Elegant and classy looking in style, the Sailor 1911 Profit fountain pen is a product of the renowned Sailor Pen Company in Japan, which also produces some of the finest and most exquisite nibs in the world today.

This beauty comes with a lifetime guarantee. The Sailor 1911 Profit is housed within a beautiful dark blue box with faux leather surface. Inside, there are also a manual, ink cartridge and converter.

The Sailor 1911 Profit is available in various shades, but you definitely won’t go wrong with the perennial favourite – black body and gold clip and rims around the pen-cap as well as grip.

It's priced reasonably for it's superior writing performance and beauty, great for avid fans/collectors of exquisite, premium-quality fountain pens.

Design

The body is streamlined with a polished shine. The torpedo-shaped black body is proudly crowned in gold trims along both ends of its pen-cap (top & bottom) as well as tail-end and along its grip.

The metal-clip of the pen-cap is also made with a gold finish with closely-spaced linear engravings running on it. At the bottom of the pen cap on the gold trim are exquisitely crafted words reading ‘Sailor Japan Founded 1911’.

This is a standard size pen that's has a nice balance and is really nice to hold, alone or posted.

Difference choices of nibs are available with the design of the trademark anchor-logo symbolizing the Sailor Pen Company. Below this logo, you can spot the beautifully engraved words ‘Sailor’ and ‘21K’ or ‘14K’ (depending on the type of nib you have chosen). The nib design is very beautiful.

Excuse my dirty screw threads. LOL.

When you unscrew the barrel to reveal the threads, there's a small piece of rubber ring on the section just above the threads. It slows down the barrel when as it's about to close tight. It's a nice feature. You can turn the barrel fast, and the threads are so smooth the barrel will continue turning on its own until it reaches the rubber ring where it slows down, and then you turn it tight. It's like when you're pouring water quickly into a glass but you slow down when the glass is becoming full.

Nib

The Sailor 1911 Music Nib comes in either 14K or 21K gold. The nib has a single slit as compared to two on the Platinum 3776 Music Nib fountain pen that was recently reviewed.

On this music nib, there's a little 'MS' carved to the side of the nib.

The 14K gold nib is available in varieties ranging from Extra Fine, Fine, Medium-Fine, Medium, Broad, and in more unique specs, Music and Zoom.

Performance

Since it's a music nib, almost like a calligraphy nib, thickness of the strokes depends on how you hold the pen and how the nib is aligned on the paper. If the nib is pointing to the left, the vertical strokes are thin and horizontal strokes are broad. When the nib is pointing upwards, vertical strokes are broad, and horizontal strokes are thin.

This music nib slides over paper smoothly. Ink flow is great and allows its user to enjoy an easy and pleasant writing experience. However, if you run the nib across the paper quickly, then the stroke might skip. Ink flow is not as good as the Platinum 3776 Music Nib which has double slits.

The nib is not totally stiff and with a bit of force, you can open up the slit just a bit for a slightly, almost not noticeable, thicker stroke.

This is the smoothest fountain pen nib I've ever used. I love drawing with it.

These are strokes the pen can produce. Thin horizontal, thick vertical.

The paper used for the 3 sketches above is quite lousy and prone to absorbing too much ink, so there's some feathering and the strokes appear thicker.

Drawing with a music nib is not different from other nibs actually. Pick an angle and keep to it. However, in the sketch of the rooftops, I turned the nib to produce thin strokes for the texture (tiles) of the roof.

This is a sketch I drew on the train while commuting to work. I used Noodler's ink on the 12 by 9 inch Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper 300gsm.

Conclusion

The Sailor 1911 is a beautiful pen. The music nib is quite fun to use but it's not suitable for normal writing purpose because the broad strokes. I use it for drawing mainly because of the strokes can vary in thickness, and that provides some visual interest to the sketches. However, sometimes the difference in stroke thickness may not be that obvious, especially if I were to draw on a big piece of paper and scaled it down for web display.

One minor downside could be the small size of the converter. The music nib uses a lot of ink and depletes the converter rather quickly. I've to bring extra ink out for the purpose of drawing.

The only thing to note would be that drawing with a music nib would need some time to get used to as it functions like a calligraphy pen.

Another pen to check out would be the Platinum 3776 fountain pen with music nib.

Availability

Here are direct links to see the Sailor 1911 fountain pen with music nib at:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Here are direct links to see the standard Sailor 1911 Profit fountain pen with other nibs at
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.co.jp

This is the ink I've used for a long time but never reviewed until now.

Noodler's Bulletproof black ink is made in the USA and is a popular ink people use commonly in fountain pens. There are over 400 reviews on Amazon and mostly favourable.

For this review, I'll be looking at the ink from an artist's perspective. Is it good enough for sketches, comic book inking, or pen and ink work?

The ink is sold in 90ml bottles. That's quite a lot of ink considering most other inks are sold in the 30ml or even 60ml bottles. Noodler's bottle is glass and has a square base, rather tall, and the opening is quite big. I've bought several bottles before and each one always come filled to the brim. There's a catfish drawing on the label that always makes me wonder,"Why a catfish?"

Bulletproof is a Noodler's term to represent waterproof, bleach proof, lightfast and archival qualities. It's quite rare to find waterproof black ink that's also safe for use in fountain pens, so Noodler's quite unusual in that regard.

It seems that people who use the ink are so enthusiastic that some of them really go all the way to test whether it's bleach proof.

The ink's main characteristic is its ability to bond with cellulose. After the ink has bonded, it's almost impossible to wash off. And hence it's an often recommended ink for use with signing cheques to prevent cheque washing. However, to get the full effect, the ink has to be completely dry. The ink is designed specifically to bond with cellulose so you can easily wash the ink off your fingers but not so on the paper or your clothes.

The Noodler's Black is a water-based ink made of 97% water. When dried in the bottle, it can be reconstituted with water. Because it's water-based, it's safe to use with fountain pens as compared to pigmented ink.

Here's the ink test I did, and below are the close ups.

I've edited only the exposure of the scan slightly and left the paper texture visible.

The ink is less than dark black.

When used in concentration, there's a tendency for it to form back runs when it dries. Back runs happen when pigments (or whatever particles this ink is using) move back while drying. This is commonly seen with diluted watercolour, and since the Noodler's is water-based, it's not surprising to see that effect as well. For writing purposes, there won't be the problem with back runs. But when you apply ink with brush, this is a problem to watch out for.

From these strokes you can see the different saturation of black.

And since the Noodler's is water-based, the inked areas when dry may look blotchy on certain paper. It's as if the ink is not mixed consistently even though that's not the case because for the ink test I've shaked the bottle prior. This problem is worse if you're applying the ink wash over paper that does not absorb water well. Again, it's a problem for artists and not for writers. This effectively rules out the ink for comic book inking especially if you want to sell your physical page.

Click for a bigger view

The picture above compares various brands of black ink. Notice the slight warm tone compared to others.

Here's the waterproof test. It is waterproof to a great extent.

You can see some ink coming off but it's not a big issue. Definitely still suitable for watercolour pen and ink sketches.

For pen and ink sketches, line work, the ink works well but you must wait for it to dry completely, bond with cellulose, before it can be waterproof. The bad news is this ink dries quite slowly.

When water is applied over the ink when it's not completely dry, it's going to smudge. Some people mistake that as the Noodler's Black not being waterproof. What makes the ink more tricky is that even though it may look dry, it may not have completely dried. Having said that, many sketcher friends of mine use the Noodler's Black for their ink and watercolour sketches with no problems.

Some might also like this ink for sketches simply because the ink is not that dark and hence not so striking that it stands out calling for attention.

Here's a sketch where I used Noodler's Black to ink the long sleeve black shirt man on the left near the middle. Note the blotchy patches compared to the other black areas which are filled in with Rotring ink.

The ink, when dried, holds up well to erasing.

Conclusion

Noodler's Black is popular for fountain pens and certainly for writing. For art purposes, the limitations comes in the form of being unable to ink large areas because it's difficult to prevent blotchy patches, and it's not dark enough to be used for commercial pen and ink work, at least in my opinion.

It's a good ink for line work and writing with the only caveat being the drying time. For inking, avoid it.

Pricing is quite competitive and I've always considered it to be quite value for money. It takes a while to use up 90ml of ink especially if you're writing or creating line art.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get the Noodler' Bulletproof Black Ink on Amazon:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es

During a recent trip to the local art store here, I found out that Pelikan has a new bottle design for their Fount India black ink.

In the picture above, the new design is on the left with a white cap that tapers to the top. On the right is the earlier design which has the cap doubling up as a dropper. There's nothing wrong with redesigns but I kinda prefer the dropper because it's useful.

The new design has a tapered end that's small enough to go inside pen converters. But the Fount India is a pigmented ink so I will not recommend its use in fountain pens. The label claims that it's "drawing ink for fountain pens" but I will not be putting pigment ink into any fountain pens regardless of what the label says.

One downside to the new design is that you can no longer easily open up the bottle to use for dip pens, and even if you open it up, the opening will be too small.

So basically now if you want to use Pelikan ink, you have to get the new bottle and use it to refill another bottle. An extra unnecessary step.

Some may not like the plastic bottle but I like it. You can bring it onto planes and the air pressure would not affect it because the plastic is capable of stretching.

Here's the ink test I did, and below are the close ups.

Note that I've edited only the exposure of the scan slightly and left the paper texture visible.

The Fount India produces black that's less dark than other inks I've used. You need to layer it to get dark blacks. The black has close to a neutral or a slight cool tone. When used it in saturation, it dries with a slight sheen.

Click for a bigger view

The picture above compares various brands of black ink. The black has a neutral tone not leaning to warm or cool.

The ink and brush can produce strokes with sharp and clearly defined edges. Performance is similar on smooth and cartridge paper.

Drying time is quick. It dries within seconds after lifting the brush. After it dries, it holds up well to erasing, and even rubbing your finger over it will not smudge.

Unfortunately, the Fount India is not waterproof as this test has shown.

Conclusion

It's not dark black so it might be an issue for those who require a darker level of black.

I'm not so keen about the new bottle design as I prefer the old bottle with the dropper. I'm glad I have some of the older bottles that I can reuse. You need an extra bottle to use with the new bottle design.

Availability

Follow the direct links to see the Pelikan Fount India on Amazon:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es

Recently, while checking out the graphics drawing tablets there are available in the market, I was surprised to see a lot more options. Wacom continues to be the prominent brand in the market but many other brands of graphics tablets have appeared in the recent years.

