Stylus

The pen itself is the usual XPPen design and is light, easy to use and features 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Thanks to XPPen's electro magnetic resonance technology, this pen will never need a battery. Build quality is also very solid and

While not unpleasant to hold, it's made of hard matt plastic and its contours are straight – a far cry from the PA2' (PA2 Stylus was designd for XP-Pen Artist Pro series) soft-touch, moulded effort.

Unlike Star G640's pen, the Deco LW' digital pen has a tilt angle of up to 60 degrees (which can be very useful when using certain brushes, if you're into them).

This pen uses the new X3 Smart Chip and only have a reduced initial activation force to just 3g. So the stylus has a very low actuation point which is super nice to have. You can draw thin lines very easily by applying minimal pressure.

Installation

Installation is no problem. In fact, when I plugged this into my PC, it worked straight away!

The provided USB-C cable is nice and thin too, which cuts down on the bulk of the device. you can plug in the wireless (bluetooth) connector if you want to be totally portable from your Mac or Windows Laptop.

If you are a new user of XPPen graphic tablet, you need download the correct tablet driver from XPPen official website ( https://www.xp-pen.com/product/1168.html ) and install them on your computer.

XPPen Deco LW' driver lets you customize pen pressure in a more effective way – which you should do! It also allows you to configure it differently for general use and for drawing-software use!

The driver allows you to change the functionality of the buttons on the pen and the buttons on the pad. Even better, you can customize the buttons for particular programs. Being able to map my keyboard shortcuts to individual buttons is a huge assist to my workflow.

Use experience

The XPPen Deco LW had a very natural pen on paper feel which I liked a lot. Working Surface is not sensitive to fingers therefore it can't be used without a pen.

For working with photographs, the precision and ease of a pen beats a mouse any day. This tablet is excellent to edit photos in photoshop. I love having Photoshop for color editing and layer effects.

The pressure sensitivity allows me to alter the brush size or opacity just by pressing harder or lighter on the tablet as I draw. and responds well to various amounts of pressure. The pressure sensitivity is a little hit or miss depending on the program.

Combined with the natural feel of the pen, this allows me to make photograph alterations involving hand-drawn layer masks and dodging/burning with ease.

Actions that would have required multiple brush size changes, opacity changes, and tons of clicks of a mouse can literally be done in a single stroke with a tablet.

I highly recommend getting a tablet if your mouse makes you frustrated while editing photographs.

If you are straight into Drawing/Illustration or also Animation, Clip Studio Paint and Paint tool SAI are (in my personal opinion) just a lot better than photoshop. because the brush engine for lineart on both of them put photoshop to shame.

Paint tool SAI runs better, has less options, I use it for 'no frills' cartoon stuff, doodles, very quick basic editing.

Also i use clip studio paint for all the comic features, specially vertical ones, timelapse, you name it. CSP focuses solely on art/illustration, so does not have all the photo editing tools that PS does (such as liquify tool, spot healing etc). If you are interested in making webtoon/manga/comics CSP is great for that too.

The Deco LW tablet handles it just fine, which works amazingly with csp and SAI, can't recommend it enough!

I have included a drawing that I did with this tablet in clip studio paint software.

Conclusion

In the end, I decided the XPPen Deco LW was a worthy upgrade and kept it. I love this tablet! It works so well and is a great price!

However, I am convinced that one can achieve the same level and complexity of artwork in both tablets.

Considering the Star G640 tablets are usually less than half the price of a Deco LW, if you have a budget or if you'd rather save some money, go with the Star G640, it's going to serve you well.

Now if you can spare the extra moneys then I do recommend the XPPen Deco line, the Deco LW is a really, really good tablet and I don't regret getting it for one second!

XPPen has good tech support given and it has a 18 months manufacturer warrenty.

Buy it from XPPen US official store: https://www.storexppen.com/buy/deco-lw.html

7 Best Drawing Pads for Photo Editing, Photoshop and Gimp

 

Photographers, Graphic designers and digital illustrators would agree that a drawing tablet makes the work easier and more fun.

When looking at photos taken by professional photographers, it's important to understand that they were post-processed.

Experienced photographers know how to fine-tune colors, edit the background or remove unwanted objects.

Today, almost all professional photo retouchers and graphic designers use graphic tablets for editing photos.

I have been using a XP-Pen Drawing Pad for about 5 years now. The degree to which it has impacted my Photoshop work is so high that I just couldn't go back to using a mouse.

I love my graphics tablet and as much as I'd like to encourage all photographers and creative professionals to run out and buy one.

Whether you're looking for a drawing tablet with a large drawing area, or one that's smaller and lighter; an expensive tablet or one that's most affordable, you're sure to find the best fit in this article.

Popular Photo editing software

If you stick with photography for any length of time, even as a beginner/hobbyist, you'll eventually end up with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are the best-in-class photo editing software, but it also comes with a hefty price tag and an annoying subscription model.

If you are a graphic design professional, that price might be negligible considering how much your time is worth, but for people who are more of a hobbyist, the Adobe subscription is a bit much.

For beginners and amateurs who do not wish to invest in a paid software, they can turn to Gimp, the free equivalent of Photoshop, or Photofiltre, this easy-to-use photo software that allows you to retouch your pictures with a really specialized software, as you would do with Photoshop.

Gimp is among the very best free image processing programs one can find. Its capable of doing almost anything Photoshop can do. but the lack of cmyk support does kinda get in the way.

You can also Check out darktable and RawTherapee. Both are free open source Raw editors, and have almost the same functionality as Lightroom.

What is a graphics tablet?

A graphics tablet (a.k.a pen tablet or drawing tablet), just like a mouse, is an alternative input device that allows the user to interact with a computer using a stylus.

The device consists of two main parts: a flat surface that is mapped to your screen and a stylus. The image is shown on the computer monitor.

The drawing tablet with a screen, also known as a pen display tablet, is a tablet that has the obvious benefit of seeing what you create on the screen.

Benefits of drawing tablet for photo editing

It provides a more natural input for activities like photo retouching, drawing and digital painting because it emulates the way you draw with pencils on paper.

graphics tablets unlock new potential with the brush tool in Photoshop. Rather than having to continually change brush sizes, a tablet uses pen pressure. Just like when you are drawing on paper, the harder you press will alter the look of the brush stroke. This is exceptionally efficient when making adjustments to layer masks or dodging and burning.

If you dodge and burn or use luminosity masks its a must have to use a pen NOT a MOUSE. You will be able to target the important points of the photograph with your stylus, and correct the image, not in a global way, but by selecting each element independently of the others, in order to lighten, darken, or perform any advanced effects, on a fragment of the shot in particular. This makes image editing easier and faster.

For drawing paths with the pen tool or lasso tool a tablet is a hand saver so much faster, personally I wouldn't even begin to edit without one.

Think of making smooth Unnoticeable transitions of light vs stamped circles of light. even using LR filters with a pen is less effort.

Pen Tablets are absolute positioning devices while mice are of the relative positioning variety. Simply put, this means is that you may have to move your mouse several times to get the cursor from one side of the screen to the other. With tablets all you have to do is just place your pen on the device's surface and your cursor position will be mapped precisely to your screen.

Drawing tablets are more intuitive and ergonomic, offering for a more pleasant experience for those not only wanting to reduce the chance of developing repetitive strain injuries but especially for individuals who already have carpal tunnel syndrome, for example.

Most drawing tablets enable you to customize buttons on the tablet and on the stylus to perform certain actions. This can be a huge time-saver, especially when you need to frequently switch back and forth between tasks.

For these reasons, professional photographers, as well as experienced amateurs, can no longer do without their drawing tablet for image processing.

And so whether you're using Photoshop, Affinity Photo, Paint.Net, Photofiltre or Gimp, you'll probably find it surprisingly intuitive.

How to choose a drawing tablet for photo editing and photoshop?

Display vs Non-Screen

The distinction between display drawing tablets and graphics drawing tablets is pretty much self-explanatory. You may use the display drawing tablets to draw on their own screen.

You may don't need a graphics tablet with a screen, but they can improve the accuracy of your Photoshop work, depending on your technique.

If you do want one, you will be looking at a significantly increased cost, although it is possible to get a relatively cheap drawing tablet with screen, such as the XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro, if you are more budget limited.

For tablets with a screen, pay attention to the color gamut (a wider color gamut is always better), the size, and the resolution.

Size

Large drawing tablets provide a larger drawing surface to work with, however as their size grows larger, the device's portability suffers.

You have more portability with compact tablets. If you're searching for a tablet that's small and portable, these may well be the ones for you. There are also medium-sized drawing tablets to choose from.

For most photographers, a smaller tablet is more than sufficient. as it means you can move the cursor with smaller strokes of the pen. You can always zoom into a photo for higher drawing accuracy.

However, if you have space (and the money), then perhaps you might see an advantage in using a larger tablet.

Pen Pressure sensitivity

The sensitivity of the pen ranges from 2048 to 8192 levels. the harder you press on the stylus, the greater the pressure level identified and the thicker the line.

Beginners should look for a tablet that has at least 2048 pressure levels.

You may have a more natural and hands-on photo editing experience with higher degrees of pressure sensitivity, but for some people, it might not be as noticeable.

Tilt sensitivity

It is a vastly more precise input mechanism , Tilt Sensitivity is a digital tablet feature that allows the device to perceive the angle of the digital pen over the tablet surface.

The tilt function replicates what you get with a real world brush or pencil. The pen angle is useful when using certain brushes. In general use, the tilt will not affect your work.

