Wacom's new Cintiq 21UX pen display ups the sensitivity, skips the multitouch and 'affordability' options
By Paul Miller 
posted March 1st 2010 10:26AM
posted March 1st 2010 10:26AM
Wacom Introduces New Cintiq 21UX Interactive Pen Display
New Cintiq provides enhanced pen performance and innovative ergonomics, providing an intuitive and natural-feeling pen-on-screen workflow for the very best in creative control, comfort and productivity
VANCOUVER, Wash., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Wacom® introduces the much anticipated Cintiq®21UX, its newly-redesigned interactive pen display delivering state-of-the-art pen performance and innovative ergonomics in a color-accurate LCD display. Designed specifically to meet the demanding needs of professional photographers, designers, artists and animators, the new Cintiq 21UX offers unparalleled creative control, comfort and productivity.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100301/SF62000)
The Cintiq 21UX experience starts with its amazing new pen performance, capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the LCD surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Other innovative enhancements include rear-mounted Touch Strips that are ideally placed for fingertip access while working. Each Touch Strip has an accompanying thumb-controlled Touch Strip Toggle button that controls up to four different user-assigned functions per application such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment and canvas rotation. In addition, the overall design has been refined and updated in an all-black color scheme, providing a sophisticated and handsome look.
2048 Reasons to Work Directly On Screen
The Cintiq 21UX Grip Pen features Wacom's new proprietary Tip Sensor technology, offering users near-zero (one gram) starting pressure for the most sensitive interactive pen display performance to date. "Now, pressure-sensitive support can start with an incredibly light touch, emulating the same organic feel, response and result derived from working with traditional brushes, markers and pens," said Don Varga, Senior Product Manager for Wacom Technology Corp. Additionally, the Cintiq pen delivers 2048 levels of pressure, doubling the resolution of the pen's pressure curve and greatly improving the accuracy of pressure-sensitive effects such as controlling line weights or opacity adjustments. The Grip Pen also features a pressure-sensitive eraser and two customizable side switches that can be customized for commands such as double-click and right-click.
New Design Elements Improve Workflow
With a new ergonomic design and productivity features, the Cintiq 21UX is the ultimate tool for creative professionals. The customizable, application-specific ExpressKeys™, eight located on each side of the display's bezel, are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used commands at the fingertips. Pressing the top ExpressKey brings up an on-screen display showing the settings of all the ExpressKeys and Touch Strips. The close proximity of these tools to the actual work area is efficient and comfortable and helps save valuable time by minimizing dependence on the keyboard without taking focus away from the pen hand.
Also new to the Cintiq 21UX is the introduction of two user-defined, four-function Touch Strip Toggle buttons which control the function of their associated Touch Strip, located on the back of the bezel. The position of an illuminated LED located along the perimeter of the Toggle button indicates the current function of the Touch Strip. Fully application-specific, the Touch Strips can be used for up to four functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment and canvas rotation per application. This new ergonomic treatment is also extremely practical, allowing users to "toggle" with their thumbs while using their forefinger or middle finger to control Touch Strip speed and variation. "The four-function Toggle combined with the new location of the Touch Strips provides increased comfort and measurable increases in speed," says Varga. "Additionally, locating the Touch Strips on the back of the pen display rather the front helps prevent accidental contact with the pen hand when, for example, flowing brush strokes are employed and extend beyond the screen's border."
Stand and Deliver
The Cintiq 21UX's patented stand allows users to recline the pen display at any angle between 10 degrees and 65 degrees to match the users ideal working posture. In addition to reclining, the Cintiq 21UX can be rotated up to 180 degrees in either direction to take advantage of natural drawing movements or offer a different viewing angle. If desired, users can easily remove the Cintiq from the stand for use on a table top or to attach it to an articulating arm (not included) using the standard VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) mounts located on the back of the display.
A new weighted pen stand is not only a convenient pen holder, but doubles as a handy twist-off storage compartment for pen nibs and handy nib removal tool. Standard, felt and stroke nibs are provided, allowing users to simulate the feel of working with a variety of traditional art and design materials.
Included Software
To help users get started right out of the box, the Cintiq 21UX ships with valuable creative software from several of our software partners:
Corel® Painter™ Sketch Pad for recreating the natural feeling of sketching and painting by hand
Nik® Color Efex Pro™ 3.0 WE6 for selectively applying lighting and photo enhancements with the pen
Wacom Brushes 3.0 for 81 customized brushes for use with Adobe® Photoshop® CS + and Photoshop Elements 4 +
Additionally, Cintiq 21UX users will also benefit from Wacom's powerful driver software, including radial menus for quick "pen-point" access to additional customized shortcuts.
