Wacom’s Cintiq pen displays get just a touch cooler
posted Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 12:55 PM EST
If you're like us, Wacom's Cintiq pen displays rank pretty high on your list of lustworthy tech. They might be marketed towards artists wanting to recreate the pen-and-ink experience in digital form, but they make for mighty impressive photo editing tools as well, if you can justify the expense.
Two new large-screen Cintiq models were announced by Wacom yesterday in the US and European markets. The Cintiq 24HD touch takes the gotta-have-it-tech to a whole new level of cool, while the 22HD aims to boost the quality of the entry level Cintiq display, while retaining a price tag that will put it in the hands of more artists and photographers. (When we say "entry level" we are, of course, excluding the Cintiq 12WX tablet from the equation, it being a much, much smaller device.)
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The Wacom Cintiq 24HD touch adds a multitouch-sensitive overlay and uses a better display. Photo provided by Wacom. |
Compared to the existing 24HD model, the Cintiq 24HD touch adds a multi-touch sensitive layer to the display, allowing you not only to draw or paint with the included pressure- and tilt-sensitive pen, but also to pan, zoom, and rotate your artwork intuitively with your fingertips. The screen size is unchanged from the 24HD at 24.1-inch diagonal, as is the resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels, but the 24HD touch is based around a new horizontal in-plane switching, amorphous silicon, active matrix TFT LCD panel. That brings improved brightness (300 cd/m2), contrast ratio (850:1), and 97% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space. (By way of comparison, the standard 24HD has 92% Adobe RGB coverage, 190cd/m2 brightness, and 550:1 contrast ratio.) Response time is unchanged at 13 milliseconds. One other notable difference is a lighter stand that shaves off around 0.9 pounds, although the weight of the display itself is unchanged.
The Cintiq 24HD touch is priced at US$3,700 approximately, and ships from August 2012.
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The Wacom Cintiq 22HD swaps in a wide-aspect LCD panel with better brightness and contrast ratio. Photo provided by Wacom. |
The Cintiq 22HD, meanwhile, is rather more affordable. Priced at US$2,000 or thereabouts, it's the least expensive current Cintiq model, other than the tiny Cintiq 12WX tablet. A direct replacement for the long-in-the-tooth Cintiq 21UX, which carried the same pricetag, the Cintiq 22HD switches to a wider-aspect panel with a 21.5-inch diagonal. The new panel is just slightly brighter at 230 cd/m2, and a much greater contrast ratio of 1,000:1. Viewing angles have also increased by a few degrees, to 89 degrees. The 22HD is also significantly lighter than its predecessor. Although there are more subtle changes from the 21UX elsewhere, the new panel is the big story for this model. Availability is set for late July 2012.
More details on the Wacom website.
Press Release
New Wacom Cintiqs Paint a Pretty Picture
The Cintiq 24HD touch and Cintiq 22HD provide an immersive and natural pen-on-screen experience for professional creators of digital content
VANCOUVER, Wash. , July10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tailored around the increasing demands of creative professionals, Wacom® announces two new members of the Cintiq® family of interactive pen displays, the Cintiq 24HD touch and Cintiq 22HD. Artists and designers now have two new options for working directly on screen. As with the Cintiq 24HD, Wacom's latest Cintiqs feature best-in-class widescreen HD displays, ultra-wide viewing angles and premium color performance. To give professional artists and designers enhanced focus on their work and creativity, Wacom introduces the powerful combination of a precision pen and natural multi-touch. With the addition of these models to the Cintiq lineup, anyone, from freelance industrial designers sketching in a small studio to Hollywood animators creating the next blockbuster movie, can find a Cintiq that best fits their workflow.
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Externally, the Cintiq 24HD touch looks the same as the 24HD, shown here. Photo provided by Wacom. |
The Cintiq 24HD touch: Hot Color, Cool Touch!
To offer users an immersive experience and a more intuitive and natural way to work, the new Cintiq 24HD touch combines Wacom's multi-touch with its renowned pen technology. The Cintiq 24HD touch closely replicates the experience of working with two hands when using traditional materials such as paints, markers and clay while giving the artist powerful capabilities that only exist in today's creative software applications. "Increasingly, as creative software incorporates multi-touch interaction and gesture support, the Cintiq 24HD touch provides a natural input experience for all related activities including concept sketching, illustration and especially 3D activities such as sculpting, modeling and animation," says Don Varga, Professional Products Brand Director. "The ability to manipulate a 3D model or pan, zoom and rotate an image with one hand while simultaneously sculpting or sketching with the other delivers a completely natural experience enabling artists to stay completely in their creative zone."