Stylus Type

Battery-powered styluses are usually thicker so that they can accommodate the battery, which can make them feel too large for small hands.

Rechargeable styluses need charging like your phone or laptop.

EMR styluses employ an innovative electromagnetic frequency that transfers power to the pen wirelessly right from the tablet, so there's no need to charge it.

EMR powered digital pens are more common than you think. This technology could be seen in stylus from all the major brands such as Wacom, XP-Pen, Ugee , etc.

Resolution

Resolution refers to how many lines per inch (LPI) the tablet's display has & how much it can detect from the stylus. The higher the LPI, the more detail you can add to your drawings.

Responsiveness

Responsiveness refers to the speed at which the lines that you're drawing show up on the screen. In most cases this is instantaneous. But it all depends on the tablet's drivers and your computer's specs (CPU, GPU, RAM).

Controls and shortcut keys

Shortcut keys are helpful for digital artists of all skill levels. With these buttons, you have a more efficient workflow as they allow you to quickly browse any software or feature you use regularly. Shortcut buttons also allow you to change the size of the brush.

These buttons are often adjustable and may be modified. The more shortcut buttons, the more navigation options you get and that in turn results in a smoother workflow.

The best drawing tablets for photo editing

Choosing the best drawing pad for photo editing & retouching , though, isn't easy, because there are so many of them about. In this article, then, I'll narrow your choices down to the absolute best buys.

If you are not familiar with XP-Pen yet, you should know that the brand is one of the most popular manufacturers of graphics tablets.

XP-Pen has become very popular with designers and photographers in recent years. They create quality products at affordable prices.

XP-Pen manufactures professional graphics tablets, pen display monitors and Stylus Pens.

Whether you're a beginner, a professional graphic designer, or a photographer retouching headshots in photoshop the best XP-Pen tablets are listed below and consist of various models.

1. XP-Pen Deco Mini7w Wireless

XP-Pen Deco Mini 7w is currently one of the most value for money drawing tablets in the market.

The tablet is available in two variants – wired and wireless ( via 2.4 GHz wireless receiver ). Xp-Pen Deco Mini 7 is the wired version, whereas the Deco Mini 7W (wireless) works in both wired and wireless modes.

This digital drawing tool comes with a 7 x 4.37 inches active drawing area and 9.3mm thick. The tablet feels more on the premium end and has a nice surface-like feel to it.

The battery-free Stylus has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity with tilt function support, a silicone grip, and 10 durable pen nibs. Now you can forget about having to charge your tablet before use!

It has 8 customizable express key shortcuts along the top of the tablet that can be customized as you see fit. For example, you could map the ‘undo' or ‘export' command to an express key on the tablet.

It connects to your Mac, Windows, Linux, Android or Chromebook via USB and is fully compatible with such photo editing software as Gimp, Photoshop, Lightroom, Affinity Photo, Paint.Net, and Photofiltre.

This tablet is a perfect starting ground for any photo editor or digital artist. Its small size is ideal for travel or limited desk space.

2. XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW Bluetooth

This is one of the most advanced pro-spec tablets XP-Pen has ever introduced which has a very slim profile with a stylish design.

XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW comes in four gorgeous colors to fit your personal style: Black, Blus, Green, and Pink.

Additionally, the manufacturers have provided you the option of selecting between plain ( Deco L ) or Bluetooth ( Deco LW ) featured models.

Its 10 x 6 inches drawing area enables you to have more space to edit your photos and create your drawings.

This Stylus uses the new X3 Smart Chip, It draws smoother, more accurate lines, and the initial activation got upgraded significantly force to just 3g as it takes less pressure to initiate a line.

The eight buttons are entirely programmable and can be customized to control whatever function you want to in whatever apps you use.

The tablet enable superior pen input action for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and Chromebook devices.

This tablet is very well suited to be used as a photo editing tablet, with its support for the most-used photo editing software Adobe Photoshop as well as several other photo editing softwares that photographers use.

3. XP-Pen Deco Pro MW & SW Bluetooth

This drawing tablet is the best non-screen tablet from XP-Pen!

Slim, stylish design. aluminium build, and it feels extremely durable.

It provides wireless capabilities in models Deco Pro SW & MW that have Bluetooth support.

The drawing tablet comes in two sizes, i.e., small and medium. The active area for small and medium variants is 9 x 5 inches and 11 x 6 inches, respectively.

It's easy to configure the 8 Shortcut Keys and 2 innovative dial wheels to your preferred workflow setup.

It comes with a battery-free stylus PA1 with an impressive 8192 pressure sensitivity.

Moreover, the tilt function support makes the digital stylus draw as natural as a normal pencil.‍

When you use the pen at a slant angle, it changes the behavior of the strokes from a normal line to shaded ones.

This tablet for photo editing and color grading may become an indispensable device for professional designers.

4. XP-Pen Artist 12 2nd Gen

If you need a budget drawing tablet with a built-in screen that offers a premium experience, XP-Pen Artist 12 2nd Generation might be for you.

The Artist 12 2nd comes in four interesting color options, including Black, Green, Pink, and Blue.

The XP-Pen Artist 12 2nd Gen features a gorgeous 11.6-inch display plus a Simple and stylish body, light and portable.

Its 1920x1080 FHD IPS-display boasts 16.7 million colours and a colour gamut of 94% Adobe RGB, allowing you to view and edit your images in crisp, lifelike detail.

The lack of parallax combined with a fully laminated display was very appealing to designers and photographers.

Artist 12 2nd is equipped with the latest X3 chip, this chip makes the pen more sensitive to your strokes by increasing IAF sensitivity.

It also makes the overall experience more realistic as the X3 technology reduces the response distance to 0.6mm. That's two times better than the regular XP Pen and most active pens on the market.

Finally, the eight additional shortcut keys allow you the flexibility to quickly access commonly used functions.

5. XP-Pen Artist Pro 16TP

That high-end tablet features a beautiful 15.6-inch 4K UHD display, delivering images on a new level of detail and clarity.

Its IPS display provides class-leading color accuracy of 92% Adobe RGB, allowing you to fuel your creativity with vibrant colors and stunning visuals as you edit.

XP-Pen Artist Pro 16TP is manufactured with matte, anti-glare screen surface that are easy to use in bright light.

The display is laminated so there's no gap between the pen tip and the line it creates.

It has an additional multi-touch feature and gesture support.

Battery-free stylus with a digital eraser at the end: XP-PEN advanced PH2 passive pen was made for a traditional pencil-like feel.

The pen has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity with 60 degrees of tilt, which allow you to create fine and hard strokes with ease.

What all this means is that the Artist Pro 16TP is the best premium 4K XP-Pen tablet there is right now. And while that may or may not be overkill for your photo editing needs, it is a very, very nice tablet.

6. XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro

The XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro tablet is an absolute powerhouse for all photographers.

Enjoy 21.5 inches of space to create your masterpieces when you use this impressive tablet.

With a color accuracy of 88% NTSC and a FHD resolution of 1920 x 1080, this tablet fully meets the boldest expectations.

It include a PA2 pen which has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition, allowing for ultimate creative control and instant reproduction of your movements.

This stylus offers an integrated and ergonomic grasp. The pen is battery-free and doesn't require charging since it's a EMR tablet.

It includes 2 red dial wheels and 20 hotkeys. The touch ring can be adjusted to canvas zooming, page scrolling (zoom in/out), and brush adjusting.

The 20 shortcut keys allow you the flexibility to quickly access commonly used functions.

This tablet also comes with a stand that helps to prevent the screen from shaking.

7. XP-Pen Artist 24

XP-Pen Artist 24 offers the ability to sketch and edit directly on its built-in screen.

The 23,8″ display is a great size, as it will make you feel like editing on a sheet of large canvas.

The Resolution is 2K resolution, 2560 X 1440, which means you have amazing details while drawing even with such a big display size.

Colour reproduction is excellent with support up to 94% Adobe RGB. So this tablet is definitely fit for high end print production work where you need to compare printed proofs.

Moreover, XP-Pen has included a great PA6 battery-free stylus that you can easily set up to mimic multiple pens and brushes in a vast amount of colors.

The pen utilizes first-class accuracy and pressure sensitivity to make you feel like using a real pen. This is very important for photographers.

The Artist 24 proves to be a great editing tool for photo-editing with software like Photoshop, GIMP, or Affinity Photo.

The Artist 24 has a lot to offer to anyone who uses it. Although this device is perfect for students and beginner photographers, it is also an excellent choice for professionals.

Conclusion

Drawing and graphics tablets are very useful for creatives. Whether you are a photographer, designer or artist, the XP-Pen drawing tablets could be the device you need.

The drawing tablet has to be connected to a Windows or Mac device. However, you can also connect some special models to your Android smartphone or tablet via an OTG adapter. For this reason, it could be portable to use on the go.

I use my XP-Pen Deco Pro graphics tablet for all my Photoshop stuff because it makes my work so much easier and fun and just gives me that great feeling of human to pixel connection (similar to how painters feel the connection to their brushes, painting surface and paints).

As an artist this just goes a long way, at least for me. Masking, making selections, painting etc with a graphics tablet is an amazing experience. I love it!

I'd love to hear from you guys, so let me know down in the comment section what you use, what your experience is, how these devices have benefited you etc. Of course questions are more than welcome!

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-5899.html

Best budget graphic drawing tablet for digital note taking

 

Note Taking, though it sounds simple, is a task without which many things will go haywire. Whether you are a student, a businessman, or just anyone attending a seminar, you are bound to make notes for future reference.

