The new
SpectraView Profiler software come out a few days ago.
This software
is based on the basICColor Display 5.0.1 software and comes with new
interesting features.
The
software has a new, very user-friendly interface with some standard presets
(honestly I never used them, but I think that they can come handy for some
users).
I am
testing the new software on different configurations. I am using a dual
SpectraView 301 configuration to make some tests at the moment.
My usual
workspace is a SpectraView 271 and a Cintiq 24HD (not shown).
As usual I
am working with the basICColor Discus.
The
validation from the SpectraView 301 is very good.Not
a surprise, I personally think that basICColor Display used in combination with
Discus colorimeter is the best solution for monitor calibration and profiling
nowadays.
More
importantly the monitors performed very well with some test images that I always
use to test new software and hardware for color management. Gradients are
uniform and difference between small luminance value are clearly noticeable. Good.
A feature
that I like of this new release is the Color space simulation.
If you own
the software and a monitor with hardware-calibration capable LUTs you can now use
them to emulate another device (printer or monitor). I am testing this feature
to emulate printer profiles and monitor profiler (sRGB for web output, for
example).
It seems to
work nicely, better than other soft-proof that I have tried in the past. For my
personal needs I always prefer to make an “hard-test” printing a small detail
of the final print if I need good color-accuracy, but I think that this
function can help.
I have been
told that Wacom is working on the Cintiq 24HD to solve the ArtPen problem.
They gave
me no information about how long this process will take. The good thing is that
they are working on it. The bad thing is that I lost more than one work due to
this problems with the ArtPen.
The latest
drivers for both Mac and PC (6.2.0-2) doesn’t fix the problem. This drivers
have been removed from the download page but they are reported here.
I have the
drivers installed on both my PC and my MAC workstations, and the good news is
that they offer a very nice fine-tune possibility for the pen sensibility. I
don’t know why they have been removed now, I will ask Wacom.
As of right now there is no fix for this problem and there may not be one in the future. I would suggest not using the Art Pen with the Cintiq 24HD and using only the included Grip Pen.
XXX XXXSenior Customer Care Technician Wacom Technology Services, Corp
I think that no other comments are needed. Please notice that in the Wacom internet site the Art Pen is reported to be compatible with the Cintiq 24HD.
You can read the original post here (description of the problems). After more than one moth waiting for news I have been told that maybe the ArtPen will never work with the Cintiq 24HD.
I have made
two more YouTube videos to show the problem that I am expereicing with the
ArtPen and the Cintiq 24HD.
Please read
the previous post to have more information about this problem.
Notice that
both the Cintiq 24HD and the ArtPen that I am using now are new units from
Wacom. Wacom has changed my ArtPen and my Cintiq 24HD but the problem is still
there.
Update (29th October, 2011): Not only a Windows 7 problem: here you can see the same problem in OSX 10.7.2!
Here is the
first video - problems in OneNote2011:
1) (first
10 seconds) If I get close with the ArtPen to the Cintiq 24HD there is an
unwanted input (as you can see I draw small dots on the screen also if I am not
applying any pressure, I am about 1cm away from the surface). As you can see
pressure level in the Dignostic tool inside the driver stands to 0%! I am not
touching the screen with the nib but little dots/lines are drawn!
2) (from second 10 to the end) When I release pressure the ArtPen doesn’t stop
to draw.
This is not acceptable. I can’t work in this way!This is not acceptable. I
can't work in this way!
Second
video – problem in Wacom Driver “Sensibility details”:
As you can
see the problem of “unwanted lines” is present also in the driver. This is definitely
not a problem of any application.
This is how
the problem is described by another user of the Cintiq 24HD (“jonstatt” in the
Wacom European Forum):
Try drawing a line at moderate speed and then very quickly lift the pen away
from the tablet at the end. An extra vertical line appears even though the pen
was not in contact with the tablet. This only occurs with the art pen and even
can be seen in the tablet driver section where you can test draw the pen on the
screen. It is definitely not application specific. It is the driver.
I have
received yesterday a new Cintiq 24HD. Wacom swapped my defective unit, and I
have a new unit. I am very happy for this replacement, I didn’t have to wait
for a new unit, since the same courier that took the defective Cintiq 24HD
brought me the replacement unit. Good.
I was lucky
enough to get a 0 bad pixel unit, and this is again good.
