TIGSource Forums

Oh, hai!

I've just got a Wacom Bamboo tablet (yay). My previous tablet was a meh Aiptek that served well during five years and unfortunately isn't among us anymore.

So, after unboxing and plugging the thing, I was eager to unleash my artistic fury (a.k.a. scribbling away), but then noticed the annoying scratch noise that the pen tip makes on the tablet surface. I know it's expected, but if the Bamboo's surface is anything like my previous tablet's, it'll surely get worn after some time.

Do you guys have any tips for protecting/conserving tablets? I'm thinking of putting a thin paper sheet over the surface, but I'm not sure if it'll mess with the pen's precision.

I don't bother with protecting my Intuos3 and it's showing no signs of wear after 3-4 years of regular use.

Wacom tablets are actually much better built compared than the cheap clones out there like Aiptek or Genius. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Wacom knows how to make a quality product. I have friends who have used the same Wacom tablet for over 5 years and are still able to draw just fine with it.

Part of the reason why other tablets aren't as great is because Wacom pretty much patented most of the technology they use for their tablets, forcing other companies to find cheaper alternatives, which is the reason why they don't have quite the same build quality.

You really only need to worry about the pens.  Those break way more easily than the tablets.  I bought my tablet in 2005, but it was made in 1996.  It still works fine, while I am on my third pen.

Later tablets have a simulated paper texture on the overlay (which is replaceable) that wear down the pen nibs (also replaceable) at a faster rate than smooth overlays.

I haven't even had my tablet a year now, but since I switched to my new computer, it started skipping every now and then.  There are certain areas I can't draw on.  Its usually the same spot but it started doing it in a new spot so I have like, no space to use.  Any ideas what to do?  It's been happening awhile.   :concerned:

I destroyed two Wacom tablets, their usb is kinda bad, basically they got shotcircuited by a pen drive the first one and an ipod the second one.
Now i got a Trust one, bigger and better, for the same price. The only not so awesome thing is that the pen uses a normal battery, so you need to replace it, but it last very long.
It also has a sort of small film that's almost unscratchable, and you can put your pencil drawings behind that to copy them.

TIP: Do not attach your wacom after using an usb device like a pendrive or an mp3 player

I think I have the same trust tablet, behind the protective cover there was a paper with a picture of a woman on mine. Very nice

I've had mid-grade Wacom for about four years. I've had to replace the pen, but the tablet hasn't had any problems. I'd definitely buy one again.

P.S.- you can get refurbished older Wacom models for very reasonable prices.

Yeah, I'm using a Genius tablet. The pen is absolutely horrible. I'm hoping it will die soon so I can get a Wacom.

I'll be ordering a wacom bamboo tomorrow, I was going to buy an A4 intuos3 for about 325£, but I need to buy a new laptop  :shrug2:

Thanks for the advice, guys. Eclipse's tip about usb shenanigans is weird, but I won't take chances  :handthumbsupL:;)

So far, my impressions about the Bamboo are very positive. It definitevily feels better than my old tablet, and I'm glad I didn't buy a Genius (even though they're very cheap. An A4 is almost the half the price of a 4x6 Bamboo).

Ive never had such an experience with my tablet I do that all of the time and nothing happens.  Maybe there is a problem with your computer.  Ive never had a problem with my wacom tablet except that the eraser on the pen stopped working, but thats not a big deal for having it for 4 years.  My tablet has a clear protective plastic case that covers it and that protects the actual pad.  I dont believe that the bamboo comes with that but I trust wacom to make a sturdy product so i wouldnt worry about it.

I got a Bamboo over a year ago, and the surface hasn't scuffed at all so far.  :) Actually, you're more likely to wear down the pen nib before the surface (I replaced the nib on my pen recently)

The only failure I've had with a Wacom tablet was the USB cable becoming damaged because I would wrap the cable around the tablet too tightly. A bit of insulation tape however has kept that tablet working fine for four more years.

My main tablet is a ten year old Intuos 1 tablet. They are very sturdy things. You might need to replace the pen tip from time to time though.

My tablet broke, only logical conclusion is that the usb port somehow shortcircuited my tablet because I had plugged in a pen drive before! :crazy:

What if you just leave it plugged in? I haven't unplugged my tablet since I bought it.. I guess that doesn't work if you have a laptop, but still..