Note Taking has traditionally been done using paper and pen. But with the advancement of digital technology, there's a shift of population from pen and paper to laptop or a digital device. It is also a skill for which you can be expected to get paid.

Gone are the days when notes and pens were mandatory; now, laptops or digital tablets with stylus are preferred to take notes.

A perfect device for note-taking does not really require expensive and top-notch specifications. However, a few basic specifications and configurations are essential.

When you think of a device to take notes, it must be something convenient and easy to carry. It must also have a decent battery life not to have to look for a plug point instead of writing.

Stylus pens have gotten increasingly more precise in the last few generations of tablets, and can pick up even the finest lines you put down. For digital artists, designers, students, editors, even anyone putting together a presentation for the office, these are an invaluable tool for boosting productivity and making your work look great.

Benefits of Digital note-taking

Digital note-taking has a lot of advantages over its physical counterpart. Firstly, less paper is used therefore it is better for the environment.

Anyone who is in school has probably experienced having mountains of notebooks piling up. Not only do they require hundreds of trees to be cut down, but also take a lot of space, which can be avoided by simply having a laptop and a drawing tablet.

Digital notes are also easier to search, making studying or projects easier.

Moreover, all your notes for every subject will be in one place for convenient usage. Even if you don't have your laptop with you, you can still view them by uploading them to the Cloud.

So you don't lose important information when a traditional paper notebook or sticky note accidentally ends up in the trash or goes missing.

Note Taking apps support Handwriting with stylus

Note Taking apps let you capture your ideas and stick them somewhere useful. That way, no matter what you need to know and no matter where you are, you can pull up the information you need.

There are literally hundreds of note-taking apps on the market. A lot of them are free, or at least provide a free trial.

If you are searching for the app to make note with your stylus for tablet, then OneNote, Evernote, Google Keep, Notability, Goodnotes, Xournal++, and Squid is the most appropriate option for you.

Portable standalone tablet with stylus for note taking

The thought of writing down every word on your tablet with a screen keyboard appeared tedious.

The solution is a tablet with a stylus with installed note-taking apps, high-efficiency technology, and advanced intelligent styluses.

If you're looking for the perfect tablet for taking notes, ipad air, ipad pro, Microsoft Surface Pro, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Huawei MediaPad Pro, and Xiaomi Mi Pad Pro are the best choice.

Some tablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab come packaged with compatible styluses so you can get to work right away, while others like the Apple iPad Pro, surface pro require additional purchases for peripherals.

Tablets make it easy to take notes on the go and provide almost as much computing power as a laptop. But It's more expensive than the laptops.

Graphic drawing tablet for note taking

If you think an iPad is kinda pricey as of now and you're looking for a budget-friendly tablet with digital pen to achieve your dream handwritten digital notes on your laptop then you can try the graphic tablet.

Also often called a drawing tablet or a pen tablet, “graphic tablet” is really a blanket term for a touch technology that uses a stylus that, when used to draw on the tablet's surface, will translate the strokes from your tablet on to your computer.

There are two different types of tablets for drawing, pen tablets and pen display monitors . Pen tablets are simpler drawing pads that need to be connected to a PC with screen monitor to display your work. While pen display monitors allows you drawing directly on the tablet screen.

Both Mac and Windows are able to properly support handwriting recognition and indexing. Being able to index an dynamically search your handwritten notes and diagrams is a unique and spectacular advantage when you're dealing with months' worth of scatter-brained thoughts.

The drawing tablets offer support for Windows and Mac platforms, some newly models now compatible with selected Android and Chromebook devices.

A drawing tablet usually comes with a stylus, which is closely related to a pen in shape. They are generally much easier and more comfortable to hold in your hand than a mouse, and they allow for an incredible degree of precision in your work.

The kind of precision that writing utensils bring, compared to fingers, is a chasm of difference. That is the appeal of using a stylus.

Most digital pens of drawing tablet come With EMR technology, the stylus will never die and never need recharging. It's designed to feel comfortable in the hands, with a natural feel in the way it writes.

Thousands of individuals use Drawing tablet for NON-artistic purposes. Think note-taking, CAD, medical imaging, teaching, presentations, annotating, signatures, people who can't use mice due to repetitive strain, etc.

Not only is this device perfect for note taking, it is also excellent for many other intensive applications such as graphic design and digital art. Most people will have no problems with the performance, so we highly recommend that you go for it.

graphics tablets such as XP-Pen brand have up to 8192 different levels of pressure sensitivity. With 8192 levels of pressure, you'll not only be able to take advantage of note-friendly applications such as Notability (Mac) and OneNote (Windows), but programs with dedicated graphic tablet support (Photoshop, Sketchbook, etc).

With a stylus, you can tilt the pen, and move your hand and wrist into a natural drawing position. This allows you to have much more control over the strokes that you make. You can literally sketch with your computer.

4 Best drawing tablets for note taking

You can easily write your thoughts on OneNote and other note taking apps with digital pen tablet, write papers on Word and organize your files, among other productivity tasks.

The drawing tablet enables you to have one powerful laptop that runs everything. Whether it's for painting, sketching, whiteboard writing, online classes, taking notes, annotating PDF/PPT documents or productive zoom meetings. Having a drawing tablet next to your Laptop can help you a lot.

If you just want a graphics tablet for note-taking, no Ipad, I say buy a xp-pen tablet, you don't need some expensive wacom tablet if all you're gonna do is take notes, it would be a total waste of money to buy the expensive tablet just take notes.

XP-Pen provides a cheap and great alternative to Wacom when it comes to drawing tablets for note taking.

1. XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640

There's not a whole lot to this XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640 tablet but it's a great entry-level device.

With an active surface measuring just 4 x 3 inches / 6 x 4 inches it's not great for really detailed work but combine the high resolution 5080LPI with a pen that supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and you can still create quite sophisticated work.

The pen is comfortable to hold and its battery-free which delivers a high-quality e-writing experience. The feel of pen on the surface is surprisingly good for such a cheap device, with just the right amount of drag, and the accuracy is spot on.

If you're serious about your art or design work you'll want something bigger but this compact, lightweight option is just fine for people starting out. and It can be carried around and used on the go!

2. XP-Pen Deco Fun XS / S / L

XP-Pen offers the following 3 sizes in it's “Deco Fun” line: 4.8 x 3″, 6.3 x 4″ , 10 x 6.27″. Available in four colors: Classic Black, Apple Green, Space Blue, and Carmine Red.

The battery-free pen has a 8192 pen pressure levels and 60 degrees tilt sensitivity which is comfortable to use and feels like a pen on paper. Deco Fun XS Version doesn't support the tilt function.

This tablet is simple to set up, you don't need any external power adapter, just plug it in the USB port of your PC using the USB cable provided and you are good to go.

Valid for Chrome OS, Windows , macOS, Linux and Android operating system. You can use this device with your favourite note taking apps like OneNote, Evernote, Google Keep and Xournal++.

XP-Pen Deco Fun XS / S / L tablet itself doesn't have any customizable buttons. However, the pen has 2 buttons that you can customize for tasks such as scrolling or erasing.

3. XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7

XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 is a great budget device and has a compact size ( 4 x 3 inches / 7 x 4.37 inches active drawing area ) which is perfect for limited desktop areas.

It also has 6 / 8 customizable Expresskeys for keyboard shortcuts such as undo, copy/paste etc.

As for the pen, it has 8,192 pressure levels and “tilt recognition” to provide a natural drawing experience ( Deco Mini4 Version doesn't support this tilt function ). The pen also has programmable buttons for easy access to your favourite shortcuts.

XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 tablet works with Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android and Chrome OS devices. ideal for online tutoring, distance education, zoom meetings, editing of documents, photos, videos etc.

If you'd like to minimise the cables trailing across your desktop, the Deco Mini7w Wireless version is a great option. It connects via 2.4Ghz radio-frequency connection rather than a USB cable.

4. XP-Pen Artist 12

Artist 12 tablet is the cheapest pen display model XP-Pen has produced yet. It has a 11.6 inch FHD display with 72% NTSC Color gamut.

Meanwhile, on the display you get six customisable buttons and a touch bar. so you can program a greater number of shortcuts in your display tablet.

The battery-free pen has 8192 pressure levels and a digital eraser at the end. Moreover, this pen uses software to act as multiple pens and brushes in a full range of colours, with superb accuracy.

One can easily sketch or paint directly on screen, draw diagrams, annotate documents, enhance photos and videos with ease using this tablet.

Note that, XP-Pen Artist 12 is not a standalone device. You'll need a USB port, HDMI port on your PC to connect. it can get power from the laptop or from power socket.

If you need a screen fully laminated, tilt senstivity, more sharper with better colour accuracy. you can have a look at XP-Pen Artist 12 2nd Generation or Artist 12 Pro version tablet.

Final Words

Note-taking tablets allow you to jot down ideas and questions quickly, holding a stylus gives you far more control over what you are doing.

If any of the above-mentioned tablets tick the boxes on your list, you are good to go.

Getting used to using a non-screen graphics tablet can be challenging, so don't be disheartened if you aren't getting it perfect first time round. It takes time and practice and once you try out a few of these tips, you might find that you improve a bit quicker.

This article should help you to find the best tablet and stylus to make your note-taking and your life that much better.

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-5614.html

Top 12 Best Free Note Taking Apps & Software for Students

 

Note-taking is one of the best habits anyone can instill. The mere act of writing whatever you learn in lectures, seminars, and even life in general, can have a profound impact on your life.