This article is a guide for those considering getting a new drawing tablet.

Onslaught of competition
Have you heard of brands like Huion, Turcom, UGEE, Monoprice, VisTablet and PenPower? Apparently, some of these brands have been around few many years. The one common point these brands share is that they all target the lower-priced market at budget conscious consumers with really attractive pricing.

This guide looks only at the simple non-display tablets from the companies mentioned above. Display tablets such as the Cintiqs, or those from Huion and Bosto will be in a separate post.

Rebrand graphic tablets
With so many brands to compare, I suggest looking at just Wacom, Huion and VisTablet. Several companies, such as Turcom and Monoprice, are actually just selling rebrand tablets from Huion. Physical designs of the tablets look exactly the same, just that brands slapped on are different.

Wacom tablets are priced the highest among the three. Huion is cheapest, and VisTablet is in between.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER

Several factors to consider when getting a drawing tablet include pressure sensitivity, size, drivers, features and of course the price.

Having a stylus with good pressure sensitivity is a must. Tablets nowadays go up to 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. The Wacom Intuos 3 that I'm still using has 1024 levels and that is quite adequate. So definitely get at least 1024 levels or above.

Another feature good to have is the tilt sensitivity. This feature depends on the support of graphics software. This appeals more to those who use brushes that can make use of the tilt sensitivity, e.g. airbrush.

Most drawing tablets are designed for widescreen monitors nowadays. Common sizes are 10 by 6 and 8 by 5 inches where the ratio is around 1.67:1 (a widescreen 16:9 monitor has a ratio of 1.78). Just be careful not to get the wrong proportion so that you can maximise the use of the whole of the drawing area.

Other features to consider but non are deal breakers (at least to me) are things like having an eraser on the back of the pen, customisable shortcut buttons, touch function and wireless capability. I've always preferred using the keyboard with the pen so the lack of eraser and shortcut buttons don't bother me.

To determine what size to get, you should take into account the size of your monitor. 8 by 5 inch is a good size to get, and if you have more budget the 10 by 6 inch. Personally I would go for a 10 by 6 inch because I use a 27-inch monitor at home. The higher the tablet to screen ratio, the bigger the tablet, and the more expensive it will be. Drawing on the tablet is intuitive but will need some time getting used to, and some training of your muscle memory. With a larger surface area, you have more room to manoeuvre for adding details. Don't forget to take into account how much free space your table has also.

The last important factor is the driver support. The drivers must be able to support the OS you're using, Windows or Mac. Also check if your drawing software is supported. Most tablets work well with Photoshop. But for lesser known software like GIMP or PaintTool Sai certain functions, such as shortcut buttons or pressure sensitivity may not work.

Important note on drivers: Windows users are recommended to install the drivers before plugging in the tablet. Otherwise, Windows will install their own drivers, and the pressure sensitivity will not work, and sometimes the Windows driver will be difficult to uninstall. This applies to tablets for all brands.

Alright, let's look at the drawing tablets that are available out there now.

COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT DRAWING TABLETS

WACOM

Wacom has consolidated the product lines for the pen tablets into two groups, the Intuos Pro and the Intuos Pen. Confusing? Yes.

Wacom Intuos Pen and Touch
The Pen and Touch are the entry level tablets from Wacom. They replace the earlier Wacom Bamboo tablets, namely the Bamboo Splash, Bamboo Capture and Bambook Create. The new models are cheaper than the old Bamboo.

Official retail price is from $79 to $199.

Here's a table comparing the key specifications:

Note that the base model simply called Pen (Small) has no eraser on the pen and multi-touch.

Here are the pros and cons of the Intuos Pen and Touch
+ Decent build quality
+ Drawing surface has a slight texture that evokes the feeling of traditional medium, e.g. the paper.
+ 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity works well and good enough for beginners
+ Buttons on the tablet and pen can be programmed to keys, mouse clicks and other functions
+ Tablet is responsive even on a cheap laptop
+ Multi-touch conveniently detects fingers for zoom and scroll
+ Hand can rest easily on surface without registering unwanted touches
+ 3 extra nibs are hidden inside the lid in the little compartments on the back
+ Pen is light and comfortable
+ Pen does not require batteries like competitors'
+ Works for left handed users also
+ Driver installation is easy
- Pen is thinner that others from Wacom product lines
- Tablet may have problems being detected when computer is waking from sleep
- Cord is short
- Drawing surface scratches easily
- Some users report shaky lines
- Price is higher than competiton

You can see the updated prices below:

Intuos Pro
The Intuos Pro series replace the Intuos5 before. Official retail price for the Intuos Pro is from $249-$499 for a drawing surface from 6.2x3.9 inches to 11.8x7.5 inches. They cost significantly more than any other brands out there currently.

Here are the pros and cons for the Intuos Pro:
+ Nice sleek looking design
+ Good build quality overall, but problems exist with the USB port
+ Drawing surface has a slight texture that evokes the feeling of traditional medium, e.g. the paper.
+ 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity
+ Buttons on the tablet and pen can be programmed to keys, mouse clicks and other functions
+ Tablet is responsive even on a cheap laptop
+ Multi-touch conveniently detects fingers for zoom, scroll and other functions
+ Hand can rest easily on surface without registering unwanted touches
+ 10 assorted replacement nibs are included
+ Pen feels natural and comfortable to hold
+ Pen does not require batteries like most competitors'
+ Works for left handed users also
+ Good drivers and features for Windows and Mac
- USB port is fragile, not durable.
- Cord is short
- Pen nib can wear out fast but you can turn the sensitivity up to detect less pressure on your part
- Pen works without pressure sensitivity and tilt with GIMP
- Wifi and wireless last around 8 hours
- Wireless functionality is inconsistent at working 100%
- Some users complain that tablet and driver don't work when computer wakes from sleep
- Price is much more expensive than competition

The Intuos Pro has wireless capability. The power source is built in to be charged with the USB cable. However, the USB port build quality is filmsy so the constant plugging in and out risks damaging it. Many customers are unhappy about the fragile USB port, and the inconsistency at which the wireless works.

Wacom's pen stand is always nice. There are 10 assorted replacement nibs included, the standard black, stroke and hard felt. With the slight texture on the drawing surface, the pen nib can wear out fast when the pressure is great, and several customers recommend setting a sensitive pressure setting so that you can use less pressure while drawing.

The medium size drawing area of 8.8 by 5.5 inch is a good size to get. The large can be too big.

For the high price, relatively speaking, that Wacom are selling their tablets, the design flaw of the USB and inconsistent wireless functionality is quite disappointing. However, if you're the type who don't constantly plug out or transport your tablet, or don't use the wireless, then those problems are not going to affect you too much.

HUION

Huion is a company located in China that makes graphics drawing tablets. They have quite a lot of model numbers and it can get confusing fast. In general, their model numbers are named after the size of their tablets, e.g. model 610 would be for a 10 by 6 inches and 580 would be for 8 by 5 inches.

Price range for their tablets is insanely attractive, like several times cheaper, like OMG-I-can't-believe-that-tablets-can-be-so-cheap affordable. After you look at the price from other companies, you'll realise that it is Wacom who prices their products high, sometimes too high.

Huion 680s 8x6 inch
Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 4000 LPI resolution, 220RPS reading speed. Full specifications.

Here are the pros and cons of 680s:
+ Good pressure sensitivity level of 2048
+ Smooth surface for drawing, with texture close to paper
+ Comes with 4 spare pen nibs
+ Very affordable at under USD $40 for an 8x6 inch drawing surface
+ Very responsive, no lag when drawing
+ Works with WinXP/Vista/7/8/Mac OS
- No shortcut buttons on tablet
- Pen runs on AAA battery with reportedly 6 months battery life
- Pen has a on-off switch but is flimsy, customers usually just unscrew the back to save battery life
- Pen does not have tilt sensitivity
- Pen has no eraser
- Pen stand allows the pen to lay horizontally but not stand vertically
- Driver installation is gets mixed reviews from customers, but slightly more towards the favorable side.
- Support from Huion is inconsistent, sometimes good, sometimes bad.

At the time of this writing, the same size Wacom vs the Huion 680s is USD$300 vs $40. You can buy several Huion tablets for the price of one Wacom. The downsides mainly go to do with the pen requiring a AAA battery to power but it's a minor inconvenience compared to the immense savings.

The 680s is a barebones tablet with no shortcut buttons.

Huion 580 8x5 inch
Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 4000 LPI resolution, 220RPS reading speed. Full specifications.

Huion H580 8x5 inch
Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 4000 LPI resolution, 200RPS reading speed. Full specifications.

The specifications for the 580 and H580 are pretty similar. The difference is H580 comes with 8 Express Keys and 13 other keys that you can customise yourself. There's also another model called 58L which has 6 Express Keys, a wireless version W58 and one with a rechargeable pen K58. Additional features cost more.

Reviews are pretty mixed. General build quality and the pen is similar to other tablets by Huion. Meaning the drawing surface will have a slight texture like paper, and the wireless pen is still powered by an AAA battery. 4 replacement pen nibs are included inside the pen stand.

Complaints are mainly of the build quality with several customers reporting faulty units after a period of time, and the hassle of getting it fixed with Huion support. However, there are many customers also are satisfied with their units.

Huion H610 10by6 inch

Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 4000 LPI resolution, 220RPS reading speed. Full specifications.

The H610 sports a larger 10 by 6 inch drawing surface. There are 8 Express Keys and 16 customisable function keys.

Here's a good Amazon review of the H610 with a video included.

Huion H610 Pro 10x6.25 inch

Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 LPI resolution, 233RPS reading speed.

The H610 Pro is the newer model of the H610 with a cleaner and edgier look. Specifications has improved slightly with 5080 LPI resolution and 233 RPS reading speed. This unit is more expensive than the H610 of course.

TURCOM (HUION)

Turcom Electronics is a company based in Southern California. From what I've read at several places, it seems that Turcom is a rebrand of Huion and in some cases, I see Turcom product photos sporting the Huion logo, and customers saying they received Huion tablets instead of the Turcom they ordered.

Since Turcom is just a rebrand, then you might as well just get the Huion tablets.

Their tablets come in generally two sizes, either near 8x6 inches or 10x6 inches.

Turcom TS-6580 8x5 inch

The Turcom TS-6580 is a 8x5 inch size drawing tablet that comes in two colours, either white or black (identified as TS-6580B). It's a budget tablet at under $50 for an A5 size drawing surface. This model came out in 2012.