Ok, now the
bad news:
1) The fan
noise is present, also if it regular and not “un-continuous” like the one I had
with the first unit I received. I have to report that if you have a quiet PC,
and/or if you work in a silent workspace, than you will clearly hear the Cintiq
24HD when you are working with it. I really don’t like this, and I think that
more Wacom could have done more efforts to reduce the fan noise. I have to listen
some music while working to forget about this noise. Anyway my unit was
defective, so I can confirm that the fan noise that I have reported some days
ago is not normal.
2) The
ArtPen is not working. Anyhow, Wacom finally confirmed (through the WacomForum) that this is a driver problem and that the ArtPen is not working. They told
me that the problem is only a Photoshop problem, I have experienced a more
general problem. Anyhow they now have both my ArtPen and my old Cintiq, so
maybe they could do more tests and tell me if also my ArtPen was defective.
It is
good to have a confirmation from Wacom (maybe they could have emailed me
before). I hope that new drivers will soon fix this.
I really
liked the fast Wacom swap service, but I have to report that they didn’t tell
me anything about this (I was not present when the courier came the first time)
and that there was some confusion about should be shipped back to them. I was
told to ship only the Cintiq 24HD and the ArtPen without accessories. Then I
discovered that I should have shipped the Cintiq 24HD with all accessories and
not the ArtPen. Anyway I should get back the ArtPen again, and UPS will come
again to pick the accessories.
No big
changes, one week more on the calendar, no real solution for Cintiq 24HD
problems.
I am
waiting for an official answer from Wacom to the fan sound problem. Other people
have reported in my blog and in other forums that the fan noise is clearly audible,
some of them reported that they have an “irregular,
scratchy, noisy sound” like the one that I have reported.
I am also
waiting for an official (and also an unofficial) answer to the Art Pen problem.
Nobody in all the forums that I have checked and on YouTube seem to have tested
the Cintiq 24 HD with an Art Pen. I really don’t know if my unit was defective,
if it is a driver problem, or if it is an ArtPen problem. Only time will tell
us.
I am
starting to get disappointed with Wacom support. I have emailed them several
times and I have also asked for a telephone number, but I never got an answer. They
told me that my Cintiq 24 HD will be replaced. Today at 3:00 pm an UPS courier
tried to retire a package but I was outside. I was waiting for an email from
Wacom to know some basilar things such as:
1) When the courier was coming.
2) What I should put inside the box (only the Cintiq 24HD, the tablet with all
accessories?).
3) Time to have a replacement unit.
4) Type of replacement unit (used, new?).
I really don’t understand why they didn’t answer my questions. My first email
was sent on the 5th, then I sent an email on the 7th,
then another email on the 10th. Never got an answer.
Meanwhile I
found the Wacom policy for bad pixel: There is a detailed European ISO norm
13406-2 regarding pixel default classes. We apply class 2 rules and
additionally we do not accept any panels with a fully black or fully white
pixel. This seems very unreasonable to me. We are paying perfectly working and flawless
2300 euros for this tablet. We expect a perfectly working tablet. I would be
happy to pay more to have a 0 bad pixel warranty. You can find it on many
low-cost monitors nowadays! I have already reported that in 2006 I purchased a
1200 euro monitor with this kind of warranty. We are in 2011 and we are talking
about a product that is almost two times more expensive. Wacom should really
work on this. A single bad pixel in the center of the monitor can really ruin
the working experience with this product.
Other problems
that have been reported are:
1) Red
cast: I think that this is more a colorimeter problem, I will let you know if
any update is available.
2) Color “gradient”
from side to side (with a gray background one side is magenta and the other is
green). This is absolutely normal if the color difference is below 2 DeltaE 2000(1.5
DeltaE 2000 would be better). You have this kind of gradient also on very
expensive Eizos and NECs monitors. A perfectly uniform panel.
That’s all
for now. I hope to receive a response to my emails soon.
As readers of this blog may
already know I am experiencing some problems with my Cintiq 24HD. Don’t misunderstand me: I really like the Cintiq 24HD
and how it feels to draw on it, but the problems I have are compromising my
experience with this nice piece of hardware.
The first problem is
a fan
noise that maybe will require my unit to be changed, but I don’t know
how much it will take. I am waiting for a
confirmation from Wacom.
Then a problem
with the Art Pen that is not working properly (for me is not usable at
all). I have been told (it was the supposition of a YouTube user, nothing from
Wacom) that my problem is only a driver problem. I really don’t know if this
can be true, I am waiting for an answer from Wacom.