Taking notes manually on a book can for lectures or organizing ideas and important things can be quite difficult. Sometimes it isn't easy to modify them or even carry them at our convenience, so having a digital version will be a good option, but what's better than having the option of taking notes and having a digital copy of it.

Note taking is one of the most common needs of individuals as well as teams. which can be something you do for yourself, or something you do with and for others.

There are many note taking apps & software available for Android, iOS , Chrome OS ,Linux, Windows and Mac. Some are dedicated to making simple notes whereas others have extensive features that let you create powerful lists and reports.

Mobile apps have become increasingly popular over the past few years, and note-taking are no exception. More people are now aware of the convenience and portability offered by note-taking apps.

Note-taking apps also offer a paperless way to keep track of ideas, which is great for the environment.

It's now easier than ever to get the benefits of writing on paper without sacrificing the organizational features of digital apps.

You can even use a drawing tablet ( Wacom, XP-Pen.... ) which come with a stylus that allowing you to more accurately and naturally take notes by hand, draw, sketch and write in a note taking application.

To help you choose the ideal app for you, here's the list of the best note-taking apps. Whether you look for a simple app or an all-inclusive tool, there's something of interest for everyone.

This type of application helps to keep the ideas when your head can't, especially, if you don't have a piece of paper within reach. whether for inspiration, ideas, business insights, or even reminders.

With the right note-taking app, you can make notes about anything and sync them to all your devices.

These more advanced apps can work in multiple forms, from trying to replicate the word processing experience, to imitating blank notepads in digital form and so allow for handwriting and sketching.

Additionally, some note apps also include the ability to add images, audio, even video, to your notes, and even share these directly with colleagues and working teams.

1. Evernote

When it comes to note-taking apps, Evernote may come to your mind first.

It's one of the most powerful options around and can handle notes in almost any format you want. You can add text notes, audio clips, images, PDF documents, scanned hand-written pages, Slack conversations, emails, websites, and anything else you can think of.

Evernote takes things a step further with its search functionality. If you upload an image of a sheet of paper, a business card, a menu, a sign, or anything else with text, Evernote automatically processes the image to make it more readable—and then processes the text to make it searchable.

One of its best features for gathering research is the Web Clipper extension (supported in Chrome, Firefox and Safari), which lets you save entire webpages - including text, images and PDFs - with a single click.

Evernote even works with handwritten notes, though with the huge caveat that your writing must be neat enough that a computer can read it.

Using Evernote, you can store everything from personal thoughts and ideas to business projects, and know they're always safe and secure, and easily accessible whenever you need them.

Rated as one of the best apps for taking notes, Evernote auto-syncs across all your devices, and you can invite anyone to collaborate on whatever is on your mind. This versatile note taking app has a range of solutions that fits your needs.

Additionally, audio from your meetings can also be recorded and attached to the meeting note, which is an excellent way to ensure people who couldn't attend the meeting will stay in the loop.

No option to record audio and video directly from Evernote; Images cannot be rotated or cropped in Evernote. No Markdown support. Markdown isn't just for note-taking; it's for faster writing, too.

Available For: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Web. A free version is available. Also there are two paid-for versions: Evernote Premium for individuals, and Evernote Teams for Business. The premium version starts at $7.99 per month.

2. OneNote

OneNote integrates with Outlook and the other MS Office apps like Outlook and Powerpoint. It also handles Excel, Word, and other MS Office attachments better than the other note-taking tools featured here.

The notebook-styled user interface makes it the go-to note-taking app for educators, students, and business people. which organizes all your files and notes into different sections and pages.

Each page in One Note feels like writing on a real piece of paper. You can start writing anywhere on the page, add images, audio files, videos, highlights, notes, to-do lists and much more.

Store your study notes, organize them depending on different subjects, add meeting notes, make to-do lists, or collaborate with friends and peers using One Note's highlighting markups, and annotations features.

It even has a web clipper to add content from around the web and save it directly to your OneNote notebook. That web clipper is good, but it's not as intuitive as Evernote.

It's a powerful tool that enables you to do anything you want with your content. You can draw, add notes, create memos, journal, add sticky notes. All content can be personalized – bold text, italics, strikethrough, lists, link, files, and photo attachments.

​​This app is conveniently hooked up to the cloud so that you can take notes on your laptop and mobile device without losing information.

Compatibility: Browser, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS. It's free, The only slight catch is that you get just 5GB of storage. If you want more, you'll need to take out a Microsoft 365 Business subscription.

3. Google Keep

Part of Google's productivity suite, Keep, is Google's answer to OneNote and Evernote.

Google Keep is the simplest note-taking app on our list, both visually and how it operates. The only downside is its lack of organization features.

There are cross-platform web, iOS, and Android versions, and a handy Chrome extension for saving quick notes and links.

Think of Keep as your place for storing digital post-it notes, with each note dotted around the interface as if they were laid on a table in front of you.

Google Keeps allows users to add notes, audio, photo, shared to-do lists, etc. in one place.

Notes can be given labels, pinned to the top, given a color, paired with reminders and collaborated on in real time.

This note-taking app allows users to quickly filter and search for notes by color and other attributes like lists with images, audio notes with reminders, or shared notes.

Additionally it also offers speech-to-text functionality so you can dictate notes on the go rather than have to write. There's also the ability to set up check boxes for lists to work through.

If you use Google Keep, when you open Gmail / Google Docs / Google Calendar / Google Drive in your browser, there's a little lightbulb icon in the right sidebar. Click it, and you have quick access to all your Google Keep notes.

Most people don't take notes just for the sake of it. Instead, they're done to serve a purpose: keep and set location-based and/or time-based reminders to make sure you never miss a thing

4. Notability

Notability is a powerful note-taker to annotate documents, sketch ideas, record lectures, take notes and more.

This app is available only on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

The app offers a delightful writing experience, yet it also makes it easy to embed images, annotate PDFs, and even record voice memos.

Sketching and drawing in Notability is easy and downright delightful. Being able to doodle and quickly sketch out illustrations is one of our favorite things about taking notes on paper.

Notability does an excellent job of emulating this experience, while also allowing you to do things you can't do on paper such as resizing and moving your drawings.

In addition, Notability includes a variety of flexible layout options. This allows you to, for instance, have a slide or reference material open on one side of the page while you take notes on the other.

And beyond the layout of individual pages, you can also organize your notes using digital “Dividers” (which is perfect if you're used to taking notes in a physical binder).

With iCloud support, your notes are always available on iPad, iPhone and Mac. It also gives you plenty of options for exporting and sharing your notes, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and AirDrop.

Sadly, not all of Notability's functions are free. You will have to pay to create and choose from stickers, convert handwriting to text, and support of mathematical conversions.

5. GoodNotes

GoodNotes ($7.99), like Notability, also has an Editor's Choice Award on the Apple App Store, and it functions quite similarly to Notability, with just a few distinct differences. It's not quite as smooth when writing or sketching, not have audio recording function, but it does have a more robust framework for organizing things.

GoodNotes is impressive and beautiful. It's the obvious choice for anyone who appreciates smart organization and customization options. Plus, you can choose from several built-in note layouts and templates, as well as import your own.

It supports palm rejection, typing and stylus writing, PDF annotation, left-handed users, and can even convert handwritten words into typed text. It also offers wide stylus compatibility, accommodating those who don't prefer the Apple Pencil.

GoodNotes has a shape recognition tool that detects when you draw a shape and makes it look nice and neat (because, let's be honest, nobody can draw a perfect circle). It even works for underlining or highlighting words, so you won't have to worry about them being crooked and making the existing words unreadable.

A great feature is the multiple window feature GoodNotes offers. This feature lets you work on different tabs simultaneously while using a split-screen.

You have the latest GoodNotes version on all your devices (iPad, iPhone, Mac). The notes are also synced via iCloud, and can be backed up to your choice of cloud providers, including Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box.

6. Notion

If you're looking for a note-taking app with personal and collaboration features, then Notion is an amazing option. Unlike most apps, it provides a powerful, database-driven note-taking experience for its users.

Notion bills itself as an all-in-one workplace for notes, writing, project management, collaboration, and more.

It aims to consolidate all the tools writers or creatives might use as their writing app of choice, to-do lists, and even project management tools.

One of the main features that make Notion stand out is its team functionality and real-time collaboration features. It allows your teams to share, add comments, assign tasks, and even set reminders.

Notion allows you to write in on a clean, uncluttered workspace, create your own personal wiki, plan using multiple views, and create spreadsheets and databases to record everything you do.

The app allows users to create customized private or shared workspaces where they can then add versatile "blocks" that act like text snippets, bookmarks, images, toggle links, files, code snippets, discussion sections, and more. And now that it's free for students and teachers to access premium features ( sign up with an academic email address ), many more people will have a good reason to give it a try.

No offline support. Currently, you need to have an internet connection to use Notion.

It's available on Windows, Apple Mac, iOS, and Android. Free for personal users; free trial for team users with a 1,000 block limit; from $10/month/user for teams with unlimited blocks.

7. Simplenote

If the only kind of notes you intend to make are text-based, then you don't need a feature-rich app. Simplenote by Automattic (the same company behind WordPress) is a free note-taking app that syncs to all your devices and comes with no storage limit, but it only supports text.

It's easy to use, lightweight, free, and totally reliable. If you don't need an app that can save images, scanned documents, sketches, and other multimedia, then Simplenote is a very good option.

