basICColor Display 5

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.

Wacom is working to fix the ArtPen problem

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.

I hope to have soon good news from Wacom USA.

ArtPen (BAD) news.

I have just received this email from Wacom USA:


Vittorio,

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.

Cintiq 24HD: ArtPen Problem Update

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.

To know what Wacom says about this problem you can follow the discussion on the official European Wacom forum.

Cintiq 24HD: new unit comes!

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.

Cintiq 24HD: update.

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 5^th, then I sent an email on the 7^th, then another email on the 10^th. 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.

Cintiq 24HD: current situation.

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 6^th 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 30^th 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.

On my blog you will find more information and a review of the Cintiq screen review of the Cintiq 24HD screen and a review of the moving and locking mechanism.

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.