Other problems that have
been reported by user are:
1) Bad pixel (2500€ but no 0 bad pixel warranty,
that nowadays you find on many monitors. I got my Eizo replaced for one bad
pixel in 2006 (5 years ago) and it was a mid-level monitor (S2410W). On my blog
I got one comment from an user with a bad pixel and I know about one more case.
It seems that there are no standards for bad pixel. Read this topic on
Wacom European Forum.
2) Driver problems in
“remembering” settings: read this topic.
I reported this in the Wacom Forum, I hope that they can do something. At the
moment the solution is to use the preference utility to backup and reload
setting each time you restart the computer. Not a very user friendly
workaround. I had also some problems with the driver (the Cintiq 24HD a couple
of times was not recognized correctly) but this could be a problem of my
computer (also if other user have reported a similar problem and I am not
experiencing problems with all the other hardware that I use, including the
Wacom Intuos 4 Wireless).
3) UPDATE 6th
October 2011: Some user reported a flickering problem of the screen. You can
read here and here (two different link). The
problem is described in this way: the display flashes off and on again for
about a second at random intervals.
In Europe getting customer
support seems a bit tricky. I wrote to the support on the 30th and I
got incomplete email as answer. In Wacom Europe they are all very kind, maybe
they are busy because all the 24 HD are sold out, but the service starts to
seem to me slow. You can read the story here.
Other things that I need to
say (some of them where already described in this blog) are:
The screen is hot
(maybe related to my fan issue). I am working in an air conditioned room and I
can feel that the screen is a little bit too hot for my taste. After some hours
of work I started to really hate the temperature of the screen. Very sad,
because otherwise working with this product is a fantastic experience.
If you scratch the screen
you will have to pay several hundred euros to get it replaced. It is
recommended to clean it only with soft cloths, using only water, no
solvents. But you never know. I was more than one picture of a ruined Cintiq
21UX. Consider that is suggested not to use screen protector because they will
compromise quality.
I love felt nibs, great
feeling, but you will really need many of them, they seem to consume even
faster than on the Intuos surface.
I bought the product
because I always loved Wacom products, I hope that they will quickly
solve my problems. I will keep you updated. Any comments are welcome.
Update 8th November 2011: Link Update 25 October 2011: Link
Update
22 February 2012: The ArtPen problem is now fixed. A firmware update removed
all the problems: Link
What is the
Art Pen?
The Cintiq
24HD comes with a very good Grip Pen, sensitive both to pressure and tilt. The Art
Pen adds to the features offered by the Grip Pen the sensitivity to rotation. This
means that if you are using a rectangular brush in Photoshop you can make a thin
or thick line just rotating the brush in your hand. The pen also comes with
different nibs, some of them are very similar to an highlighter head. The
Art Pen is a pen that has pressure, tilt and rotation sensibility.
What is
this article about?
Sadly I am
experiencing some problems with the Art Pen KP701E01 used in combination with
my Cintiq 24 HD. There are several Art Pen model numbers around. Please notice
that is the Art Pen that Wacom Europe recommends for the Cintiq 24HD. I have asked
what was the correct Art Pen for the Cintiq 24 HD because I was aware that more
than one Art Pen exists. On the Wacom European Forum
(see post number 2, from Wacom) I got the answer that the KP701E01 is the right
Art Pen for the Cintiq 24HD. I know for sure that in USA there is also another
Art Pen, the KP701E2 LINK but Wacom Europe officially doesn’t know anything of
this product. I suppose that is the same product as KP701E01, just a different
name, but I might be wrong.
Are you
sure that your Art Pen is not defective?
Yes, the
Art Pen has been tested on an Intuos 4 Wireless and it works simply fine, flawlessly
I would say. Very precise, all its functions are recognized correctly. The problem
that I am experiencing is not related to the Art Pen that I am using, but to
the Art Pen + Cintiq 24 HD combination.
Did you try
different nibs?
Yes, I
tried all four kind of nib that come bundled with the Cintiq 24HD. I also tried
to install them in different ways. Anyhow, as I told you, I am not suffering any
problem with the Intuos 4 Wireless. This is not a nib problem.
UPDATE
(6th October 2011): Are you using a screen protector/screen guard?
I am not
using a screen guard. For what I know the screen guard is not recommended for
two reason: the quality of the screen in terms of color reproduction can
decrease and the pens could stop to work correctly. Anyway I don’t know any
screen guard for the 24HD which is already for sale.