Simplenote is geared towards those who want to capture and organize text notes. Unfortunately, you can't keep or store webpages and clippings in Simplenote.

Tagging and search tools ensure users can find what they're looking for and notes can be shared or published to others working in the same team or on a project. Simplenote backs up previous versions of documents so it's always possible to revert to an earlier one.

The app doesn't support styluses, PDF annotation, or other power-user features found in other apps.

There are Simplenote apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux and Android. You can also access Simplenote through a web app. It syncs across all your devices for free.

8. Workflowy

WorkFlowy is a simple but powerful app best for structuring your ideas. It allows for creation of transparent lists with subitems, titles, and a description.

In the lists, you can include such items as #hashtags, @mentions, date, note, and check the items from lists. These functionalities are helpful in the search option as they let you quickly find searched notes.

To use WorkFlowy, first, you need to create an account. Moreover, it automatically syncs between your phone, tablet, and computer.

Workflowy takes the idea of an outline to an extreme. Rather than create smaller cards for each of your notes (like a notepad), Workflowy drills further and further down into an outline, creating a hierarchical structure right from the start.

Workflowy offers extreme flexibility. Novelists use to plan books; managers can create quick tasks and checklists to pass onto their team. The bulleted structure within Workflowy is ideal for complex project organization.

Workflowy is available On the web Not only in native apps Windows, Mac, Linux, Android,and iOS.. This service is free and has a monthly limit of 250 new lists and items.

A Pro plan — Remove that limitation and add more customization options, Dropbox backup possibilities, and premium-level support — runs for $ 49 / year, or $ 48 / user. Team placement, Includes management features.

9. Standard Notes

Standard Notes is a free, minimalistic, open-source, and fully encrypted note-taking application.

Standard Notes takes security seriously and has powerful search features. ​Everything you write is encrypted by default and only you can access it.

The user experience is well-thought-out and logical with menuing and settings that are clear. The web-based version performs very well.

It allows you to compose any kind of note, from rich text to Markdown, code and spreadsheet support, themes, expanded backups and cloud storage support.. Standard Notes is faster and lighter than most note taking apps available today.

The only downside is its lack of in-app image hosting. It can't host in-app. You have to save your images elsewhere before you can save it in the app.

Some of its best features are offered through powerful extensions. But unfortunately, these are available only in the premium version.

Its other best feature is multi-platform accessibility I.e. it works on Web, Mac, Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and Linux.

10. Joplin

Joplin is an ambitious app that attempts to replicate an open source, decentralized version of Evernote. That gives users a Markdown formatted note-taking interface organized by notebooks and using your cloud storage services as the sync backbone.

Users can import content from Evernote through .enex files, as well as Markdown content. Sorting and search filters help keep you organized, and there's even an option for end-to-end encryption of your notes. Joplin is also capable of exporting to multiple other formats including HTML and PDF.

One great feature of Joplin is the tag feature. If you've ever wanted to organize notes into multiple categories per note, the tags feature is for you.

The notes are searchable, can be copied, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor.

Joplin can sync your notes between devices through Dropbox, OneDrive (One Drive Business not supported), NextCloud or WebDAV.

Joplin is the best free and open-source note-taking app available, as long as you don't mind managing storage yourself and forgoing a handful of features found in more powerful apps.

Joplinapp application is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS . A Web Clipper, to save web pages and screenshots from your browser, is also available for Firefox and Chrome.

11. Apple Notes

If you're firmly entrenched in Apple's ecosystem, you don't have to look too far for a great, free note-taking app. Notes is best if you're an all-Apple person.

Apple Notes (variously called Notes or iCloud Notes, depending on how you're accessing it) is built into macOS and iOS, and can also be used through your browser. It is free and easy to use.

Once you create a new note, you can add text, attach images, scan documents, draw or handwrite, add checklists, format things into tables, and more. You can add multiple different things to a single note.

It even features an in-built document scanner that can help you save some time every now and again. Its powerful search function will allow you to quickly locate notes and attachments. Share things easily with editing permissions or as view-only.

If you have an iPad or iPad Pro, Notes works with the Apple stylus.

Apple Notes offers solid organization and formatting features, though it lacks Markdown support.

Plus, everything you create is automatically backed up to iCloud, and you can even create voice notes using Siri while you're on the go.

12. Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is a beautifully designed note-taking app which is available across iOS, Android, Mac, Web, Windows & Linux.

Take notes, add files, create checklists, sketches, record audio, and capture moments and all your notes are instantly synced across your devices and to the cloud. You can insert tables and customize colors, filter and search cards, and more.

A safe and secure note taking app for sharing and collaborating between friends and co-workers. 100% free and ad-free across devices.

The mobile app has a built-in sketch feature that you can use to jot down diagrams or notes with your finger or a stylus.

In addition to note taking, Zoho Notebook is also a great app for real-time collaboration. It makes storing and sharing information easy, quick, and manageable.

Like OneNote and Evernote, this note-taking app also has its version of a web clipper. Clip text and images and save them to the same Text Card. Take notes from your browser, or save the whole article. Users can also share their notes through SMS, email, iMessage, and AirDrop.

File cards are stored under Zoho Docs and are allotted a maximum of 5 GB of storage per account. Those who want additional storage can pay for it for a monthly fee.

Conclusion

All of the above note-taking apps will get the job done. And as with most recommendations, you have to figure out what works for you.

Your choice boils down to personal preference and how you like to work or write. Do you want a note-taking app that syncs with your productivity apps?

Or would you simply like a place to record your ideas quickly? And is cost and cross-platform functionality important?

If you want to take lots of handwritten notes with a stylus, OneNote, Notability and GoodNotes maybe the 3 best note-taking app for that overall.

I hope that this list will help you decide on your note-taking app, whether it's on this list or not.

Of course, to benefit from taking notes, you need to make it a habit.

So what are you waiting for? Go try and let us know your experience.

Source：https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-5583.html

7 Best Graphic Drawing Tablets for Architects and Designers

 

Are you an architect that works with AutoCAD you need more control over your free-hand drawings?

Are Graphic Tablets useful for Architects? Does it handle all types of tasks?

Contemplating getting a mobile tablet computer for as on on the go drawing but can't decide which fits your workflow, budget or specifications?

Architecture is one of the fields of activity where computers have given professionals a lot more precision, the ability to work faster and more efficiently.

Computers are a necessity in today's world. It encourage creativity through the use of apps that help in creating digital art like drawing and painting.

If you have a smoothly working laptop with architecture softwares such as Revit, 3dsmax, SketchUP, Archicad, Autocad, Rhino, etc. you may want a drawing tablet that comes with a digital pen to work with it.

As architects, we tend to draw a lot, sketch everything we see in our way, even if it is just drawing trees, people, or just doodling down what seems to be buildings.

But, what if we want to do all of this and put it digitally right away?

There are two ways of doing this, scanning all of your sketches and importing these into photoshop or illustrator software, or doing these sketches directly on a graphic tablet.

The AutoCAD ( also support some other architecture programs, You need to check first ) software fully supports drawing tablet, which enables you to quickly sketch an idea or easily modify parts of your drawing.

what is drawing tablet? and the types?

A graphics tablet is an optional electronic input device for computers, generally used by architects, engineers, artists, and others who want to correctly edit pictures.

Graphics tablets come with a stylus or pen with removable tips and have pressure sensitivity, allowing artists to have more brush stroke variation as determined by how hard they push the pen to the screen.

The Drawing tablets for Architects and Designers work best for those who do a lot of sketching, concept design, rendering or, illustration.

Also, for those used to sketching with a pencil and paper, you will be able to easily pick up the basics of using drawing tablets while advanced users are introduced to a world of deep functionality.

These drawing tablets come in three forms:

Pen Tablets

It includes two main components, i.e., a flat, rectangular pad on which to pull and a stylus applied to locate shapes on the pad.

Simple drawing pads that connect to a computer and are typically less expensive than other options. you will need to see the pc's screen to visualise how your drawing comes out.

They're perfect for beginners or established artists looking for an inexpensive option. Nowadays they tend to be wireless with an internal battery.

Pen displays

As traditional artists usually love the feel of drawing on paper, so the designers have come up with a way to recreate that feeling.

Feature a screen that you draw on but must be connected to a computer to supplement the necessary amount of power. They cost a bit more, but being able to draw directly on your art instead of staring at a computer monitor with your hand on a separate pen pad is really convenient.

A digital drawing tablet with screen allows you to blend your creativity with technology. With a screen that feels like paper-like-texture, you can have a more natural experience drawing.

if you have a slightly higher budget, you should consider choosing display tablets.

Pen computers / All-in-one tablets

Standalone machines that feature HD displays and don't need to be connected to other devices to function. This is often what you'll see high-end professionals working on.

These are the most expensive tablets. One of the biggest advantages of these tablets is that you don't have to attach them to the computer to see your drawings. Furthermore, they are lightweight, making them one of the most portable devices.

What you'll want to keep in mind are the following things：Your screen size requirement, battery life, use case, and what operating system you prefer for use.

Since drawing tablets interact with computers, it gives you access to more intensive architecture software than a mobile app can provide.

Drawing tablets can also have massive displays making it easier to work on the finer details of your work.

However, the trade-off here is that drawing tablets aren't nearly as portable since they either need to be connected to a computer or can be too bulky for easy mobile use.

What Are the Uses of Graphics Tablets in industrial design?

It is almost difficult to describe the use of graphic tablets in a single sentence since they are used instead of a mouse in various ways. They are a necessary tool adopted across a pile of multiple industries and artistic niches.