Here are the pros and cons of the TS-6580:
+ Good resolution of 4000LPI
+ Pressure sensitivity levels is 2048 and works well
+ Pen reading speed 200 RPS
+ No lag
+ Drawing surface is about A5 size
+ Construction quality is solid
+ Pen is lightweight, and weight is contributed by the AAA battery
+ Comes with pen rest cup
+ Comes with 4 spare pen tips
+ USB cable is lengthy
- Pen feels a bit cheap with some customers complaining it breaks down
- Nib wiggles a bit
- Pen is powered by AAA battery (included)
- Pen has no eraser
- Driver installation from disc is not straightforward. Download drivers from website if necessary
- Manuals are not useful. You'll do better with the drivers downloaded from Turcom's website.

Turcom TS-6W58 8x5 inch wireless

The specification for this wireless tablet is similar to the TS-6580 above. There's only one useful but unfavorable review on Amazon complaining about the driver that's supposedly causing faulty wireless function.

Turcom TS-6608 8x6 inch
This tablet with rounded corners also has a resolution of 4000LPI, 200 RPS reading speed and 2048 levels of sensitivity. This model came out in 2013.

I found out that equivalent Huion model is a P608N and the driver on the disc you should use is H610. And Turcom's website has only a TS-5508 instead of the TS-6608. Confusing. What's interesting is you can get the equivalent drivers from Huion's website as well.

Below's a video of the TS-6608 unboxing:

There are two rolls of touch buttons at the top and bottom of the drawing area. The icons come with labels so there's no mistaking what they represent. There are also buttons by the sides, and you can actually program them to open specific applications. Handy. You access the buttons with the pen.

TS-6608 has it fair share of good and bad reviews. Most of the bad reviews focus on the durability of the pen and confusing driver installation process. There's no power switch for the pen and to save electricity you have to unscrew the back of the pen, although the pen is supposed to power off automatically after 10 minutes. AAA batteries are cheap anyway.

All these points should will apply to the Huion since Turcom is selling the rebrand.

UGEE

UGEE is another company in China that makes graphic tablets.

Ugee M708 10x6 inch
Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 LPI resolution, 230RPS reading speed, 8 Express Keys

Reviews for the Ugee M708 is surprisingly positive.

Pros and cons of M708:
+ Beautiful thin (0.25 inch thick) design
+ Good build quality
+ Big 10x6 inch drawing surface
+ Pressure sensitivity works well
+ Drawing surface has a slight texture to mimic paper
+ Works on Windows/XP/Vista 7,8, Mac OS with updated drivers from their website
+ Comes with 8 spare pen nibs inside the pen holder
+ 8 Express Keys on the left
+ Can be used be left and right handed users
- Micro USB to USB cable is short. It's detachable so you can use your own long one
- Drawing surface scratches easily
- Pen uses AAA battery
- Pen has no eraser
- Pen has no tilt sensitivity
- Driver installation can be confusing for some.

Ugee M1000L 10x6 inch

Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 4000 LPI resolution, 200RPS reading speed.

Some difference between the M1000L and M708 include the slightly lower, but still high, resolution of 4000 LPI. In addition to the 8 physical Express Keys, there are also 16 customisable buttons on the drawing surface that can only be accessed with the pen.

Ugee G3 9x6 inch

Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 LPI resolution, 220RPS reading speed, full specifications.

The Ugee G3 is a simple sleek looking tablet with a very smooth drawing surface. There's support for left and right handed users.

The wireless pen uses AAA battery with a 5000hr battery life. There's a battery life indicator light. Hidden inside the pen stand are 8 replaceable pen nibs. The pen stand can hold the pen vertically.

It's really quite a bare bones tablet with no shortcut buttons. Despite the simplicity, it actually cost slightly more than the Huion H610 which is larger and has more features, and hence more value for money.

Ugee G5 9x6 inch

Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 LPI resolution, 220RPS reading speed, full specifications.

The Ugee G5 is one model up and is a tablet with some interesting features. It has this G-Flash which is actually a 8GB flash drive that allows you to store your files - basically just think of the tablet as a super huge USB flash drive. You can store your files on the drive and bring the tablet around. The driver software is on the flash drive also but remember that you will want to download and install the driver before you plug in the tablet.

The swivel button on the G5 has several functions as well. You can use it to control brush size, zoom, rotate canvas, scroll or turn pages. In the centre of the circle is a button when pressed allows you to change the function (which appears on screen). The outer ring has smaller buttons that you can further customise for other functions.

The drawing surface is smooth. Overall design is sleek and the bezel is thin so the overall tablet is quite compact that can still accommodate a nice 9x6 inch drawing surface.

There's no mention on whether it supports both left and right handed users.

MONOPRICE

Monoprice is a consumer electronics company in USA that was established in 2002. They are known to compete on price.

The tablets they sell look like they are rebranded from Huion. There's one particular tablet Monoprice 110594 which looks exactly like Huion H610.

The two main tablets worth looking at are Monoprice 10x6.25 inch (model 110594) and Monoprice 8x5 inch (model 110593) which are both released towards the end of December 2013. Both are budget graphics tablet under $70.

Keys specifications: 4000 LPI resolution, 200 RPS reading speed, 2048 levels of sensitivity.

This is the Monoprice 10x6.25 inch graphics tablet. It looks exactly like the Huion H610. I guess it's the same tablet just with a rebrand.

It comes with 8 physical Express Keys and a row of 16 programmable buttons at the top of the drawing surface. The 10x6 inch model is a better buy compared to the 8x5 inch model which just has 6 Express Keys. Price difference at time of this writing is just around $10.

VisTablet

VisTablet Systems is founded in 2007 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of YSB World Corporation that is based in Los Angeles, USA. Their tablets are more pricey but still cheaper than Wacom. But for the extra price, you get customer service based in California. They offer a 2-year warranty for their tablets.

VT Realm 10x6.25 inch

Keys specifications: 4000 LPI resolution, 200 RPS reading speed, 2048 levels of sensitivity. Full specifications.

The VT Realm is a 10x6.25 inch graphics tablet with a good build quality. The drawing surface is for widescreens monitors and smooth to draw on. There's a column of 8 shortcut keys on right side of the tablet that are pre-programmed to certain functions but you can customise them yourself too. Cable is fairly long.

Pen is glossy which is prone to stickiness and fingerprints. It's powered by one AAA battery. Pressure sensitivity works well. There's a pen stand that allows the pen to stand vertically. The related downside is the inclusion of just 2 replaceable nibs.

While the company claims to support Mac, a few customerscommented that the drivers don't work too well with Mac.

There are less than 30 reviews on Amazon and most are favorable. So this is certainly a tablet to consider

VT Realm Pro 8x5 inch
The VT Realm Pro is the new edition of the VT Realm. It's smaller but more expensive. It's set to be released in November 2014 so there aren't any reviews yet.

Key specifications: 5080 LPI resolution, 200 RPS reading speed, 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity with 60 degrees of pen-tilt sensitivity, pen is battery free.

There are three groups of shortcuts, two are the dial wheels and one set of 4 buttons.

PenPower

PenPower Inc is a company founded in 1997 based in Taiwan. Their products are in the area of business productivity software, Asian language-based software and mobile electronics.

Tooya X 10x6.26 inch

Tooya X is the recent upgrade to the Tooya Pro what was released in 2008 to mixed reviews. The Tooya X is quite a competitively priced.

Keys specifications: 4000 LPI resolution, 200 RPS reading speed, 2048 levels of sensitivity. Full specifications.

The pen also uses battery. The drawing surface is 10 by 6.25 inch and comes with 8 shortcut keys.

Few reviews exist and those that do mention that the graphics tablet don't work well on Mac because of outdated drivers. The actual quality of this tablet is mostly unknown.

CONCLUSION

Problems to installing drivers isn't limited to other brands as Wacom also has some customers who comment on their frustrations with the drivers.

Overall, I'm really quite impressed and shocked by how low prices set by other companies. Put in other words, it really forces potential customers to wonder if the features and brand power of Wacom is worth the extra hundreds of dollars.

I can't recommend any one particular drawing tablet as the best because I've not used them all. Each brand has their own compromise in terms of pricing and features. But I will recommend checking out Wacom, Huion and VisTablet.

Using other drawing tablets besides Wacom?

If you use graphic tablets from other brands beside Wacom, share your comments below and reviews on Amazon.

Here's the Take-Sumi (Bamboo Charcoal, 竹炭) black ink from the Pilot Iroshizuku series of ink. This ink is designed and made in Japan by Pilot for use in fountain pens.

The Take-Sumi comes in a beautiful blown-glass bottle.

That's how the packaging looks like. Inside, the cardboard is folded in such as a way that the ink bottle is not touching any side of the box.

There's a small tapered well at the bottom for you to get the last drop of ink.

The Pilot Iroshizuku inks are quite expensive compared to other ink. At the time of this writing, we have the 50ml selling at USD $22 vs 90ml Noodler's Bulletproof black ink at $12.50. Many people have commented that the Iroshizuku inks are expensive. Yes, they are.

For this ink test, I've used a brush. Note that I've edited only the exposure of the scan slightly and left the paper texture visible.

This is one of the darkest black ink I've used. However, to get this level of intense black, you have to use the ink in concentrated form. Even when writing, the black is this intense.

One key feature of this ink is how beautifully and smoothly the dark areas blend to the less concentrated areas.

The ink feels slightly less viscous compared to India ink that's for sure. It's somewhat as fluid as the Noodler's Bulletproof Black ink.

It holds up well to erasing.

It's able to produce sharp edges nicely without feathering on this cartridge paper that I tested on.

There's a cool tone bias as the ink gets drier.

I'm impressed by how dark and even the black areas are filled. Other black inks I've used would show at least a faint trace of blotchiness, but not with the Take-Sumi.

The only question I have is whether this ink is lightfast.

Unfortunately, the Take-Sumi fails the waterproof test spectacularly. The ink even breaks down to show the slight cool blue tone bias.

The strokes with water added would feather horribly, and when you wash out the water, what's left behind is surprising a sharp but washed out impression of whatever that's left of the original strokes.

I've used the alcohol-based Copic markers to go over the inks. Take-sumi hold up well.

The ink feathers on lousy paper, which is not different from other Indian inks that I've tried.

Here are some handwriting on cartridge paper. It writes smoothly.