Ok, what is
the problem with the Art Pen used on your Cintiq 24 HD?
More than
one problem, unfortunately.
If I press low
the computer recognize 2 double clicks continuously. Using the
"sensitivity details" (I hope this is the correct translation, I have
the drivers in Italian) and going to the test area I can see that no setting
changes this behavior. This happens only with the Art Pen. The bundled Grip Pen
works correctly. No “continuous double click” when passing the pen around the
screen with low pressure.
Ok, what
this “double click” issue means? I tried to describe it in the following
YouTube video.
First 4
lines done without problems with the standard pen. Then 3 lines done with the Art Pen. The third line shows some serious problem.
If you hear the sound (from sec 18) you can hear that I am applying a force
with the nib, there is friction between the nib and the screen but nothing
appears on the screen. I have done other tests like this and I tried to made some drawings
but if I don't apply a lot of pressure the lines always have some problem. This
is not happening with the default pen and I am using the same exact
"technique" to draw. So the “continuous
double click" happens because the tablet does not recognize correctly the
pressure “thinking” that you are continuously pressing and un-pressing on the
screen. This is why the lines are not uninterrupted.
Another thing: if I go to the diagnostic information panel (in the "acom driver properties) I can see that with
the Grip Pen the lower input pressure is detected properly. With the Art
Pen it seems that the input pressure jumps from 0 to 20% without any lower
value. I sometimes could get lower values, but always with the cursor
"flashing" (same thing that it does when you touch the screen to make
a "single click" but it does it continuously, like a strobe). Again,
this is the “continuous double click issue”.
Ok. What
other problems are you experiencing?
The Art Pen
is also not detecting correctly the moment when I release the pen from the
screen, as you can see in this video:
I am first using the Art Pen to draw 4 straight lines and then I use the Grip
Pen to draw 4 other straight lines. Using the same exact "technique"
(trying to apply the same exact amount of pressure). As you can see when I
release the nib from the screen it seems that the computer sees an input that I
never give. The end of the lines made with the Art Pen is never
"clean" and I am experiencing a lot of times while I draw the problem
that you can see in line number 3 and 4. It seems that there is a
"deviation".
Maybe this problem
is described in a more complete and appreciable way in this other video:
I am
applying pressure only between the green lines. First the standard pen that
comes with the Cintiq 24HD (black lines). Than the Ar tPen (red lines). As you
can see also if I release pressure where the green line I get another input and
another stretch is mad, in the direction where I move the nib. But the nib is
no longer in contact with the surface.
What does
this mean?
It means that I simply can’t use the Cintiq 24 HD with the Art Pen. I
endlessly get unwanted signs and invisible lines.
Are you absolutely
sure that the problem is not you?
Well, I
have asked a professional artist to test the Cintiq 24HD with the Art Pen a few
moments ago and he was happy to do it because he is waiting to order one (at the
moment they are sold out in the European Wacom Store). He experienced the same exact problem.
I have also asked 4 other people to test the tablet and they were all
disappointed in the behavior of the Art Pen.
Couldn’t it
be that it is just your Cintiq 24HD that has some sort of problem? What is Wacom
saying about this issues with the Art Pen?
At the
moment it seems that I am the only Art Pen user of the Cintiq 24HD and, also if
I asked other Cintiq user to give me feedback on several forums, I didn’t get
them. I started a topic on the Wacom European Forum describing the problems that I have, but I didn’t get any complete answer from
Wacom. For this problem, and the other problem that I had with my Cintiq (the fan problem) they told me that I have to send my Cintiq 24HD, so maybe it is
just my Cintiq that is defective (I will let you know when I will get a new
Cintiq 24HD to test).
I will keep
you informed if I get any news from Wacom or other users.
Update (3th October 2011): Are you
sure that your computer is not the problem? Maybe it is a low performance or a wrongly configured machine.