Support for Wacom's advanced multi-touch is available in Corel®'s latest Painter™ 12.2 update and provides a harmonious digital p ainting experience to artists. "With the introduction of multi-touch, Wacom has created a highly evolved environment for Corel Painter users to work with the power of digital tools but in a completely natural and intuitive way. Multi-touch allows users to directly manipulate their work by spinning, pinching and moving it around, instead of searching for buttons or quick keys to perform the same actions," said Nick Davies, Executive Vice President of Graphics and Productivity at Corel.
Professionals with color-critical workflows, such as photographers, graphic designers, video and film editors as well as animators and game developers will benefit from the Cintiq 24HD's life-like color quality which displays 1.07 billion colors and 97 percent of Adobe's color gamut. "For many creative workflows the calibration of color for the entire project is a necessity," continues Varga. "Given the color gamut of the Cintiq 24HD touch, artists can be certain that the colors they see while working on the Cintiq can be calibrated to match the printing or other output phases of a project."
As with the Cintiq 24HD, the Cintiq 24HD touch offers best-in-class ergonomics. Professionals working long hours will appreciate the counter-weighted stand that adjusts to their favorite positions for maximum comfort. For example, one can bring the display surface over the edge of the desk so that it rests comfortably just above the lap or the display can be adjusted to more vertical, easel-like positions.
In addition, frequently used shortcut commands are available at the user's fingertips through the application-specific, customizable ExpressKeys™ and Touch Rings of the Cintiq 24HD touch. Employing these shortcut s can save valuable time by minimizing keyboard dependency.
The Cintiq 22HD: Express Yourself!
With Wacom's new Cintiq 22HD widescreen interactive pen display , illustrators, designers and artists can interact with their artwork on a more personal level. By offering a pen-on-screen experience that delivers the same natural feel, response and results derived from working with traditional brushes, pencils and pens, the Cintiq 22HD workflow allows users to unleash their creativity and express themselves just like they would with real paint on canvas or real ink on paper. Additionally, the Cintiq 22HD's unique stand is ideal for artists who prefer to rotate their entire display as part of their workflow.
"Creative professionals want their technology to be invisible," says Varga. "That is, they need their tools of the trade to be natural, seamless and comfortable. The Cintiq 22HD meets these requirements with ergonomic features to help increase comfort and productivity."
To improve workflow and creative output , the Cintiq 22HD offers eight customizable, application-specific ExpressKeys located on each side of the display's bezel. Additionally, user-defined Touch Strips, conveniently placed on the back of each side of the display , can be used for such functions as zoom, scroll, brush size and canvas rotation. "Artists and designers appreciate the comfort and freedom that the Cintiq provides, especially during long sessions of drawing or sketching," continues Varga.
Scintillating Cintiq Pen
Pen performance remains the key ingredient to the whole interactive pen display experience and Wacom's two new Cintiqs do not disappoint. Delivering virtually the same feel and feedback as traditional brushes and pens, bo th Cintiq s feature Wacom's professional - level pen performance to produce dazzling artistic effects within creative software applications from Adobe®, Corel®, Autodesk® and many more. Both the Cintiq 24HD touch and Cintiq 22HD support the Art Pen and Airbrush accessory pens to deliver natural brush effects within Adobe® Photoshop® and Illustrator® (CS3 and above) as well as Corel® Painter™ (10 and above).
Choosing a Cintiq
With four Cintiqs now in the family (Cintiq 12WX, Cintiq 22HD, Cintiq 24HD and Cintiq 24HD touch), Wacom offers a line of interactive pen displays that each have their own set of unique features and characteristics. Choosing the best model ultimately boils down to matching personal workflows with the right Cintiq.
Availability and Pricing
The Cintiq 22HD ($1999 USD) will be available in the latter part of July and the Cintiq 24HD touch ($3699 USD) is expected to ship in August.
About Wacom
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. Wacom devices provide business and home users with the ability to explore digital content creation in a comfortable, natural way.