Creative Accessories
Wacom has a line of accessories to complement the Cintiq 21UX that address the specific needs of individual users. The Art Pen, for example, supports the barrel rotation feature within such applications as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator® and Corel Painter 11, allowing users to create natural brush effects by rotating the pen, much like a calligraphy pen. The Art Pen is newly designed and features a round barrel with two nib options, standard and chisel-tip. The Airbrush pen offers users a digital airbrush that has a similar form and wheel-based control as a traditional airbrush. It provides creative, fun effects when combined with select applications. Cintiq 21UX accessories can be conveniently purchased at the direct.wacom.com Internet site.
Availability
The new Cintiq 21UX (DTK-2100) priced at $1999 USD is intended to begin shipping in the United States, Canada and the majority of Latin America countries in late March or early April. It will be available in Argentina, Brazil and Chile in early summer due to certification requirements in those countries. Consult your local electronics retailer or visit www.wacom.com for the most current information.
About Wacom
Founded in 1983, Wacom's vision to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies has made it the world's leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays and digital interface solutions. The advanced technology of Wacom's intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashions and designs around the world and provides business and home users with the ability to explore digital content creation in a comfortable, natural way. Today, millions of customers use Wacom's cordless, battery-free, pressure-sensitive pen technology to express their creativity.
New Cintiq provides enhanced pen performance and innovative ergonomics, providing an intuitive and natural-feeling pen-on-screen workflow for the very best in creative control, comfort and productivity
VANCOUVER, Wash., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Wacom® introduces the much anticipated Cintiq®21UX, its newly-redesigned interactive pen display delivering state-of-the-art pen performance and innovative ergonomics in a color-accurate LCD display. Designed specifically to meet the demanding needs of professional photographers, designers, artists and animators, the new Cintiq 21UX offers unparalleled creative control, comfort and productivity.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100301/SF62000)
The Cintiq 21UX experience starts with its amazing new pen performance, capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the LCD surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Other innovative enhancements include rear-mounted Touch Strips that are ideally placed for fingertip access while working. Each Touch Strip has an accompanying thumb-controlled Touch Strip Toggle button that controls up to four different user-assigned functions per application such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment and canvas rotation. In addition, the overall design has been refined and updated in an all-black color scheme, providing a sophisticated and handsome look.
2048 Reasons to Work Directly On Screen
The Cintiq 21UX Grip Pen features Wacom's new proprietary Tip Sensor technology, offering users near-zero (one gram) starting pressure for the most sensitive interactive pen display performance to date. "Now, pressure-sensitive support can start with an incredibly light touch, emulating the same organic feel, response and result derived from working with traditional brushes, markers and pens," said Don Varga, Senior Product Manager for Wacom Technology Corp. Additionally, the Cintiq pen delivers 2048 levels of pressure, doubling the resolution of the pen's pressure curve and greatly improving the accuracy of pressure-sensitive effects such as controlling line weights or opacity adjustments. The Grip Pen also features a pressure-sensitive eraser and two customizable side switches that can be customized for commands such as double-click and right-click.
New Design Elements Improve Workflow
With a new ergonomic design and productivity features, the Cintiq 21UX is the ultimate tool for creative professionals. The customizable, application-specific ExpressKeys™, eight located on each side of the display's bezel, are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used commands at the fingertips. Pressing the top ExpressKey brings up an on-screen display showing the settings of all the ExpressKeys and Touch Strips. The close proximity of these tools to the actual work area is efficient and comfortable and helps save valuable time by minimizing dependence on the keyboard without taking focus away from the pen hand.
Also new to the Cintiq 21UX is the introduction of two user-defined, four-function Touch Strip Toggle buttons which control the function of their associated Touch Strip, located on the back of the bezel. The position of an illuminated LED located along the perimeter of the Toggle button indicates the current function of the Touch Strip. Fully application-specific, the Touch Strips can be used for up to four functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment and canvas rotation per application. This new ergonomic treatment is also extremely practical, allowing users to "toggle" with their thumbs while using their forefinger or middle finger to control Touch Strip speed and variation. "The four-function Toggle combined with the new location of the Touch Strips provides increased comfort and measurable increases in speed," says Varga. "Additionally, locating the Touch Strips on the back of the pen display rather the front helps prevent accidental contact with the pen hand when, for example, flowing brush strokes are employed and extend beyond the screen's border."
Stand and Deliver
The Cintiq 21UX's patented stand allows users to recline the pen display at any angle between 10 degrees and 65 degrees to match the users ideal working posture. In addition to reclining, the Cintiq 21UX can be rotated up to 180 degrees in either direction to take advantage of natural drawing movements or offer a different viewing angle. If desired, users can easily remove the Cintiq from the stand for use on a table top or to attach it to an articulating arm (not included) using the standard VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) mounts located on the back of the display.
A new weighted pen stand is not only a convenient pen holder, but doubles as a handy twist-off storage compartment for pen nibs and handy nib removal tool. Standard, felt and stroke nibs are provided, allowing users to simulate the feel of working with a variety of traditional art and design materials.