Graphic tablets use the human hand's fluid motion and physical positioning to its most magnificent power. Utilizing a graphic tablet is as convenient and straightforward as using a pencil, pen, or airbrush.

In industrial design, architects & engineers spend hours in the head of computer screens to build that ideal design. This may increase the need for persuasive drawing devices with unique features to induce their visions to life. The hardware and congenial software are steadily advancing. With the height of the list of new products, it is possible to discard your traditional screen and mouse and move entirely to a graphic tablet.

The one who does many illustrations, concept design, sketching, or rendering work might find a graphic tablet most useful.

They use graphic tablets because the use of a digital pen feels more natural to hold and work. This empowers them to create and design more smoothly and speedily.

Benefits Of Using Graphic Tablets For drawing architecture

One of the great things about having a drawing tablet is that being a architects, you can increase your productivity a lot.

By getting a drawing tablet, you're going to be able to do just what you're doing with pen on paper right on your computer screen.

Architects and designers can rely on it for their ideations and sketches with the help of the pen that comes with it.

The stylus makes the creation more effortless and convenient as everyone is used to keeping a pen or pencil in his or her hand.

Through a stylus, the tablet is used to create complicated shapes and allows a more natural drawing motion than it is possible with a computer mouse.

You're going to be able to draw nice straight lines exactly as you want and waste less time redoing them to look right.

you can zoom in and pinpoint the stylus just where you like it. Your creations will now look 100% like you want them to and you have complete power over the stylus and drawing tablet.

The drawing tablets use pressure detection technology ( This is a unique feature of a drawing tablet and the app used for the purpose ) to trace current images which can storing in a digital format for uses like archiving or retouching.

Writing or drawing extensively with mouse can lead to repetitive stress injuries and even carpal tunnel syndrome. Many Architects and designers suffer from these injuries. Choosing graphic tablets instead of mouse helps in avoiding all these injuries.

The tablet have Functional keys around the active area can be programmed to create shortcuts. This saves time by offering quicker access to the most-used command functions.

If you're excited about the value of getting a drawing tablet, you're going to enjoy working with one!

The 6 best drawing tablet for architects

Plan on getting a new tablet for AutoCAD, SketchUP, Archicad, Revit, 3ds max, photoshop, etc?

Tablets are essential devices when it comes to architecture and construction because without them, making changes to drawings can be a time-consuming task. And so, they make things easier for you.

Wacom drawing tablet models are especially ahead in the industry. But from my experiences, it's true that XP-Pen's products have been getting better over the years to the point where their products could directly compete with Wacom's products, and their price, compared to Wacom's, is relatively cheaper, which means you could possibly get more value with the same budget.

If you are an artist and looking for a compact and powerful drawing device, you must have come across Apple iPad Pro and the Microsoft Surface Pro.

In this article, we list the 6 best tablets for architects, architecture students and construction drawings.

1. Microsoft Surface Pro 7

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a tablet and a laptop at the same time. In other words, you get the best of both worlds.

Because the ability to detach the display from the keyboard makes it a tablet, and putting it back transforms it into a laptop.

So unless you will be doing some serious rendering, then the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a solid option for architecture.

The performance varies because of the different configurations. The most powerful has an Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Whiles the base model has an Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, and 128GB SSD.

The display is bright and beautiful making it easy to be used outdoors. And the build quality is better than the previous version – Surface Pro 6. But, the weight and thinness are still the same.

The stylus of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is one of the things that makes it great for drawing and making changes to the plan. However, it is sold separately and that includes the keyboard.

Its Color Gamut is 97 percent of sRGB ( 72% NTSC / 79% Adobe RGB ), very close to the Standard Gamut. Battery life is decent about 8 hours on average. Good enough for a day's work.

Overall, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is one of the best tablets for architects and construction drawings. It's lightweight and has enough performance to handle architecture software. Highly-recommended.

2. iPad Pro

Brilliant 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion, True Tone, and P3 wide color. which is bright, sharp and has great viewing angles. 5G for superfast downloads and high-quality streaming.

New features include a near edge-to-edge display, a lot more storage space, a 12 megapixels camera for insanely sharp pictures and a 35% faster processor. Apple M1 chip for next-level performance. That means this iPad outperforms many laptops speed-wise.

The iPad Pro 11-inch is compatible with the new second generation Apple Pencil. If you use a stylus a lot – to draw and do more detailed work – the new Apple Pencil has some updates that might interest you. It's technically more advanced meaning it's even more pressure sensitive and will react in absolute unison with your hands movements.

You can also charge it with a magnetic connection, which means it automatically recharges while you're not using it. No need to plug it into your iPad to charge it, which gives it a clear edge over the first generation of Apple Pencils.

Battery life is superb easily able to last over 10-11 hours. However, the stylus pen, keyboard and trackpad are not included in the package. So, you have to make a separate purchase.

A lightweight device that you can take along to construction sites and architectural projects. which lets you easily bring your technical drawings and view their details with the highest accuracy wherever you need to. The Apple iPad although pricey offers much better value and performance than most drawing tablets.

3. XP-Pen Star G640S

The XP-Pen Star G640S is one of the cheapest option, and with a 6.5×4 inches working area, it's also one of the smallest and lightest. That means it's easy to stick in a bag and take on the go.

It has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, which matches that of much more expensive models, and promises to work with Windows, Android , Chromebook, Linux , Mac Operating system and a wide variety of graphics software.

It comes equipped with 6 customizable physical keys and 20 replacement pen nibs. The stylus does not need charging which ensures no disruptions in the middle of work.

XP-Pen Star G640S is ideal for drawing, editing, sketching, animation, and digital signatures.

Because of its size, it's definitely a starter tablet, but if you're just looking for something to begin, then this might be a good product to start.

The Star G640 offers the best drawing pad option for any architects and engineers looking for a portable, decent-priced tablet.

4. XP-Pen Deco 03

Experience a more natural way of working on your computer with a 2.4 GHz wireless connection.

The drawing tablet has a larger active drawing area than Star G640S in this list at 10 X 5.62 inches and 8mm thick.

The tablet comes with six built-in expresskeys and a red scroll wheel to help improve your workflow and speed.

The battery-free stylus included comes with two shortcut buttons and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, that provides natural looking, accurate and efficient strokes.

The drawing area has a glossier finish than other tablets available, but there is still a slight paper-like surface that imitates the feeling of drawing with a pen and paper.

For those on a tight budget who cant yet afford a Wacom Intuos tablet, the XP-Pen Deco 03's performance and features are way beyond what you can expect to pay for it. With plenty of shortcut keys, precise levels of pen pressure and a textured drawing surface.

Its sleek design plus its A4 size large working area is the perfect choice for architects, engineers, and students using CAD, 3D sculpting programs, and other software.

5. XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro

The 13.3-inch screen that comes with an anti-glare film. the XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro's Fully laminated Screen seamlessly combines the glass and LCD which reduces the parallax.

With its rich 16.7-million color display (6-bit) , 1920x1080 FHD resolution and 88% NTSC ( 120% sRGB / 91% Adobe RGB ) gamut, the Artist 13.3 Pro certainly runs the gamut of quality graphics and colors.

The pen is sensitive and can detect pressure on the screen, allowing you to have great control, which is highly important for any professional architect.

It also supports a 60-degree tilt brush effect, letting you apply just the right strokes to your CAD drawings.

Designed for either left-handed or right-handed use, the Artist 13.3 Pro also has 8 customizable buttons and 1 red roller wheel to make drawing easier than ever.

Whether you're a beginner, a casual artist, or a professional, the XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro is the best drawing tablet option for an easy yet professional user experience.

6. XP-Pen Artist 22 2nd Generation

Its 21.5 inches large display helps you to access any software's dashboard and artboard more perfectly. A larger screen allows you to more easily draw fine details .

The drawing tablet provides precise accuracy with colors and more vibrancy compared to older models ( Artist 22E Pro and Artist 22 Pro). The display offer realistic color accuracy up to 90% Adobe RGB ( 86% NTSC / 122% sRGB ). which means you can accurately reproduce even the most subtle shades.

Its PA6 battery-free Pen has 8192 pressure levels and 60 degrees of tilt function that creates smooth and natural lines.

The graphics display tablet supports USB-C to USB-C connectivity. This makes it easy to connect it with other devices that support USB-C input.

Artist 22 2nd Generation comes with a stand that can be adjusted as per the working position.

Users particularly love how crisp and vibrant this drawing tablet's display is. Simplify your workflow by getting this well-built drawing tablet for architects and engineers.

7. XP-Pen Artist 24

The larger model 24” comes with a 2K ( 2560 x 1440 ) QHD resolution and can display 94% of the Adobe RGB ( 90% NTSC / 127% sRGB ) color space.

The PA6 digital pen has been engineered with Battery-Free Electromagnetic Resonance (EMR) technology.

Stylus does not need charging and ensures smooth lines with 8192 pen pressure levels, 60 degrees tilt recognition and a 233PPS report rate.

Its adjustable stand that comes with the XP-Pen Artist 24 device has an ergonomic design to provide comfort while working.

This is the perfect high end tablet for cad drawings and fast SketchUp. you can create plans and technical drawings with the utmost precision and efficiency.

Conclusion

Choosing the right graphics tablet for your projects is the key to get good quality digital artworks.

The drawing experience (pen to screen) is much more natural.But if you are just starting out, a screenless tablet will work fine for what you want to do.