My computer is not giving me problems with the Intous 4 Wirelss, that is
based, for what I can understand, on a very similar (if not the same) technology
of the Cintiq 24HD. I don’t think that the Cintiq 24HD requires a largely
different type of calculations to work. My computer was bought two years ago
but has been updated regularly to keep the performance high. I have a water-cooling
solution that allowed me to overclock the CPU to 4.1Ghz since the first days of
usage. I did many benchmarks and stability test and I had no overclocking-related
problem during this years. Anyway whenever I have a problem with some hardware
that I use or test I reset all the values in the BIOS to their default to be
absolutely sure that the OC is not compromising anything. I am using 24Gbyte of
RAM (8 are for a RAM Disk) and working with P30+ and P65+ files I can see that
Photoshop and Lightroom benefit from this amount of RAM. I have also 2 SSDs, an
older but still good X-25 M G2 Intel and a recently purchased Vertex 3 (that is
not working in best conditions since I don’t have a SATA3 controller). I have
an ATI FirePRO V4800 (to use 10bit displays like the Nec SpectraView recent
models) and an nVidia 480GTX. I don’t like to have both installed in the same
time, so I change the graphic card depending on my needs. Anyway each time I
clean the system and install the proper and most recent drivers. To be absolutely
sure that the problem is not my PC I did the same tests on an older mobile PC
and I had the same results. I will also try to test everything on other PCs and
let you know if anything changes.
As you may already
know the Cintiq 24HD does not allow rotation of the screen. This could be a
problem for some users, even if I have to say that I don’t miss this function
because all the programs that I use offer a good “canvas rotation” function
that work very nicely with the Cintiq Touch Ring.
My first
suggestion it to download and read the useful Cintiq 24 HD manual, that you can
find here (English PDF, Wacom.com). The download size is about 6.4Mbytes. The manual doesn't come with the Cintiq 24HD, in the box there is only a Quick Stard Guide. The bundled CD/DVD has no PDF manual in it.
The support
station has a nice cable management system in it that saves you from “chaotic
cable situation”. This component of the Cintiq 24 HD is the counterweight that allows
you to move the Cintiq to very comfortable working position, like a drawing
board. Exactly what you see the the Wacom Youtube video.
What you
don’t see is that the support stands on some pads that have very poor antiskid
performance, this allows you to move the heavy weight of the Wacom Cintiq with
one finger when it stands on a smooth surface like the desk in the following
video:
I don’t
know if I like this thing or not: it can be useful in some working conditions,
but maybe some user may want their support station to don’t move so easily. This
“sliding ability” isdesiredby by Wacom and it is also mentioned in the Cintiq 24
HD User Manual.
The support
of the Cintiq 24HD one is structured in four tilt levers and two very strong
metallic support arms that allows many different working positions. The
following image comes from page 19 of the user manual that I have liked above.
The two support arms have only one blocking position (vertical, about 80°)
and, if you release them with a control that is in the center of the support
station, you can’t block them in any other position. The four levers (two on
each side) allow you to block the tilt between the screen and the metallic
support in many different ways. This mechanism works fine, and you can place the screen of the Cintiq
in many different position. But you have to be careful not to abandon the
screen in a wrong position, because the support will not block the screen from
moving, you will have to block a screen in a position where it is standing
properly. You will have to make the screen and the support base touch each
other. The support/lever system seem very solid, also if I don’t like very much
the fact that the, once you release the control of the supports, there are no
blocking other positions that the initial one. You can still use the levers to
block the screen in any tilt position, as I wrote.
You can create an angle of 90° making
the screen perfectly perpendicular to the support (and to the desk). You can even
set the screen to an angle of more than 90° like you can see in this picture:
Green line
is the actual screen position. Red line is desk direction and perpendicular to
the desk direction. Blue lines show other possible tilt positions (not all, you
can also tilt on the other side). Of course, as I said, you can make the screen
perfectly perpendicular to the desk but you need to unlock the arms and let the
screen touch the basement.
With the
arms locked in position (there is only one lock position) the screen does not
go to a perfectly perpendicular position. The picture above shows the “most
perpendicular” position that you can get when the support metallic arms are in their
blocked point.
If you are not happy with the support
system you will find information on the manual on how to mount the
Cintiq 24HD Screen on a VESA MIS-E 100/200 compatible support.
Also after
many hours of work your arms and back will not hurt. I have to say that this is
the better ergonomic tablet that I have ever tested. One bad thing that I have
noticed is that the screen gets a little bit hot, something that you can feel. Don’t
know if this is related to the that I reported
The good:
1) You can position in many comfortable working positions. It is very nice to work with this digital drafting table.
2) Nice ergonomics. Perfect for long working sessions.
3) Feels very solid.
4) VESA MIS-E 100/200 compatibility.
The bad:
1) The arms have only one locking position and their movements are not controlled by some sort of damper.