For handwriting, the strokes may have some gradation going on too which I find to provide visual interested. It looks nice for writing. However for creating lines for artworks, perhaps it's not that suitable unless you want that little bit of unpredictability.

Click for a bigger view

The picture above compares various brands of black ink. Top half of the square's a single layer wash and the bottom has a double layer wash.

Take-Sumi has the most obvious cool tone bias. Areas where the ink is most concentrated are the darkest and it becomes pale quite quickly as the concentration drops. Note the gradation from dark to less dark. Once the second layer is added, the black becomes extremely dark, slightly darker than the Bombay Black India ink. To get intense flat blacks with Take Sumi, load your brush with loads of ink.

Drying time is average to fast. The ink gets absorbed by the paper quite fast and results in faster drying time.

Conclusion

Take-Sumi is an interesting ink. I like how there's gradation in the strokes at time. If you want it intensely black, you can just use a loaded brush and the resulting wash area will look nice with no evidence of blotchiness.

It's a fountain pen ink so it's not surprising that it's not waterproof.

If you want to use it for artworks, you have to know it's peculiar quirks.

It's quite an expensive in at USD $22 for a 50ml bottle when you can get other fountain pen inks such as those from others brands like Parker, Waterman or even the Noodler's Bulletproof at less than half the price. Pilot Iroshizuku inks sell for much cheaper in Japan.

Overall, it's a good ink but it's an expensive ink.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get the Noodler' Bulletproof Black Ink on Amazon:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp

Dr. Ph. Martins (facebook) is a brand of the inks from USA company Salis International Inc. They have been making art products for more than 80 years. Other than black, they offer other colours as well.

Dr. Ph. Martins makes several black inks, namely the Black Star HiCarb India Ink, Black Star Matte India Ink (which I've reviewed before) and the Bombay Black India Ink.

The Bombay Black India ink is sold in a 1oz (30ml) bottle. The small glass bottle comes with a dropper.

Here's the label that says it's lightfast, waterproof, pigmented, smooth, non-clogging, non-toxic and holds a line without spreading.

Since it's pigmented, it's not safe for use in fountain pens.

The opening of the bottle is much smaller than other ink bottles I've seen. Be careful not to damage your brush when trying to fit into the opening. Pictured above is a size 6 brush.

The Bombay Black is an intensely black India ink. I just love how dark it is.

It dries relatively fast, and it dries to a neutral tone. Once it's dry, it's permanent and doesn't smudge or rub off easily.

It holds up to erasing well, but with heavy erasing some ink does come off. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's probably 9 for it's resistance to erasing.

It's able to create sharp lines without feathering. This is true even on lousy paper and I'm quite impressed. It can hold the edges well even on newsprint paper, although if you leave the tip long enough it will feather of course.

It has good covering strength and is not too blotchy when used to fill large areas.

The Bombay Black is waterproof.

Click for a bigger view

The picture above compares various brands of black ink. Top half of the square's a single layer wash and the bottom has a double layer wash.

Conclusion

Dr. Ph. Martin Bombay Black is a solid performer as an India ink. Only downside is it can come off slightly during heavy erasing but not a serious issue. It's definitely good enough for comic inking for its intense black.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get Bombay Black on Amazon:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Daler Rowney is one of UK's art materials manufacturer. The Daler Rowney's Calli is a calligraphy and India ink made in England. It's an acrylic-based ink designed specifically for calligraphy.

The Calli is actually available in different colours as well, namely Scarlet, Burgandy, Green, Blue, Scarlet, Brown and Jet Black India (the one I'm reviewing). It's also available and sold as a set of 6 colours too.

The ink is sold in a 1oz (29.5ml) glass bottle which has an opening of good size for dip pens and brushes.

This is another ink that I use quite often as an India ink because it's easily found at the art store here in Singapore. It's also sold online.

Here's the label that says it's non-clogging, pigmented and waterproof.

Since it's pigmented, I don't advise it for use in fountain pens.

This is the ink test on cartridge paper. I've edited the exposure of the scan to leave the paper texture intact. Below are the close-ups.

The Calli ink is an intensely black ink.

It's able to hold a sharp edge well, as expected for a calligraphy ink.

It dries relatively fast and to a neutral tone.

It holds up to erasing well, but with heavy erasing some ink does come off. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's probably 9 for it's resistance to erasing.

When dry, it has a slight sheen as opposed to matte. Areas where you use too much ink will have more sheen. And because those areas with sheen are the areas with concentrated ink, you're able rub off the ink with your fingers. If you use just the right about of ink, then it's less likely to smudge or rub off.

Compared to most other inks I use, I prefer drying to a matte surface.

Covering strength is good and isn't too blotchy.

The Calli ink is very waterproof but some ink still comes off with water. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's probably a 9 on the waterproof scale.

Click for a bigger view

The picture above compares various brands of black ink. Top half of the square's a single layer wash and the bottom has a double layer wash.

Conclusion

The Calli ink is good performing black India ink for calligraphy work.

However, there are some caveats. First is it dries to a slight sheen. Second it's waterproof to a great extent by not 100% waterproof. Lastly, it's can rub off if you use too much ink.

I would not recommend this ink for use if you need to lay your hands on portions of the paper where you have inked over.

For calligraphy use, sure. For sketches or inking comics, I probably would not use this, and would choose inks that cannot be rubbed off by mistake.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get the Daler Rowney's Calli ink on Amazon:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr

Here are comparisons of different black inks I've used so far. I'll keep adding to the list.

Top half of the square represents one layer of ink, and the bottom two layers.

Here's the quick rundown of pros and cons of each ink. If you want the detailed review, just click and visit the individual reviews.

Daler Rowney Calli Black Ink
+ Pigment ink, archival
+ Intensely black
+ Waterproof to a great extent (9 out of 10)
+ Opening has good size for dip pens and brushes
+ Dries fast to a neutral tone
- Dries to a slight sheen
- It can rub off if too much ink is used

Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay Black India Ink
+ Pigment ink, archival
+ Intensely black
+ Waterproof
+ Dries fast to a neutral tone
+ Slight ink comes off with heavy erasing
+ Does not feather even on lousy paper
+ Bottle has a dropper
- Opening is a bit small for dip pens and brushes

Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi ink (Bamboo Charcoal, Black)
+ Intensely black
+ Dark areas blend smoothly to less concentrated areas
+ Beautiful blown glass bottle
+ Holds up well to erasing
+ Drying time is average to fast
- It's a dye ink, not archival
- Not waterproof
- Dries to a cool tone bias
- More expensive than other black inks

Pelikan Fount India Ink
+ Pigment ink, archival
+ Black but not as intense as the blackest inks
+ Bottle has a dropper
+ Plastic bottle means it won't get affected on board planes
+ Dries to a neutral tone
+ Quick drying time
+ After dried, it does not smudge even when rubbed
- Dries to a slight sheen
- Not waterproof

Noodler's Black Bulletproof Ink
+ 97% water-based formula, archival
+ Bonds only with cellulose
+ Waterproof to a great extent (9 out of 10)
+ Sold in very economical 90ml bottles
+ Holds up well to erasing
- Less than dark black
- Dries to a warm tone bias
- Looks blotchy when used to fill areas
- Dries slowly

Rotring Drawing Black Ink
+ Intensely black
+ Dries to a neutral tone
+ Pigment ink, archival
+ Waterproof
+ Fast drying time
+ After it's dry, it does not smudge even when rubbed
- Can dry to a slight sheen at concentrated areas
- Bottle is designed for refilling technical pens and not for dip pens or brushes

Speedball is a company based in USA that sells various art supplies, mostly inks and paint media.

Speedball Super Black India Ink is the ink I'm reviewing today.

The ink comes in a 2oz (59.2ml) plastic bottle. The base is wide which is good because it keeps the bottle more stable than other brands. The opening is also quite big so that's good for dipping your nibs and brushes.

This is an India Ink so it's not suitable for use in fountain pens. It's pigmented with 100% carbon black pigment and contains shellac. The ink is designed for drawing and calligraphy.

This scan is adjusted for exposure leaving the paper texture. Below are the close ups.

The ink is highly opaque and intensely black. It dries to almost matte neutral black with tinge of sheen.

It's able to keep a sharp edge.

Dries fairly fast to become smudge-proof. It's also waterproof.

It's permanent and holds up to erasing well.

Conclusion

There's really nothing to fault about this India ink. It performs consistently and is predictable. It's excellent for dip pens and brush works.

This is one of the best black India inks compared to the others that I've reviewed.

It's also highly affordable so it provides fantastic value for the money.

Highly recommended to those looking for waterproof, dark black ink.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get Speedball Super Black India Ink on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es

This is the Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Sumi Ink 60 that's made in Japan. Note that Kuretake sells several types of black ink.

The ink comes in a rather large 60ml bottle. The large base keeps the bottle stable. It has a wide opening for dip pens and brush.

Sumi ink is usually made for brush calligraphy and painting. However, the label on the bottle says it's a ink for manga or comic drawing. This ink is actually quite similar to the Kuretake Black Ink 60 but there are some differences. For one, this is not waterproof.

This scan is adjusted for exposure while leaving the paper texture intact. Below are the close ups.

The ink is intensely black and dries to a matte neutral black with a slight sheen at concentrated areas.

It's able to hold sharp edges well.

It's pigmented so you should not use it in fountain pens.

Drying time is average to fast. When dry, it becomes permanent and holds up well to erasing.

Unfortunately, the ink is not waterproof. It's smudge-proof though when dry.

To see how this ink compares with other black ink, visit http://www.parkablogs.com/picture/comparison-of-different-black-inks

Conclusion

For comic book inking, whether or not it's waterproof is not that important. As a black ink, it has good covering strength and resistant to erasing, so it's still a good choice for illustration and comic work.

At the time I bought it, it was around US $6. That's a good deal for 60ml of ink.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Sumi Ink 60 on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es

This is the Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Black Ink 60 that's made in Japan. Note that Kuretake sells several types of black ink.

I bought this on Amazon and unfortunately, there was some leakage during shipping. The bottle was just plastic wrapped. Thankfully, the ink did not spill beyond its plastic wrapping to damage my other books. That explains why my bottle looks so worn.

The ink comes in a rather large 60ml bottle. The large base is handy for keeping the bottle stable. It has a wide opening for dip pens and brush.

This ink is designed for manga and comic inking. It's pigmented so you should not use it in fountain pens.