I couldn't exactly say which model is the best for you as architects' needs vary heavily from a person to another. For me, I put the most weight on the color accuracy and the responding speed of the display because the nature of my work requires high color accuracy (lots of printing and digital displaying). Others may put weight on the pen's performance due to their drawing styles, which require highly responsive actions.

Digital drawing tablets are a godsend for all the architects out there as it has eliminated all the hassle of endless large canvases or pages. They have also enhanced the accuracy of their designs, along with boosting their efficiency and productivity; even on the go.

Since these devices are solely designed for the purpose of drawing, you get a true and enhanced convenience to bring all your visions and creativity to life.

If you're an architect or a student of architecture; or even if it's to recommend the best tablet for architects to your friend or relative, this write-up is just for you.

Let me know in the comments below what are your thoughts on a Graphic Tablet and contribute to this community with your experience using one.

Source Link: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-2817.html

Top 5 Best Cheap XP-Pen Digital Art Drawing Tablets for Beginners

 

Some of the best drawings you can see today weren't created with a pencil, they were made purely on a computer. It's almost unbelievable to look at some of the drawings you can create without ever having to pick up a piece of paper.

By using a drawing tablet and computer program you can select from all sorts of different tools and settings. Choose from endless brushes including watercolour, calligraphy and even chalk. Then there are the limitless colour selections on offer.

Drawing tablets can be used for most creative and content production needs such as illustration, photography, 3D modeling, animation, graphic design, etc. Most professional programs on those fields offer advanced pen support and can recognize and use pen pressure and even tilt function.

Touching the tip of the pen on the tablet surface is the equivalent of a click, while pressure and pen tilt can be used to vary stroke width, opacity, effect intensity, and other attributes. There are buttons on the pen that can be programmed for right click or other commands.

All of the drawing tablets are compatible with Windows and Mac OS systems. You can connect it to your PC or Mac and transform your computer into a drawing canvas.

If you are a graphic designer or digital artist working with a tablet is more efficient and comfortable than a mouse, especially when you use it for longer period of time. You can make illustrations and vector art in software like illustrator or digital paintings in photoshop.

They are also used for making 3D sculpted models in softwares like zbrush and blender…

Other than that there are many other uses…like if you make educational tutorials and use for online teaching then you can use the tablet to write handwritten notes. In office they are used for taking digital signatures.

The best part is, it's incredibly easy to learn how to use a drawing tablet. In no time you'll be drawing like an expert.

Looking for the Best Drawing Tablet for Beginners? If you're new to digital tablets then you'll probably be confused about all the features.

Drawing tablets, also known as pen tablets or graphic tablets, are input devices that can be used to substitute or complement a mouse. They're very popular in the graphic arts field and are considered by some as an indispensable aid for any creative professional.

While there are some technical differences, most graphics tablets work in the same way. The drawing area of the tablet creates a magnetic field, and the pen draws on this to produce its own magnetic field, which is tracked by the sensors in the tablet. Through this, the tablet knows where the pen is, the velocity of its movement and how hard the tip is being pressed against the board. It can even detect the angle at which the pen is being held.

There are two main types of tablets: displays and non-displays.

The display tablets show a screen on the device and you draw directly onto the screen.

Non-display tablets are more “traditional” drawing tablets where you draw on a black area while staring at your monitor. The strokes are recorded on the tablet and they translate into whatever software you're using(Photoshop, Krita, Clip Studio Paint).

If you're starting digital art for the first time, you should try an affordable electronic drawing pad first to see if it meets your needs. And graphics tablets with screens aren't necessarily preferable, because they're prohibitively expensive. Granted it is much easier to draw on a display tablet.

Although the drawing tablet has a screen, don't forget that it's not a standalone device. You'll still need to connect it to your computer for it to function.

Advantages of using Drawing Tablet

Many digital artists get by just fine using only a mouse or trackpad. Nothing beats having a stylus in your hand, however.

A tablet gives you complete control over every stroke, allowing you to work at length without fatigue and to condition the muscles in your hand.

Holding a pen is also much more ergonomic than using a mouse, and most users with repetitive strain injury (RSI) or tendonitis suffer less pain when using a tablet.

The pressure sensitivity, the accuracy, and honestly the natural feel of using a tablet just makes it way easier than using a mouse to try and achieve the same effects. Even a cheap tablet will make your life easier.

Graphics Tablets Price and Brands

Price varies on factors ranging from, number of pressure sensors, bit/nib options, custom stylus's, number of mappable hotkeys, and perhaps most importantly size, and brands.

So what is the best tablet brand? Wacom, Huion and XP-Pen all have a range of products for the digital artist. If you want the absolute best then a Wacom is the way to go.

The Wacom tablet is generally regarded as expensive. If you want a drawing tablet from a premium manufacturer, but a Wacom would break your budget, the XP-Pen is here to the rescue. Put simply, it is a Wacom, but at a smaller price.

XP-PEN is a professional and reliable manufacturer of graphics tablets, pen display monitors, stylus pens, and other intuitive interface devices.

Nowdays the brand wacom , Huion and XP-Pen are all offers battery-free pen with each Drawing tablet. The pen doesn't need batteries, so it's lightweight, perfectly balanced and comfortable enough to use as long as you like.

What to Consider Before Buying drawing tablet without screen

If you feel the need to, you can learn about the fundamental differences between different kinds of non-screen drawing tablets and other useful information.

1. Size of the Active Drawing Area: The active area is where you draw, sketch , edit and it's mapped exactly to your display. The active area should not be confused with tablet size. The tablet usually contains the toolbar and the various menus.

Tablets usually come in sizes where the active drawing area ranges from slightly smaller than an A6 page to slightly larger than A4.

working area sizes should be relative to your screen size and resolution. The smaller the tablet surface, the less hand movement will be necessary to move the cursor on the screen.

Having a tablet too small for your screen leads to a jumpy cursor and makes fine selections difficult. A tablet too big for your screen feels slow, requiring more hand movement, and may tire your arm muscles quicker.

Drawing tablets come in a range of different sizes, and this component is a very personal one. Some artists prefer a large surface area for their creations, while others like to have a compact and travel-friendly option.

2. Pressure Senstivity: It's possible to find a drawing tablet that ranges from 2000 to 8000 pressure levels. Generally speaking, the higher the sensitivity, the easier it'll be to manipulate while you're drawing.

These sensitivity levels allow a greater connection to occur between your tablet and the stylus. If you end up with a particularly sensitive product, you'll be able to create thicker lines as your press down harder on your pen.

3. Tilt support: Higher-end tablets also offer tilt sensitivity, where they can track the angle of the pen and use this to vary the thickness and intensity of the line – ideal for sweeping brushwork or interesting calligraphy effects. The manufacturers will usually specify the level of tilt sensitivity; 60 levels means it can track 60 different degrees of tilt.

Required to correctly simulate the shapes of natural brushes, making it a must-have feature for illustrators working in programs that simulate natural media. Tilt gives much more natural results in those cases.

4. Resolution: If your work involves designing highly detailed images, a higher LPI index is what you should look for. A higher LPI implies significant sharpness and greater detail.

The resolution of a tablet is measured in LPI or lines per inch which is a means for measuring print resolution that utilizes halftone screens. Halftone comprises dots that are similar to DPI resolution (dots per inch) in digital printing.

Current pen tablets offer really high resolution and even the regular XP-Pen Star can handle large resolutions with excellent cursor precision.

5. Reports per Second: Reports per second or points per second refer to the number of times a tablet notifies the computer every second your pen or hand is on the surface of a tablet.

A faster or higher points per second imply the tablet is better and more responsive while a gadget with slower or lower points per second implies a poor and less responsive device.

A drawing tablet with a high response can create smoother lines while low response gadgets create jaggy lines.

6. Shortcut Keys: Hotkeys are also crucial when it comes to choosing a drawing tablet. Most of these gadgets incorporate functional keys that are programmable in accordance with your needs.

Some models will include keys around the graphics area and have keys on the pen. tablets that have these functional keys will help save time, making it possible for you to utilize shortcuts and reach your favorite settings.

7. Wired or Wireless Connect: Wired drawing tablets do not give you the freedom of movement that wireless tablets do. The choice between a wireless and a wired tablet depends totally on your requirements.

That's fine if you're keen to avoid cable clutter or work with a laptop where ports are in short supply but you'll either have to keep the tablet stocked with batteries or plug it in for an occasional recharge.

8. Stylus: The stylus is a digital pen. Its purpose is to create a real pen/pencil-like experience for the designer. There a majorly two kinds of styli: battery-operated styli and Electromagnetic Resonance or EMR styli.

An EMR stylus uses less power and has a thicker point for drawing. Battery-operated styli, on the other hand, have a thinner point, which increases their level of accuracy.

What to Consider Before Buying Pen Display Monitor

Pen displays are coming in at the high-end of the market and these effectively combine a graphics tablet with a secondary screen.

The big plus is that you can see what you're working on as you're drawing on the drawing surface – a bit like when you're drawing with pencil or ink and paper.

Also, you can have reference images or toolbars open on your main screen, then keep the tablet screen clear for working.

1.Screen Size and Aspect Ratio: The screensize is the physical measurement diagonally of the screen in inches. 1 inch (also written as 1") is equal to 2,54 cm

screen aspect ratio is the ratio of its width to its height. Every screen has an aspect ratio associated with it. A few of the most common aspect ratios we see today are 4:3 and 16:9.

the 16:9 ratio is considered the international standard format for television, cinema, and major online streaming platforms.