Included Software
To help users get started right out of the box, the Cintiq 21UX ships with valuable creative software from several of our software partners:
Corel® Painter™ Sketch Pad for recreating the natural feeling of sketching and painting by hand
Nik® Color Efex Pro™ 3.0 WE6 for selectively applying lighting and photo enhancements with the pen
Wacom Brushes 3.0 for 81 customized brushes for use with Adobe® Photoshop® CS + and Photoshop Elements 4 +
Additionally, Cintiq 21UX users will also benefit from Wacom's powerful driver software, including radial menus for quick "pen-point" access to additional customized shortcuts.
Creative Accessories
Wacom has a line of accessories to complement the Cintiq 21UX that address the specific needs of individual users. The Art Pen, for example, supports the barrel rotation feature within such applications as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator® and Corel Painter 11, allowing users to create natural brush effects by rotating the pen, much like a calligraphy pen. The Art Pen is newly designed and features a round barrel with two nib options, standard and chisel-tip. The Airbrush pen offers users a digital airbrush that has a similar form and wheel-based control as a traditional airbrush. It provides creative, fun effects when combined with select applications. Cintiq 21UX accessories can be conveniently purchased at the direct.wacom.com Internet site.
Availability
The new Cintiq 21UX (DTK-2100) priced at $1999 USD is intended to begin shipping in the United States, Canada and the majority of Latin America countries in late March or early April. It will be available in Argentina, Brazil and Chile in early summer due to certification requirements in those countries. Consult your local electronics retailer or visit www.wacom.com for the most current information.
About Wacom
Founded in 1983, Wacom's vision to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies has made it the world's leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays and digital interface solutions. The advanced technology of Wacom's intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashions and designs around the world and provides business and home users with the ability to explore digital content creation in a comfortable, natural way. Today, millions of customers use Wacom's cordless, battery-free, pressure-sensitive pen technology to express their creativity.
My degree of want for this device is matched only by my lack of need for said device.
I hope this brings down prices of the older model a little.
For those who have one, using gestures can give you quick access to a lot of features, without having to reach for the keyboard. On windows there is gMote http://www.handform.net/gmote.php and on Linux you can use easystroke and on Mac you can use xGestures. Click the side button, and draw a shape to execute a keyboard shortcut or command. In general there are less than a dozen command you use all the time in any drawing program, so you only need to define those.
@ragtag Great tip, I will look into that today!
I would love to see a Wacom laptop come out some day.
Where's Logitech (or Microsoft even) when you need em? Pretty sure they could duct tape something together that would give Wacom a run for its money...I use one (a Wacom device) everyday at work and to be honest, though its handy to use, there is nothing special about it that another company couldn't do a whole heck of a lot better...
This is one market either of the above companies could EASILY steal marketshare away from Wacom...easy pickings...
A "cheaper cintiq with less extravagant pen capabilities and a multitouch interface" - what you're looking for is a tablet PC sporting N-Trig duosense digitizer, such as the HP tx2z. Starts at $700, and it's a whole computer, not just a screen and a digitizer. The kinks in the n-trig digitizer are largely worked out now, although there is still some issue with pressure sensitivity not working in popular applications, which is a big problem admittedly.
@JustenR NO! YOU DO NOT WANT A TX2 series!! Do NOT do it! Do NOT listen to that comment. I HAVE A TX2000 and while I loved it, I found out that every single one of these apparently MELTS the soldering and DIES. Mine was fortunately, under an extended warranty, but for my computer demands, I want a machine to last until -I- want to replace it, not when it FAILS. I have a six year old HP laptop that's still going, but my less than two year old TX DIED and is working on dying a second time and still no recall on it. I've heard the newer versions suffer the same problems.
@TiffRoss My tx2z has held up just fine for about 18 months now, I have a hard time imagining anything a PC does could melt solder (200 - 800 degrees fahrenheit.) The AMD processors they're packed with do have a heat issue that can cause crashes and general user discomfort if you don't religiously clean the heatsinks, the narrow fins pick up lint easily and once clogged the system never cools off (many users complain about fan noise, but the heat is at the root of the issue). I believe the Dell tablet with the n-trig digitizer runs an Intel cpu though, so there's that - I just have a thing against Dell, besides finding their model ugly as sin.
That's because Multi-touch in most applications is a gimmick.
http://www.buycheapnow.co.uk/cheap-lcd-tv/
One more thing, I installed sketchbook pro. When I draw strokes (regular speed) it doesn't always pick up on them, there is only a point at the beginning which disappears when you lift the pen again.
It's really not usable like this since about a third of the strokes aren't recorded
so I guess I'll be using photoshop again untill there's a new driver.
(I use a macbook (2.4 core 2 duo) whith this new cintiq. I still have to hook it up to a faster set to see if it makes a difference)