This ink is actually quite similar to the Kuretake Sumi Ink 60 but there are some differences. This one here is waterproof while the Sumi is not.

This scan is adjusted for exposure while leaving the paper texture intact. Below are the close ups.

It's intensely black and the covering strength is fantastic. It dries to a neutral matte black.

It's able to keep a sharp edge.

It's waterproof when dried and becomes permanent and smudge-proof. Holds up well to erasing also.

Drying time is average to fast.

The only downside is if you use it in concentrated amounts, some areas may dry to produce unsightly colour breaks. It might be due to the water-based nature of the ink. For dip pen usage, this should not be a problem. For brush usage, you should control the amount of ink you use to prevent that.

To see how this ink compares with other black ink, visit http://www.parkablogs.com/picture/comparison-of-different-black-inks

Conclusion

The Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Black Ink 60 is a good choice for inking comic and illustration works. It's waterproof so it means you can use water-based medium such as watercolour together with it.

The price when I bought it was around US $8, which is a relatively good deal for 60ml of ink.

However, if you don't need the ink to be waterproof, you can choose the Kuretake Sumi ink which is even slightly cheaper.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Black Ink 60 on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es

The is the permanent waterproof black ink that Platinum has formulated for use in fountain pens.

As the Platinum Carbon Ink suggest, it does use carbon particles in its ink. The ultra-fine carbon particles are what provides the permanence, waterproof and archival features of the ink.

As with all pigmented ink, regardless of whatever nano-particles or super-nano-whatever size particles, it's recommended to clean your pen once in a while and definitely do not let the ink dry in the feed.

I like the design of the glass bottle. Looks beautiful and it has a wide opening suitable for dip pens and brushes.

This scan has been adjusted for exposure while leaving the paper texture intact. Below are the close-ups.

It's an intensely black ink with excellent covering strength.

It's able to keep a sharp edge.

When dry, it's resistant to erasing, rubbing, smudge and water.

The ink flow is smooth, and it does not bleed over the next page.

One downside is it dries to a slight sheen at concentrated areas. This is something to note if you apply ink with brushes.

Conclusion

It can be use in fountain pens but be careful to clean your pens regularly since it's still pigmented.

For watercolour sketchers, it's a nice choice because the ink is waterproof and you can layer watercolour over it.

For writers, the ink is dark and doesn't bleed.

This is one of the more expensive ink I've used. It's usually selling around US $20 for a 60ml bottle. I suppose it's still alright if you're going to use the ink for long period of time. However, for comic inking, there are other more economic choices.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get Platinum Carbon Ink on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.co.jp

This book is Moleskine Watercolour Art Plus.

All Jetstream pens are refillable.

I personally use Jetstream 0.5 ballpoint pen for my own sketching and writing since young and it has been a great instrument. Ink flows consistently, with occasional blobs. But that’s what makes it fun, making interesting lines. Personally, I like thinner and neater lines so I use 0.5. 0.7 has somewhat similar design to the 0.5, only difference is the colour.

The 0.5 has a see-through panel to see the ink level while the 0.7 is too dark to see. The grip is good, comfortable and light. 0.7 is all black which makes it look sleek and professional.

When I tried the 0.7 Jetstream ballpoint pen, I thought I expected better. I will explain the pros first then the cons.

Since the line is thicker, it is good for shading bigger areas and outline can be highlighted well. It also produces very black lines. I noticed that it produces darker lines than the 0.5. All three pens worked well with watercolour.

Unfortunately, the ink flow isn’t that good, stopped flowing often. With much more blobs than the 0.5, it's untidy and can cause smudges on the paper. However, it is not fixative proof so it will smudge and spoil your work if you fixative it. The excess blobs can make sketching unpleasant.

If you prefer thicker and darker lines, use this pen but remember the blobs can be annoying.

There are two types of Jetstream 0.7 pens, blue and black.

Jetstream 0.7 (Blue) has a different design from the Jetstream 0.5 and 0.7 (black). It doesn’t have the see through panel like 0.5 does but the rubber grip covers the whole body. 0.5 and 0.7(black) has a tighter rubber grip. The finial is bigger in 0.7 (blue). Although both are from the same series and nib sizes, they uses different refill. The refills are very simillar.
BLACK: SXR-7 JAPAN 14 03-K104
BLUE: SXR-7 JAPAN 13 09-K104

It is very odd that Jetstream 0.7 (Blue), surprisingly, is better than Jetstream 0.7(black) even though they use the same refill. It produces even darker lines and more smooth with better ink flow.

However, it still produces as many blobs as the black one. I suggest you try out both pens before choosing because the same refill can have different results. I have conducted a drop test on the tips of all three Jetstream pens and all are able to ink flow after that. I think the best out of these three is the 0.5, followed by the 0.7 Jetstream pen (blue).

This Jetstream has many nib sizes (1.0, 0.7 and 0.5). They even have the coloured ink versions.

I have tried the light blue coloured one(0.5). I got it from Tokyu Hands Singapore. The some parts of label is in japanese.
Refill is SXR-5 JAPAN 12 09-K202

Here is the sketch.

It still creates as many blobs but I think it has a rather nice colour pigment.
The other colours are red, light green, dark green, orange, pink, purple and dark blue.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get Uniball Jetstream on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp

This is a follow-up to the previous guide on non-display tablets that I wrote about.

This article will look at the various pen display tablets available, their pros and cons. Hopefully this will give you an idea on what's available in the market if you're looking to buy one.

A pen display tablet is actually monitor where you can draw on using a stylus. It works pretty much like drawing on an iPad except you have to connect the monitor to your computer. Having to connect to your computer means you're using the OS and can run the software installed on them. Another added advantage is, if your computer supports it, you can use the tablet as the additional monitor for more desktop space.

Wacom's first pen display tablets were released in 2007 with the models 12WX and the 20WSX.

Since then, Wacom has released more models, expanded the Cintiq product line with the Cintiq Companion, and we're also seeing more competitors with their pen display tablets released in the recent years. There are many Cintiq alternatives to choose from nowadays.

The thrill of using a pen display tablet is of course to enjoy the process of drawing digitally that mimics the traditional way you draw on paper. You draw on the screen and the line appears on the screen as the pen tip moves.

Factors to consider

Here are some factors to look out for when choosing a pen display tablet.

The most important factor, to me, is the type of panel used for the display. It should be an IPS panel so that you get the maximum viewing angles and best colour reproduction. You'll be constantly tilting your monitor, and without an IPS panel it will mean that colours on the screen will shift depending on where your eye is. It's very irritating to use a non-IPS monitor. Imagine when your monitor is upright, the skin tone looks alright, but when monitor is tilted down even by a few degrees, the skin tone appears off.

Next factor is space to place your tablet. If there's no space on your table, then you should consider a monitor that supports a mount such as VESA. If you use keyboard shortcuts often, you'll have to factor in the space for keyboard as well.

Most of the pen display tablets mentioned below support 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. However only Wacom supports pen tilt sensitivity so if you need to use brushes that make use of tilt, you can only go with Wacom.

Take note of the display cables that come along as you'll need to connect them to your computer. Prepare to spend a bit more to buy display adapters if you don't have the right cables.

Driver support is always important. It seems that most tablets are supported on Windows and Mac OS, just that the number of features may differ for different OS.

Price is not a feature of tablets but it's worth taking about. You may be shocked by the prices of competing models against the Wacom Cintiqs as you read on further.

Brands to look out for

If there are too many choices below, I will recommend looking at just Wacom, Bosto and Yiynova.

Wacom is still the respected brand when it comes to tablet technology, however, the pricing of their products can be quite high. Bosto's worth looking because of their Kingtee 22HDX model which I've personally tried and find to be quite a good performer for the price. Yiynova has generally good reviews and many praise the customer service of its distributor.

Alright, let's look at the individual companies and their products.

WACOM

Wacom currently has 4 Cintiq models, namely the 13HD, 22HD (and 22HD Touch), 24HD (and 24HD Touch) and the Cintiq Companion (and Cintiq Companion Hybrid.

Let's go through them one by one, and their pros and cons

Wacom Cintiq 13HD (See more pictures on Amazon)

Key specifications:

• Size: 375 ｘ 248 ｘ 14mm
• Weight: 1.2 kg
• Panel: IPS
• Contrast ratio: 700:1
• Displayable Colors: 16.7 million
• Brightness: 250 cd/m2
• Response rate: 25ms
• Color Gamut: 75% Adobe RGB
• Pressure levels: 2048 levels
• Tilt sensitivity: 40 - 60 degrees
• Resolution: 5080lpi over 1920 by 1080 screen resolution
• Shortcut keys: 4
• Stand Adjust-ability: 3 and detachable
• Comes with 9 replacement nibs
• Graphics input: HDMI

The Cintiq 13HD is the smallest pen display tablet from Wacom. This is the upgrade from the 12WX and the main upgrades are the increase in resolution to 1920 by 1080 and the extra inch of screen space.

The 13-inch screen is still small. Menus, tabs and palettes from the Adobe applications are going to be small. I've used my friend's 13-inch screen and it's safe to say that you'll certainly get used to the screen but that would involve a lot of eye squinting.

Here are the pros and cons compiled from hundreds of reviews:
+ Accurate tracking
+ Parallax effect is small and negligible
+ No lag
+ 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity
+ 40-60 degrees tilt sensitivity
+ Drawing surface has a slight texture that mimics traditional medium
+ 1920 by 1080 resolution is detailed enough for a 13-inch screen
+ IPS panel has good colour reproduction and maximum viewing angles
+ Slim lightweight stand
+ 4 shortcut customisable keys + 5 on the wheel
+ Pen does not use battery
+ Pen is smaller, comfortable
+ Suitable for left and right handed users
+ Ability to toggle with one button between using it as a pen display or a normal tablet
+ Does not become hot with long duration of usage
+ A neat 3-in-1 cable combines USB, HDMI and power
+ 2 years warranty
- 13-inch screen at 1920x1080 means fonts and controls are smaller to see
- Screen can be dim, relatively speaking
- Cable attachment feels filmsy and prone to losing connection if you move the tablet
- Cable is not long
- Tracking near the edge of the screen is dodgy
- More shortcut buttons would be better
- The new "Rocker Ring" is not as useful as the scroll wheel
- Supports only HDMI so you may need an additional adapter
- The monitor stand supports only 3 positions
- Drawing surface can scratch easily so a screen protector is recommended.
- The detachable (but not wireless) Cintiq is not sturdy when laid on the monitor stand
- Propping up a small screen for drawing is not as comfortable as a huge screen

There are two specific reviews worth looking at. One talks about the new controls and the other about left handed users.

