Wacom Unveils Cintiq Pro 16 for Digital Artists and Designers

[btarunr]

Wacom introduces its new Cintiq Pro 16 creative pen display to professional and serious creators of digital content who wish to take their art and design work to the next level. Building on over 35 years of product innovation and valuable customer feedback, the Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 combines the company's most natural and precise pen performance with newly improved ergonomic features into a sleek and portable form factor to help artists, designers, photographers or anyone with a passion for art let their creativity flow from pen to screen.

"The launch of the Cintiq Pro 16 puts the power of our flagship creative pen display line into an extremely portable device that is more adaptable than ever before - giving artists not only better precision, but also flexibility in how and where they work," said Faik Karaoglu, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Wacom's Creative Business Unit. "Wacom continues to build products that help artists and designers reach their full potential and reimagine what is possible."



Enhanced comfort and control
The Wacom Cintiq Pro 16's sleek and thin design makes it easy to slip into a laptop bag or backpack and is a smart choice for today's digital content creators who find themselves moving between working locations and computers on a regular basis. "For professionals who are already using a Cintiq Pro 24 or 32 at their place of work, having a Cintiq Pro 16 at the home studio makes a great deal of sense as the device will be most familiar," adds Karaoglu. "It also happens to be a wonderful choice for schools who are training the next generation for careers in animation, industrial design, game development, photography, etc."

Wacom's latest touch screen technology on the Cintiq Pro 16 offers better performance over previous generations. The option to use the pen and multi-touch together is still alive and well as many users enjoy using their fingers for easy and fast navigation as well as the ability to pinch, zoom and rotate illustrations, photos or models within supporting 2-D and 3-D creative software applications. For added customization and sophistication, the Cintiq Pro 16 features a physical switch on the top edge of the screen's bezel for turning multi-touch on or off for those users who prefer having touch turned off while working. Additionally, eight ExpressKeys, for integrating and customizing keyboard shortcuts and modifiers into one's workflow, are conveniently placed on the rear edge sides (four on each side) of the display for better ergonomics and the added benefit of more screen real estate for drawing. States Karaoglu, "Moving the ExpressKeys to the rear of the device is more intuitive and improves ergonomics and haptic feedback as the keys are located in an area where most user's hands will naturally gravitate to when working."

Natural pen-on-screen performance
Wacom's Pro Pen 2 offers unmatched creative control and precision to those who take their digital art seriously. Delivering four times greater accuracy and pressure sensitivity than the previous Pro Pen, the improved Pro Pen 2 creates an intuitive, free-flowing experience with virtually lag-free tracking on an anti-glare, etched glass surface that emulates the natural feel and feedback of a traditional pen or brush. In addition, optical bonding greatly reduces parallax for better performance when working with fine lines or details.

Handy accessories
The Wacom Adjustable Stand lets users focus on their work instead of having to draw or paint in a way that is counterintuitive to their style. Third party stands can also be attached to the unit's VESA mount. For artists who like to experiment with different types of pens, the thin Pro Pen slim and Pro Pen 3D, with three customizable buttons, provide new ways to get creative. When color is critical, the Wacom Color Manager, with Wacom Calibrator hardware and Wacom Profiler software, helps make sure that the colors on your displays and finished work reproduce exactly as intended. Lastly, the handheld ExpressKey Remote is designed to boost productivity by creating software application shortcuts with its 17 customizable buttons and Touch Ring.

Configuration, pricing and availability
The Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 is compatible with both Mac and PC computers and features ultra HD 4K resolution (3840x2160) through either USB-C or HDMI connectivity. The device delivers vivid colors with 98 percent Adobe RGB. In addition, the display's cables contain no PVC to meet recent SDG requirements that are aimed at cleaning up the environment. Priced at $1499.95 USD, the Cintiq Pro 16 is expected to be available online and at select retail locations in October.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[The Quim Reaper]

I've always wanted one of these drawing tablets, visions of producing epic Military Sci-Fi illustrations and Alien landscapes...Then reality bites, and I remember that I have all the imagination but the artistic skills of a 3yr old with a crayon and realise no amount of fancy hi tech drawing implements, will ever change that fact.