I've had mine for about five or six years, and it's been great. Only just this week had the pen stopped working (the eraser side crapped out about a year in) but luckily, at least the graphire 3 version was easy to fix. I just had to open it up (this took some time and pulling) and solder some tiny wires back in place, and the thing works like new.  :handthumbsupR:

My wacom intuos 3 broke down with the usb cable shorting and covered in scratches. But since I got the bamboo it's like "yeah, scratch me bitch." and the USB cable can be unplugged so it's been perfect.

My tablet didn't even come with a cable.  I had to splice my own out of a power adapter, a pair of 9-volt battery contacts, and an old serial cable.

Haa, I like the pen on mine (Genius G-Pen somethin or other).  I never used a wacom though. how do they compare?

I have taped a piece a paper over my tablet, though more to simulate the friction between paper+pencil than to prevent scratching. Sometimes I rip the paper and replace it.

(http://www.eurojdm.com/images/ebay/accessories/bamboofunsilver.jpg)

That's from a Bamboo Fun. See how the bottom half is rubberized? I get so many finger-aches from my hand sliding down the pen till it's pushing against the tablet's surface. (I have sorta sweaty hands when it comes to writing. :()

Plus the Genius pen has an annoying shirt-clip which always gets in the way.

But the tablet itself is also pretty crappy. In Gimp 2.6, it feels like it only has 8 pressure sensitivity levels. It's such a pain to do good shading.

Graphire4, bought 4 years ago. I never unplug it. Broke a pen last year after years of abuse, had to buy a new one. Snapped the USB cord, sellotaped it back, holding up nicely, no problems so far. The hardware itself has been working without any problem whatsoever.

So I guess what I'm saying is; if it's a Wacom, it'll go for years as long as you don't deliberately try to break it. Just try to keep the pen in sight and try not to drop it too many (200?) times.

tried with three different computers, so it's not a problem with my computer, sadly it's quite easy to short circuit a wacom if you use cheap chinese usb drives and such.
I had an intuos with that plastic stuff you're referring and after that a bamboo, both died in the same manner after a year or two.. Oh also even the intuos will shortly cover with scratches, that plastic thing doesn't do anything for that.
No problems with the Trust one (still)

I've had problems with the Wacom Bamboo because of a noisy PSU.
Sometimes it just resets itself.

The thing is too sensitive... and I don't see any place left for a capacitor or choke in it's tinyness, to filter any power spikes.

For you who think it died on you, try changing the cable or switching to another USB port hub (like, if you're plugging on the front, try the back of your PC)

Besides that, it kicks ass.

yep after a lot of tries in different ports it just died forever (windows wasn't even more able to feel that something was connected at some point).
I'm using a trust now, and it feels more solid, besides of that if you take care of a wacom is a very good tablet

Bummer

My previous tablet was an Aiptek Hyperpen. If the pen is anything like Genius', the Bamboo's has two big pluses:

- No battery
- Rubberized grip

Shade already talked about the grip, but at least for me not having a battery was one of the main points for buying a Wacom. I didn't mind replacing batteries, since they seemed to last forever (months), but the battery made the Aiptek pen weigh like a brick compared to Bamboo's.

Overall, my impressions about the Bamboo are very positive. It does have a pretty annoying driver bug, which disables pressure sensitivity and forces me to reset the driver once in a while, but it seems to be a common issue.

It also has less pressure sensitivity levels compared to the Aiptek (the Aiptek has 1024, the Bamboo 512) , something that I already have noticed but doesn't make much of a difference, at least for a noob like me :durr: Actually, it feels more... precise. Don't ask me why  :droop:

Yeah, the little shirt clip on the Genius pen is just...why is it there.   ???

I found that my Genius tablet worked better with XP than Vista.  With Vista, some of the controls just don't work as well. 

same here, the pen is horrible but it actually works better than a wacom, or better, i only had small wacom tablets, this trust one is bigger so maybe it's only because of that that i feel it a lot better than my previous ones

Yeah, don't get the smallest tablets.  The larger ones have much more control.  My ancient 12x12" Wacom Digitizer II is actually more accurate than my 4x5" Intuos 3 because of size alone.

My tablet's pen just died today, and the tablet is only a year old. Really, I'm not too impressed with the Genius brand. I guess I'll be getting a Wacom in a couple of weeks.  :-\