Wacom Cintiq 22HD (See more pictures on Amazon)

Key specifications:

• Size: 650 x 400 x 55 mm
• Weight: 8.5 kg with stand
• Panel: IPS
• Contrast ratio: 1000:1
• Displayable Colors: 16.7 million
• Brightness: 230 cd/m2
• Response rate: 14ms
• Color Gamut: 72% Adobe RGB
• Pressure levels: 2048 levels
• Tilt sensitivity: 40 - 60 degrees
• Resolution: 5080lpi over 1920 by 1080 screen resolution
• Shortcut keys: 18
• Stand Adjust-ability: 3 and detachable
• Comes with 9 replacement nibs
• Graphics input: DVI-I

The next model from Wacom is the much larger 22HD.

I've personally tried the 22-inch screens for drawing before and it's a more comfortable size to draw on. Fonts, menus and palettes for the OS and applications are larger and easier to see without straining the eyes.

Here are the pros and cons:
+ Accurate tracking
+ Parallax effect is small and negligible
+ No lag
+ 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity
+ 40-60 degrees tilt sensitivity
+ Drawing surface has a slight texture that mimics traditional medium.
+ 1920 by 1080 resolution is just nice for a 22-inch screen
+ IPS panel has good colour reproduction and maximum viewing angle
+ Extra screen size can fit more palettes, menus without obscuring your artwork
+ One button press to toggle between using it as a pen display or a normal tablet
+ Sturdy stand for adjusting the monitor
+ Lots of customisable shortcut keys. 18 total
+ Buttons are easy to press
+ Pen does not use battery
+ Pen is smaller, comfortable
+ Usable for left-handers
+ Monitor can be fixed onto a Ergotron LX mount
+ Much cheaper than the 24HD which is 2-inch larger
+ 2 years warranty
- Stand has a huge base so you need space on your table
- The monitor has quite a sizable border around the screen
- Anti glare coating has some glassy sand effect, some call grainy
- Monitor heats up a bit after long usage
- Drawing surface can scratch easily so a screen protector is recommended.
- Tracking near the edge of the screen is dodgy
- Can be difficult to locate the shortcut keys (too many) because they are not LED lit
- Power button is on the back top centre, the place prone to handling when tilting your monitor

Wacom Cintiq 22HD Touch (See more pictures on Amazon)

The key specifications are almost similar to the Cintiq 22HD.

Pros and cons (excluding those from the Cintiq 22HD non-Touch):
+ Convenient to have other hand reach for menus on other side of the screen
+ Touch can be disable with an easy button press
- Photoshop CS6 does not support touch gestures as of Nov 2014
- Windows 7 is not designed with touch gestures in mind
- Not all applications support multi-touch gestures
- Pen has to be in contact with screen for palm rejection to work. Accidental stray marks are common
- You can use the on-screen virtual keyboard but it's small and awkward for typing
- Official retail price is USD $500 more than the non-Touch version

About the Cintiq Touch models

The main advantage of the Touch version of the Cintiq is the ability to use gestures, e.g. touch finger pinch to zoom, rotate, scroll, or configure three figures for other features. Your other hand can reach for menus while keeping your working hand can draw the next instant. The multi-touch gestures is like another set of shortcuts in addition to the numerous shortcut keys available.

However, touch implementation is decent enough but isn't right up there when compared to mobile devices like the iPad or other tablets. A video by stefBBQ on Youtube talks about it.

The major downside is also related to the touch gestures. To use the touch gestures, you need to use a system or application that supports them. Windows 7 wasn't designed with touch in mind. Mac OS is great since they have that built in for since the days of touch-pad Macbooks.

Photoshop CS6 and older versions do not support touch gestures. Photoshop CC currently has multi-touch support, sort of, but you can only enable via preferences under experimental features so that should give you an idea how well the implementation is going to be. Sketchbook Pro and Corel Painter both support touch gestures well.

For those using Photoshop CS6 and older, you'll have to upgrade to CC in other to enjoy touch functionality and must factor in the extra cost.

The Cintiqs are the premium tablets from Wacom. They are expensive. Price difference between the Touch and non-Touch Cintiq is around USD $500.

Is it worth is to pay the additional $500 just to work on some applications? And that's assuming you already have the applications that support touch gestures. Personally, I think not. I prefer saving the money and use shortcut keys to zoom and pan. So the non-Touch Cintiq to me is a better deal than the Touch version.

I hope competition will come up with a Touch version pen display tablet soon to give Wacom a run for its money.

Wacom Cintiq 24HD

The Cintiq 24HD is Wacom's largest pen display tablet currently. It is massive. The 22HD is 8.5kg including the stand. The 24HD is 28.6kg including the stand! Don't injure yourself lifting this onto your table. The base is also huge so you'll really need the space on your desk. There's no mounting this with some ergo mount.

The Cintiq 24HD was released in 2012.

Alright, here are the key specifications:

• Size: 769 x 463 x 64 mm
• Weight: 28.6 kg with stand
• Panel: IPS
• Contrast ratio: 550:1
• Displayable Colors: 16.7 million
• Brightness: 190 cd/m2
• Response rate: 13ms
• Color Gamut: 92% Adobe RGB
• Pressure levels: 2048 levels
• Tilt sensitivity: 40 - 60 degrees
• Resolution: 5080lpi over 1920 by 1080 screen resolution
• Shortcut keys: 10
• Comes with 9 replacement nibs
• Graphics input: VGA, DVI, DisplayPort

Pros and cons of the 24HD:
+ Very well built, sturdy
+ Accurate tracking
+ Parallax effect is small and negligible
+ No lag
+ 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity
+ 40-60 degrees tilt sensitivity
+ Drawing surface has a slight texture that mimics traditional medium.
+ 1920 by 1080 resolution is just nice for a 24-inch screen
+ Extra screen size can fit more palettes, menus without obscuring your artwork
+ IPS panel with good colour reproduction, maximum viewing angle
+ One button press to toggle between using it as a pen display or a normal tablet
+ Sturdy stand for adjusting the monitor
+ The stand can position the monitor forward over the edge of the table
+ Buttons are easy to press
+ Pen does not use battery
+ Pen is smaller, comfortable
+ Usable for left-handers
+ Includes full version of Adobe Photoshop Elements, Anime Studio Debut, Nik Software Color Efex Pro 4 Select Edition
+ 2 years warranty
- Screen quality in terms of brightness (190 cd/m2) not as good as standalone monitors
- Extremely bulky stand has a huge base so you need space on your table
- The monitor has quite a sizable border around the screen
- Anti glare coating has some glassy sand effect, some call grainy
- Monitor heats up a bit after long usage
- Drawing surface can scratch easily so a screen protector is recommended.
- Tracking near the edge of the screen is dodgy
- Can be difficult to locate the shortcut keys (too many) because they are not LED lit
- Power button is on the back top centre, the place prone to handling when tilting your monitor

Pros and cons of the 24HD Touch:
+ Improved gamut from 92% to 97% Adobe RGB
+ Improved brightness from 190 to 300 cd/m2
+ Touch can be disable with an easy button press
+ It's convenient to use your other to reach menus on the other side of the screen
- Photoshop CS6 does not support touch gestures as of Nov 2014
- Windows 7 is not designed with touch gestures in mind
- Pen has to be in contact with screen for palm rejection to work. Accidental stray marks are common
- Multi-gesture does not work with Adobe applications, e.g. Photoshop
- You can use the on-screen virtual keyboard but it's small and awkward for typing
- Official retail price is USD $500 more than the non-Touch version

Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid (See more pictures on Amazon)

The Cintiq Companion is a relatively new product that Wacom released towards the end of 2013.

Note that there are two models for this product line. One's the Cintiq Companion and the other is the Cintiq Companion Hybrid. The table below shows the differences.

The Cintiqs are pen display monitors that you have to plug in to computers.

The Cintiq Companions are pen display tablets that can be used wireless on their own.

Cintiq Companion (Non-hybrid) runs Windows 8 OS and the Cintiq Companion Hybrid runs Android OS.

The cool thing about the Hybrid is that you can use it as a secondary display when plugged into another computer. With the Hybrid, you also have wireless capability and support for multi-touch gestures. It might be worth the extra dollars over the Cintiq 13HD for those features, especially for use as a mobile drawing device. Compared to the iPad, this has 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity so it's going to work much better than the iPad styluses with their huge tips.

Downside of the Hybrid is the Android ecosystem which has much more limited drawing applications (e.g. Sketchbook Pro for Android, Photoshop Touch) when compared to those available on Windows 8. Even though both support touch gestures, note that these only work depending on the application you're using. For example on Windows 8, Photoshop CS6 and older versions don't support touch.

The non-Hybrid Companion cost USD $1000 more than Hybrid model, and Hybrid cost $100 more than the Cintiq 13HD. It's also much more expensive than the 12-inch Microsoft Windows Surface Pro 3 with 8GB RAM and 256GB Storage which is selling for around $1300 currently, but the Surface Pro 3 has only 256 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Hybrid Android model has double the battery life compared the one running Windows 8.

There are definitely more cons for the non-Hybrid Companion, namely the lousy battery life as mentioned, under-powered dual core Intel processors for the price, Photoshop CS 6 and older can't utilise touch gestures.

Many users have commented about some battery charging issue, but that is said to have been fixed for models manufactured after August but it cannot be confirmed.

The other issue is the lag on the Hybrid model. These two reviews below talk in detail about the lag:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3JLQHSWQPDCY7?tag=artprdus20
http://www.amazon.com/review/R4I52WJP6P6ZJ/?tag=artprdus-20

For some reason, Amazon only sells the Cintiq Companion Hybrid and not the non-Hybrid model.

Definitely check out more reviews if you are considering the Cintiq Companions.

BOSTO

Bosto is a company founded in 2005 and based in China. They have a limited range of tablets and they focus on pen display tablets.

Currently, the models worth looking at are their 22-inch ones, specifically, the 22U, 22HD+ and 22HDX.

This is the Bosto 22U Mini that can be recognised for its thin bezel and lack of shortcut keys. This is designed to be compact for those who prefer using keyboards.

Bosto 22U Mini's design look exactly similar to the Huion GT-220 pen display tablet that I've reviewed recently. Only the brand in front is different. This leads me to believe that Bosto is just the rebrand of Huion, or Huion of Bosto. Both models' pens require an AAA battery.