 

[PLSG08]

I hope the new Cintiqs have better displays now. I had a Cintiq 24 HD and it had god awful backlight bleeding and a relatively inaccurate color calibration out of the box. It was so bad i just sold it and went back to a drawing tablet. Honestly the price premium isn't worth it (for that model anyway) compared to the competition. Hopefully the newer cintiqs use a better panel

 

[Valantar]

I hope the new Cintiqs have better displays now. I had a Cintiq 24 HD and it had god awful backlight bleeding and a relatively inaccurate color calibration out of the box. It was so bad i just sold it and went back to a drawing tablet. Honestly the price premium isn't worth it (for that model anyway) compared to the competition. Hopefully the newer cintiqs use a better panel

I've heard similar things. The poor calibration is especially surprising to me, though tbh these displays just seem poorly made for their use case overall, with reportedly air gapped displays, large z-heights from image to pen tip, and slow response times. Given the massive improvements to pen feel from 120Hz displays in the iPad Pro and new Surface Laptop Studio I would have hoped for this to be a 120Hz (or at least 90Hz) panel, but I guess there aren't any available in the required size. Still, IMO that's where companies like this ought to aim - their main markets are "budget? what's that?" companies in the photography, videography, film production, VFX, 3D modelling and similar industries, so they really ought to be able to collaborate with a panel manufacturer on a balls-to-the-wall panel+pen system+touch surface. At the price of this I'd rather just buy an iPad Pro, despite the smaller screen size - though admittedly I don't work in those industries, and it might be that the larger size is crucial to some of them (to such a degree that a larger secondary display wouldn't be sufficient).

 

[PLSG08]

I've heard similar things. The poor calibration is especially surprising to me, though tbh these displays just seem poorly made for their use case overall, with reportedly air gapped displays, large z-heights from image to pen tip, and slow response times. Given the massive improvements to pen feel from 120Hz displays in the iPad Pro and new Surface Laptop Studio I would have hoped for this to be a 120Hz (or at least 90Hz) panel, but I guess there aren't any available in the required size. Still, IMO that's where companies like this ought to aim - their main markets are "budget? what's that?" companies in the photography, videography, film production, VFX, 3D modelling and similar industries, so they really ought to be able to collaborate with a panel manufacturer on a balls-to-the-wall panel+pen system+touch surface. At the price of this I'd rather just buy an iPad Pro, despite the smaller screen size - though admittedly I don't work in those industries, and it might be that the larger size is crucial to some of them (to such a degree that a larger secondary display wouldn't be sufficient).

Honestly as a display tablet, the Cintiq 24 HD was really REALLY disappointing for the price. The average pixel response time was around 12-15ms w/c you can really feel the delay especially once you start working on 120hz+ monitors. Pen tech isn't really all that amazing as the competitors have also caught up in that regard. I guess the only thing that Wacom has now over the competition is their really solid build quality. I've used XP-Pen tablets and Huion tablets and they usually last around 1-2 years. But Wacom tablets can last for around 5-8 years given proper use.

Another disappointing thing on the Cintiq was the 4k Panel. 24inches feels just too compressed to use 4k. I do see the "crispiness" of 4k but if I have to run windows scaling for at least 125% for things to be close to readable then 4k is pointless. It should've been at least a 27in or a 32in panel to really benefit from the amount of screen estate 4k brings. But at bigger sizes you then face issues with ergonomics since now you have to lean over the display or hunch forward to draw w/c is bad for your back especially with long work hours. You also now have to move you arms more since the screen is bigger now.

If i were to recommend someone who has this much money to spend for a Cintiq is too just buy a 4k 32in Monitor with better color calibration and can cover adobe rgb and p3 then spend the rest on a Wacom intuos Pro. If they really want a drawing-on-screen experience they should just go for an Ipad, a Surface, or a Cintiq 16. At least this way when either one breaks, its not as destructive to your work and you can easily get a temporary replacement. But when a Cintiq breaks down you have to face Wacom's sub standard warranty and deal with the downtime of not being able to work.

 

[PeteColeman]

Very nice, just a bit pricey. Great specs and features for pro graphics design.
I own a 15,6" XPPen Artist Pro 16TP, against the Wacom Cintiq's expensive prices. This is a better option for a struggling artist/hobbyist, unless they can afford the Cintiq...