2. Screen Resolution: Screen resolution is a measure of how your monitor or screen displays an image; it essentially refers to the clarity of the content on your screen.

Resolution usually shown as something like “1920×1080”, which means there are 1920 pixels across and 1080 pixels down.

the most commonly used 16:9 resolutions across pen display tablets:

HD 1280 x 720
FHD 1920×1080
2K QHD 2560×1440
4K UHD 3840 x 2160
5K 5120 × 2880
8K 7680x4320

If you are looking at two screens of the same size, the content on the one with the higher resolution will appear sharper and clearer.

At very low resolutions, images might look “pixelated” or have jagged edges, because there are not enough pixels to provide a crisp, clear image.

3. Screen Color Gamut: gamut refers to the range of colors available in a given monitor, or application. Note that the range refers to the difference between the colours, not the number of colours. The 3 most commonly known quantifiable color data might be sRGB , RGB and NTSC.

sRGB is “standard Red, Green, Blue”, and is the industry standard pretty much entirely, throughout the world, for everyday application. It's got a smaller range of colours than Adobe RGB. It's used in almost every app, web browser, and design tool you use every day, and has the bonus of helping maintain consistency over all platforms.

Adobe RGB allows for a higher range of colours, or colour gamut, over the same number of colours.

Obviously, the higher colour range is desirable for print and production, allowing you to be far more accurate with your colours than you can with sRGB. It can also be converted to sRGB down the production line, making it a little more reversible than the former.

Another common standard of colour space is the NTSC gamut – 72% NTSC = 99% sRGB. Therefore, a display that can reproduce more than the standard 72% NTSC will deliver even more vivid and true-to-life colours.

4. Panel Type: The panel determines how good your monitor is. the three main ones is TN , VA and IPS.

TN panels (Twisted Nematic) are the cheapest ones and the most widely spread because of their affordable prices. Sure, they have fast response time but the colors and viewing angles are quite poor on this panel which will distort your perspective on your designs.

VA panels (Vertical Alignment) are the midrange choice though they aren't very popular. Price-wise they are significantly more expensive than the TN ones ( they are way better than TN panels ) , but when it comes to their performance, they aren't good enough to justify their price.

IPS monitors (In-Plane Switching) are your best choice when it comes to price versus performance. They are usually a bit more expensive than VA panels but the difference in performance justifies it. You'll get accurate color rendition, great viewing angles and a faster response time.

5. Contrast and Brightness: Contrast ratio is the ratio between the maximum and minimum brightness, or in other words, the ratio between the brightest white and the darkest black. For example, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 means that the brightness of a completely white image is 1000 times greater than the brightness of a completely black image.

Projectors with a high contrast ratio, such as 3,000:1, have darker black levels than projectors with lower contrast ratios, such as 1000:1. A higher contrast ratio also produces images with more saturated colors since the difference between black and white is greater.

Brightness is a measurement of the amount of light the LCD monitor produces. It is given in nits or one candelas per square meter (cd/m2). One nit is equal to one cd/m2. Typical brightness ratings range from 250 to 350 cd/m2 for monitors that perform general-purpose tasks. For displaying movies, a brighter luminance rating such as 500 cd/m2 is desirable.

6. Viewing Angle：When you look at an LCD monitor from an angle, the image can look dimmer or even disappear. Colors can also be misrepresented. To compensate for this problem, LCD monitor makers have designed wider viewing angles.

Manufacturers give a measure of viewing angle in degrees (a greater number of degrees is better). In general, look for between 120 and 170 degrees.

7. Parallax: When drawing on a graphics tablet, the stroke doesn't always appear directly under the pen as viewed by the user. Parallax is the distance between your pen tip and where the stroke appears on your tablet's screen.

The thicker the glass, the further away your pen will look. That can cause a slight discrepancy in what you draw, so you'll need to get used to it.

The lower the parallax, the better your drawing experience. Some tablets like XP-Pen Artist Pro have laminated screens, which can almost entirely prevent any parallax.

8. Matte vs Glossy Monitors: The screen texture refers to whether the screen feels matte, smooth, shiny, etc. Many tablets try to replicate that authentic pen-on-paper experience. By creating a little friction between the pen and screen, you get more feedback as you draw. It all comes down to personal preference!

5 Best XP-Pen Drawing Tablet for Beginners

Have you ever wished that you could get professional photo editing or graphic illustration results at home?

These five tablets offer a variety of professional tools that can edit, create, and upgrade your digital photos and illustrations.

From skilled users to beginner editors, these tablets can get you started and make your projects come to life.

1. XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640

The small tablet has a drawing area of 4 x 3 inches ( Star G430S ) / 6 x 4 inches ( Star G640). It's thin, light, and portable, which are all important factors if you want to carry it around. The included pen is battery-free and has 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity.

It's compatible with Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and much more. XP-Pen does include some extra nibs in the box for the pen.

This tablet has a smaller active area, which is ideal for playing OSU. it allows you to improve your gameplay. You'll have better accuracy and faster responses!

The XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640 drawing tablet is the cheapest good drawing experience you can get. if you're on a very tight budget, this will get you started off till you can afford a better tablet.

2. XP-Pen Deco Fun XS/S/L

XP-PEN Deco Fun series are available in three sizes XS ( 4.8 x 3 inches ) / S ( 6.3 x 4 inches ) / L( 10 x 6.27 inches ) and four colors: classic black, space blue, apple green, and carmine red, to meet your personal preference.

the battery-free pen designed with EMR technology adds to your convenience of editing or drawing whenever you want. Its 8K pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition ( XS version not support tilt function ) delivers advanced performance and realistic pen-on-paper feel.

Apart from drawings, you can also use this drawing tablet for whiteboard demonstrations, document annotation, photo editing, and more. compatible with your Chromebook.

XP-Pen Deco Fun is designed to make learning easier. Use the digital pen and tablet with your computer to draw , write formulas and interact in online classes in a more natural way.

3. XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 / Deco Mini7 / Deco Mini7W ( wireless)

If you've already made some progress on your journey as an artist, and are looking to upgrade to something a little more professional, then the XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 / Deco Mini7 / Deco Mini7w is a great option. It has great build quality, accuracy and precision.

The tablet comes with a bigger working space ( Deco 01 V2: 10 x 6.25 inches , Deco mini7 / Deco Mini7w: 7 x 4.37 inches ) , so you get more area to draw and design.

Coming to the features, the drawing tab has 8 programmable shortcut keys, so you can erase, adjust the brush size, and can do a lot of things just with a click.

The Stylus feels nice in your hand and will wow you with how responsive it is. You won't notice any lag as you draw, and it also has tilt recognition.

You get an OTG connector inside the box for connecting the XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 / Deco Mini7 / Deco Mini7w drawing pad with your Android Phone /Tablet.

4. XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro / Artist 13.3 Pro / Artist 15.6 Pro

The display drawing tablets aren't really aimed at beginners. But lots of people are much more comfortable with the idea of stylus-to-screen drawing and painting.

The 3 tablets of XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro (11.6 inch ) , Artist 13.3 Pro ( 13.3 inch ) and Artist 15.6 Pro ( 15.6 inch) are consistently a best seller ! all of which are the best display tablet for beginners with a simple design, a built-in stand, and a very simple setup process.

All the specs are incredible with a 1080p fully-laminated display, 88% NTSC color accuracy ( Artist 12 Pro : 72% NTSC ) , 8 express keys, Red dial and a battery-free digital pen designed to last for years of consistent use.

The stylus performs very well which has a tilt function of +/- 60 degrees, and is equipped with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

the XP-Pen Artist Pro series is more than capable of creating professional art. The drawing monitor has a quick reaction time that does not inhibit you in any way.

5. XP-Pen Artist 22 (2nd Generation)

A drawing tablet without a display won't appeal to everyone. There's nothing like seeing your artwork in full and vivid color on the screen you're drawing on. And the XP-PEN Artist 22 (2nd Generation) is one of the best drawing tablets with a screen that won't break the bank.

Despite being affordable, this tablet doesn't disappoint. It has a display with an excellent resolution ( 1920 x 1080 ) and a wide color gamut ( 86% NTSC, Adobe RGB≥90%, sRGB≥122%). So, your illustrations will look vibrant and realistic on this screen.

The 22inch FHD screen gives you a lot of screen space, so you can see the minutest details of what you're drawing.

The battery-free pen is amazing to use ( Artist 22 Pro and Artist 22E Pro comes with a P02S Rechargeable stylus ) – responsive and smooth. Tillt recognition also allows you to control the line thickness.

You can draw with precision and shade with ease, thanks to the 8192 pressure levels.And with a ≥ 220 PPS report rate, it's speedy with no lagging or delays.

Before you buy this tablet, make sure that your computer has HDMI and USB-C ports. Otherwise, you'll need to buy an extra adapter for your tablet to work.

If you want to upgrade from a non-screen graphic tablet, the XP-PEN Artist 22 (2nd Generation) is an excellent choice. It's also ideal as a first drawing tablet monitor due to its great features and low price.

Conclusion

A drawing tablet will open up new opportunities for creativity and self-expression. You can enjoy digital art as a hobby or even a new career path.

There are plenty of options out there for you if you're just starting your journey as a digital artist and are looking for a proper graphics tablet.

All of the above options are great to start off with, and will help you launch your career. The important thing is to take that first step. Until next time, happy drawing!

Don't forget to share these recommendations with your friends if you like it. Still, if you are in doubt then do leave a comment down below I love to solve all your queries.

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-2376.html