If it's the same at the Huion GT-220, then you should read my review at http://www.parkablogs.com/picture/review-huion-gt-220-pen-display-tablet

The picture above is of the Bosto 22HDX. The 22HDX has 20 shortcut buttons while the 22HD+ has none. That's about the only differences between the two models.

Specifications for the Bosto 22-inch models are generally favorable. They use 1920x1080HD resolution H-IPS LED panels, have 2048 levels of sensitivity. There's no pen tilt sensitivity though. Only the 22HD+ and 22HDX has battery-less pens.

Key specifications for the 22-inch Bostos:

• Weight: 7-8kg
• Panel: H-IPS LED
• Contrast ratio: 1000:1
• Displayable Colors: 16.7 million
• Brightness: 230 cd/m2
• Response rate: 14ms
• Color Gamut: 72% Adobe RGB
• Pressure levels: 2048 levels
• Resolution: 5080lpi over 1920 by 1080 screen resolution
• Comes with 4 replacement nibs
• Graphics input: HDMI, VGA, DVI
• Warranty: 1 year
• Full specs

I've personally tried the Bosto Kingtee 22HDX and it's seriously good. The build quality is also quite good. When you consider that it's less than half the price of the Wacom Cintiq equivalent, that's USD $899 vs $1899 currently, it's almost an irresistible buy if you're in the market for a pen display tablet.

Huion

Huion is a company based in China. They make lots of tablets. Of the pen display tablets, two are worth considering, namely the Huion GT-190 and GT-220.

Huion GT-220 (see more pictures on Amazon)

I've reviewed the 22-inch GT-220 before and was impressed by the price, still am. It's a nice pen display tablet but not quite there yet in terms of performance. You can read the full review at http://www.parkablogs.com/picture/review-huion-gt-220-pen-display-tablet

In short the GT-220 has pretty good specifications: 2048 levels of sensitivity, IPS screen with good colour reproduction, insanely attractive pricing. However, there's slight jitter in Photoshop. Not sure if future drivers will eliminate the problem. For digital painters, that's probably not going to be a big issue, but it's certainly something to take note of if you focus on line art.

Huion GT-190 (See more pictures on Amazon)

This is the smaller brother of the GT-220.

There are some difference besides the screen size.

First difference is, the GT-190 has a 1440 by 900 resolution while the GT-220 has a 1920 by 1080. That's 60% more desktop space for more palettes, windows, so you can work easily without obscuring your artwork with palettes.

Second difference is, GT-190 uses a TFT panel. Viewing angles are 170 degrees horizontally and 150 degrees vertically. Tilting the monitor slightly and you would see the colour change.

Third. GT-190 supports VGA and DVI video input but only supplies the VGA cable (who still uses VGA ports nowadays?).

Both the GT models use a pen that has a built in battery. Battery life for that is rated to be 800 hours you can charge it with the USB cable provided. It's a wireless pen. If you don't like charging you can get a separate pen that takes one AAA battery.

GT-190 is around USD $350 cheaper than the GT-220. In my opinion, the improved screen resolution, size and IPS panel is worth the extra money, that's if you can afford to spend a bit more.

Ugee

Ugee is a company based in China that's founded in 1998.

Ugee 19-inch Pen Display Tablet
Key specifications: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 800 contrast ratio, 1440 by 900 resolution

The interesting thing is this monitor comes with gloves and cleaning cloth. The gloves are so that you won't smudge the screen with finger or hand prints.

There aren't a lot of reviews on this but the one you should read is this:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3Q42XXXPY1CQL?tag=artprdus-20

Monoprice

Monoprice 19-Inch Pen Display Monitor (See more pictures on Amazon)

Monoprice is one of those companies that rebrand products and sell them under their own name. In this case, the 19-inch pen display monitor they have looks exactly like the Huion GT-190. You can even use the Huion drivers so what does that say? LOL.

The specifications are quite comparable to the Wacom Cintiqs: 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 lpi pen input resolution, 200 RPS report rate.

It uses TFT panel technology which are noted for limited viewing angle. What this means is the colours you see will depend on the tilt of the screen. If you're not doing colour-critical work, don't require 100% colour accuracy, then it's worth a consideration. Personally, I will rather spend a bit more to get a better quality (e.g. IPS) panel.

Graphics input is either VGA or DVI but only VGA cable is provided. Display resolution is 1440 by 900 is good enough for a 19-inch screen. The back is VESA mount supported.

Here's a good review that talks a bit on the actual drawing process
http://frenden.com/post/69444810884/review-monoprice-19-tablet-monitor-w...

By the way, Monoprice is coming up with a 22-inch monitor soon.

Yiynova

Yiynova is a company based in Asia with branches in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. They are a provider of tablet PCs and display products.

The two main products to check out from them are the Yiynova MSP19U and MVP22U(V3), 19-inch and 22-inch pen display monitors.

Yiynova MSP19U
Key Specs: 1440x900 resolution, 300cd/m2 brightness, Contrast 1000:1, 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity (full specs)

This panel isn't IPS because the viewing angle is 85 degree horizontally and 80 degrees vertically. For artists who value colour accuracy, it's best to avoid non-IPS panels. Current price for this is USD $499.

Yiynova MVP22U(V3)
Key Specs: 1920x1080 resolution, 250cd/m2 brightness, contrast 1000:1, 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity (full specs)

The Yiynova MVP22U(V3) 22-inch monitor uses an IPS panel so the viewing angles and colour reproduction are better. Current price for this is USD $999, and that's two times that of their 19-inch model. It's even more expensive than the Bosto 22HDX which is selling at $899 and the Huion GT-220 at $799.

Both of these pen display tablet offers no pen tilt sensitivity.

Yiynova MVP22U is already in its 3rd generation and has been improving since the first model.

Here are the pros and cons of the MVP22U(V3):
+ IPS screen
+ 1920x1080 resolution is just nice for a 22-inch
+ Accurate tracking right to the screen's edge
+ 2048 levels of sensitivity
+ Comes with adapters for HDMI, VGA, MiniDisplay/Thunderbolt
+ 2 years warranty
+ Good customer service
+ Extra pen and nibs
- Very slight lag, mainly a non-issue
- No tilt sensitivity
- Pen requires one battery (but battery life is long)
- Shortcut keys at the top of the monitor is at an awkward position

Reviews for the MVP22U(V3) are generally favorable. The only point of concern is the slight lag that are reported by some users but it should mainly be a non-issue since those users are also the ones that still give 5-star ratings. One user commented on faint high-pitched noise coming from his set. One pro that many pointed out is the high level of customer service provided by distributor The Panda City.

Conclusion

As mentioned much earlier in the article, the three brands I'll check out are Wacom, Bosto and Yiynova.

I can't recommend any specific model as to what's best because different people have different expectations.

One thing undeniable is the extremely attractive pricing from Wacom's competition.

I hope this article is helpful.

If you just want a simple non-display tablet, then check out my previous article at http://www.parkablogs.com/content/which-graphics-drawing-tablet-buy-2015...

Using other pen display tablets besides Wacom?

If you use pen display tablets from other brands beside Wacom, share your comments below and reviews on Amazon.

These are the brush pens that I'll be comparing today. Some are my frequently used ones, and some are new purchases. I'll add more to the list on this page in the future.

This brush pen comparison review is for artists. Detailed reviews for each pen are on separate posts.

The point-form summary is at the bottom for those who want a quick summary.

Here are the brush pens from top to bottom:

1. Copic Multiliner Brush-Medium
2. Copic Sketch Marker
3. Kuretake Zig Brushables
4. Sailor Profit Brush Pen
5. Pilot Pocket Brush Pen
6. Pentel Pocket Brush Pen
7. Pentel Colour Brush Pen
8. Kuretake 40 Sable Brush Pen
9. Kuretake 50 Sable Brush Pen (Modified)
10. Pentel Fude Dual Brush Pen

They look impressive together, but some are much better performers than others.

Here are scans of two pages of tests on the strokes that the brush pens can produce. Close ups are further down.

Let's take a closer look at them one by one below. The brush tips are tested for their ability to hold a sharp edge, produce varying thickness and ink flow. All strokes are drawn with the tip except the last which is a side sweeping wash for filling areas.

In general, the bristle tips perform much better than felt tips. They mimic traditional brushes well. So you'll want to get those that use bristles to get a good brush in the pen.

Kuretake No. 40 Brush Pen - Availability: US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP

The Kuretake No. 40 Brush Pen is the best performer among all the brush pens. However, you need to use its Kuretake ink cartridge for optimal ink flow, and unfortunately the ink is not waterproof.

Kuretake uses varying numbers to represent each brush pen model. No. 40 uses sable hair for its brush bristles. The bristle are soft, flexible and able to hold a sharp point. It's easy to control the tip and it's excellent for drawing. After each stroke, the brush will go back in shape.

It's refillable via ink cartridges. One downside from the ink cartridges is, the ink is not intensely black, but it surely is dark enough.

Kuretake brush pens uses Platinum ink convertors.

Kuretake No. 50 Brush Pen - Availability: US | CA | UK | DE | FR | JP

These are strokes from a modified Kuretake No. 50 Brush Pen. By modified, I mean I took out the ferrule at the front to expose the bristles. If you look at the photos above, the one with the longest bristles is the Kuretake No. 50.

Do not modify the Kuretake Sable Brush Pen. It's too risky because it's an expensive brush pen. I only did the modification because mine has clogged up beyond rescue and now I'm using it as a dip brush. It's kinda nice, because you get to cap it like a normal pen.

Kuretake No. 50 uses sable hair for the brush tip as well. In its unmodified form, the performance is excellent just like the No. 40 above.

My modified version is still fitted with a Kuretake ink cartridge, but the ink flow is bad so the ink doesn't really soak the long exposed bristle fast enough. The result is dry brush effect. And it's very difficult to use it as a dry brush because the bristles are too long, remember the brush is soft and often it can't go back to its sharp point after each use.

You can get replacement brush bristles sold separately to replace your worn out sable hair. It's more economical than getting a new sable brush pen. So when you're paying for the expensive No. 40 and No. 50 Kuretakes, you're actually paying more for the body than the sable.

Kuretake also has a simpler plastic resin body brush pen with synthetic bristles. That one also has replacement brush tips that are sold separately.

