Review: The new Wacom tablet is just the thing for those going to wide-format or dual displays, providing undoubtable power, performance, and just plain good looks.

The Wacom Intuos3 6×11 Pen Tablet, with pressure- and tilt-sensitive pen and 5-button mouse (illustraton courtesy Wacom Technologies)

A personal confession: when it comes to digitizer tablets, I’m a sheer virgin; I am very much at home with the mouse (or trackball) and the motor skills required for operating in most GUI environments. This is good for a great deal of computer use, including design. But before too much experience passes the designer by it becomes self-evident that being able to reach and grab things physically, change and move things in layout, and drawing directly on your Photoshop or Illustrator documents, would elevate the level of the experience.

Even before I got introduced to digital design I’ve been aware of the Wacom brand. In 1989 Wacom introduced the first wireless, pressure-sensitive pen tablet and has been at the forefront of pen tablet technology ever since. Noting that the trend toward wide screens (such as Apple’s 23″ model) and multiple screens, Wacom today answers the need with the wide format 6×11 Intuos3 pen tablet. Recently given the chance to put the tablet through its paces, I was extremely impressed with its usability and power; Wacom has a winner here.

No-worry installation

The first reaction I had to the tablet was to its physical design. This is a beautifully designed object and very stylish; my eyes were enjoying looking at it even before I connected it up. It should fit in well and look good alongside any designer’s CPU and monitor setup.

Wacom Intuos3 in use (courtesy Wacom)

The Wacom 6×11 Intuos3 installed via USB to my system (PowerMac G4, OS X 10.3.9). Installation was quick and error-free, and once installed was simple to set up with the accompanying setup software, which adds customization options to the Mac’s “System Preferences” dialogues. The orientation software included with the installation amounts to a polished “mini-bootcamp” for new pen tablet users, taking me through all the basic operations I’m likely to encounter. It was complete, quick and informative.

I’ve Got The Power

I then set to work seeing what the Intuos3 interacted with my applications and systems. Interaction with InDesign and Photoshop were flawless. Certain operations that I used quite often in both – Quick Apply and cropping/sizing pictures for layout – moved at a faster clip. I wasn’t doing anything different, but the Intuos3 allowed me to respond more intuitively to what I was doing on the screen. It’s one thing to use a trackball to click on a checkbox; it’s quite another to use a pen to make the mark.

Speaking of power, the Express Keys and Touch Strip should extend just about everyone’s reach. The keys, assigned to default modifier keys (on the Mac those are CTRL, Shift, OPT, and Space) relieve the artist’s need to go to the keyboard to jump to ‘grab and move’ mode in Photoshop, for instance. The Touch Strip makes zooming and panning a snap.

On top of this, every attribute of every button and switch can be reassigned; the tablet preferences are intuituve and clear.

There’s a Mouse in The House

The toolset is completed a low-profile mouse. Desinged to be used on the tablet, it requires no power of its own, battery or otherwise. With five user-configurable buttons (including a scroll-wheel) it turns the tablet into your new pointer for all your OS functions, not just interacting with your applications. It can completely replace your current mouse or trackball, or augment them. The choice is yours.

Value Added

It would be remiss not to mention that what you get doesn’t end with the tablet. Wacom also wraps a useful bundle of sofware that will let the average user make instant use of the tablet; Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 and Corel Painter Essentials 2, niki Color Efex 2 Pro IE, and the Wacom Brushes 2 for Photoshop/Photoshop Elements.

The Bottom Line

The Intuos3 6×11 wide format pen tablet is a stylish, powerful performer that only enhances Wacom’s reputation for quality. Don’t just love it because it’s beautiful, though. Delivering excellent performance to the user, it integrates into the system without a flaw and provides powerful, flexible access to not only your design apps but also just about any use you put your system through. A myriad of configuration options and well-done orientation software get you up and running quickly and allow you to use the tablet your way. And the simple innovation of the 6×11 aspect ratio of the tablet allow it to adapt instantly to the new wide-format monitors and multiple-monitor setups.

When you want professional power in a pen tablet, your search should begin and end at the Wacom 6×11 Intuos3.

Speaking as a pen-tablet newbie, it’s life changing.

By the Numbers

• Systems: Windows, WindowsXP, Mac OS X 10.3 and later
• Connectivity: USB 1.1
• Price: USD $389.00
• Includes: Three additional pen tips for different “feels”; Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, Corel Painter Essentials 2, niki Color Efex Pro 2 IE, Wacom Brushes 2, setup/configuration and tutorial software on CD-ROM
• Available from Wacom at: [1] http://www.wacom.com...oductinfo/intuos.cfm