Sailor Profit Brush Pen - Availability: US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP

Sailor Profit Brush Pen has a shorter synthetic bristle brush tip. Ink cartridges are provided. Ink flows well and is waterproof. The brush tip though small is responsive but I felt it's slightly harder to control because of the shorter bristles.

You can see that for the last side sweeping wash, the Kuretake brush pens can fill a slightly larger area.

Sailor Profit uses the standard Sailor ink convertors. If you want to use disposable ink cartridges, you should get the Kiwa-Guro pigmented Black and not those fountain pen ink cartridges.

Kuretake Zig Brushables - Availability: US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP

This is the disposable Kuretake Zig Brushables dual brush pen. One side produces intensely black ink and the other side produces a warm grey. You can tell by the colours of the cap.

It uses pigment ink and hence is waterproof and archival.

The felt tip can't vary its stroke thickness much. I noticed that for felt tip brush pens as compared to bristles, when you apply pressure, the thick part will always appear on the lower portion of the stroke.

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen - Availability: US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP

This brush pen has hundreds of favorable reviews on Amazon, but I've actually bought a few that came with not-so-good ink flow. Finally, I got one (shown above) with good ink flow. On the bright side, the ink is waterproof.

This is the brush pen Kim Jung Gi uses and I've always watch his videos with fascination wondering how on earth does he make the ink flow out.

Pentel Colour Brush - Availability: US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES

This is the Pentel Colour Brush Pen. It comes in various colour. The brush pens are refillable with big ink cartridges that also form the body that you hold on.

It uses synthetic bristles but the performance is quite good. It's able to produce thin as well as varying thickness easily. It's bristles are rather long and can be used to fill areas quickly.

The ink is intensely black but not waterproof.

You may have seen Kuretake Brush Pens that look exactly like the Pentel Colour Brush Pens. Well, they are the same, just with different packaging.

Pilot Pocket Brush Pen - Availability: US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES

I've reviewed the disposable Pilot Pocket Brush Pens before. In short, they are much better for writing Chinese characters than for drawing.

The felt tips feel too spongy, especially the soft one, and does not mimic the way that traditional brushes well. When you apply pressure, the thick part will appear below. Using the brush pen for quick strokes, you'll get a trailing stroke that points upwards because of how the sponge tip leaves the paper.

Ink is not waterproof.

Pentel Fude Dual Brush Pen

This is the disposable Pentel Fude Dual Brush Pen. It's quite a long brush pen.

On one side it uses synthetic bristles and the other side has a fine felt tip. Ink flow is not as good as the Pentel Colour Brush Pen and the ink is not waterproof as well.

It's convenient to have two sides but for optimal performance it's better to get the brush pen and felt tip marker separately.

Copic Sketch Marker

Copic Sketch markers are more suitable for filling in colours than for drawing fine details. They are alcohol based markers with waterproof ink. They are refillable with their Copic ink bottles and even the felt tips are replaceable also.

Just like typical markers, strokes have a tendency to feather on paper so the choice of paper is very important.

Copic Multiliners Brush Medium

Copic Multiliners come in various tip sizes and there are two brush sizes also, small and medium. Both are felt tip and works more like markers than brushes. The felt tip is not very durable and it's not easy to control the thickness with pressure.

Ink is waterproof.

Of course, it would not be complete without a comparison with an actual brush. I used two brushes here, a size 4 goat hair and size 2 sable watercolour brushes. The goat hair brush has a longer and is harder to handle. If you want to use a large size dip brush, it's better to get one with firmer hair so you can control the brush tip's shape more easily. The sable brush handles well. Downside to both is you have to reload the brush as the ink runs out.

Here's the waterproof test.

Summary

Definitely get brush pens with only bristles because they mimic traditional brushes well. Felt tip brushes certainly have their use but they are generally as good for detail work like fine varying strokes.

The links provided are direct links to the brush pens on Amazon.

Kuretake No. 40 & 50 - Recommended (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP)
+ Sable hair is soft, flexible and sharp
+ Mimics traditional brush well
+ Brush tip is replaceable
+ Refillable via ink cartridge or Platinum ink convertor
- Ink from ink cartridge not waterproof

Sailor Profit Brush Pen (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP)
+ Synthetic brush bristles are firm but responsive
+ Mimics traditional brush well
+ Refillable via ink cartridge or Sailor ink convertor
+ Ink from ink cartridge is waterproof
- Synthetic bristles can get worn faster
- Short bristles

Kuretake Zig Brushables (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP)
+ Convenient dual head for two colours, intensely black and warm grey
+ Waterproof ink
- Felt tip makes it feel more like using a marker than brush
- Not refillable

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP)
+ Synthetic brush bristles are firm but responsive
+ Mimics traditional brush well
+ Waterproof ink
- Ink flow is not optimal
- Can only refill using their ink cartridges

Pentel Colour Brush Pen - Recommended (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES)
+ Synthetic brush is firm but responsive
+ Long bristles can cover large areas
+ Mimics traditional brush well
+ Comes in various colours
- Can only refill using their ink cartridges

Pentel Fude Dual Brush Pen
+ Convenient dual brush head, one with bristles the other fine felt tip
+ Long bristles can cover large areas
+ Mimics traditional brush well
- Ink flow is not as optimal
- Not waterproof
- Not refillable

Pilot Pocket Brush Pen (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES)
- Felt tip makes it feel more like using a marker than brush
- The soft tip feels too spongy
- Not waterproof

Copic Sketch Marker
+ Dual tip good for filling large areas
+ Waterproof
+ Refillable
+ Felt tip is replaceable
- Felt tip makes it feel more like using a marker than brush
- Felt tip not good for creating detail strokes
- Ink bleeds to next page

Copic Multiliner Brush-Medium
+ Waterproof
- Felt tip makes it feel more like using a marker than brush
- Felt tip can get worn fast

Uniball Signo DX 0.38 is been one of my personal favourites. I have been using it since young when my mother introduced me to this pen. It has a nice professional design. The see through body tube shows the ink level in it. Rubber grip provides an adequate hold, and this pen can last on hold for a few hours without feeling discomfort.

Huge plus is its thin lines. The blobs it makes aren’t obvious. Ink flow is great. It says on the label that it is waterproof. Indeed it is. Here are a few sketches I made.

These are my old sketches, earlier this year.

These are the sketches I made at the zoo yesterday. It shows how great it can be used as a fast sketching instrument.

It produces dark lines but not as dark as other pens. However, it all changes when you drop and damage the tip. The ink flow will be impaired and cannot be fixed. You will have to buy a refill. Handle with care and make sure to cap the pen if you are not using it, in case it drops onto the floor.

I highly recommend this pen as a sketching instrument. I think the price is reasonable.

Availability

Follow the direct links below to get Uniball Signo DX on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp

This is the Schut 180gsm Sketchpad that I bought recently at Straits Commercial. Schut is a paper mill in Holland and was founded in 1618 so they have been making paper for almost 400 years.

I'm not someone who buys sketchpads but the striking pink coloured cover caught my attention.

There are 70 pages of fine grain textured acid-free off-white paper. It's only textured on one side.

It's bind in such a way that the spine is not glued to the cover.

The paper is wonderful for ink sketching.

Close up of the bigger sketch.

At the top right are strokes from a Sharpie Extra Fine. The rest are all from felt tip Pentel Tradio Stylo sketch pen.

Fountain pens with liquid ink will produce sharper edges.

Works well enough with ink washes. However for large areas of ink there will still be slight warping of the paper.

Even thought the paper is 180gsm, it feels much thinner. Watercolour on it will warp the paper. So it's not suitable for watercolour although you can make do with really light washes.

The paper when used with watercolour has a slight texture that I feel is somewhere between hotpress and coldpress. The strokes here are with a fountain pen.

Here are some sketches with pencils, a 2mm and 0.5mm leads.

Markers work well too. There's no feathering. It barely bleeds through to the opposite page but you do see obvious impression from the previous page. I prefer smoother paper for markers though.

This is a wonderful paper for casual sketching. It's good for pencil and ink works primary. I love the fine grain texture.

The price at the time I bought it was SGD $14 (~USD $10.60).

Today, I'm reviewing these two Kuretake brush pens, the Kuretake No. 40 and No. 50 sable brush pens.

I bought the No. 50 about a year ago but didn't use it much because the ink flow wasn't that great. Recently I bought the No. 40 and the ink flow was fantastic.

A reader told me that he had bought two Kuretake brush pens and both had ink flow problems. So there could be some quality control issues. But when you get a good one, it's is amazing. More details below.

Difference between Kuretake No. 40 and No. 50

Both use sable for the brush bristles so they mimic traditional brushes in terms of usage.

In terms of design, the No. 50 has a glossy body a two colour gradation of gold and black on its cap and body.

The No. 40 has matte black surface for the cap and body. Both are beautiful and the size is just right.

The clip is gold in colour. When you uncap, you reveal the section with gold trimmings at top and bottom. No. 50 has an extra trimming on the bottom of the cap.

No. 50 comes in a nice wooden box while the No. 40 is housed inside a cardboard box.

The No. 50 is more expensive because of its design and the packaging. Price difference is under $10 on Amazon. Whether it's worth is to pay the extra dollar will depend on which design you like better. The wooden box is nice but not necessary.

When you first uncap the brush pens, you'll notice the tips are wet. To keep the tips sharp, the brush pens were installed with disposable cartridge filled with water. I like it when companies pay attention to the details. Most other brands just ship their brush pens with dry tips.

Below are strokes you can create on smooth paper.

The brush pens are delicate to control and capable of really fine lines to 4mm thick lines. Apply slight pressure and the stroke thickens. They are quite a joy to use. The bristles go back to a sharp point after each use.

On smooth paper, the brush pens are able to produce sharp edges quite easily. However if you draw a bit faster, then you'll start to see the dry brush effect on the edges.

The ink I've used are from the ink cartridges provided. It's not waterproof.

The Kuretake brush pens use Platinum converters and with that you can choose specific inks to use.

Be careful when using pigmented inks in these brush pens. If you really want to use pigmented ink (they are waterproof), check out Platinum Carbon Ink and the Sailor Kiwa-Guro Ink which are both nano pigmented.

I love the ability to be able to cover large areas by using the sides of the brush. On smooth paper, especially if the paper don't absorb the ink quick enough, your wash may dry with some sort of gradation. The sketch of the vintage car above shows the gradation.

While you can use thin strokes for details, you can use thicker strokes for a more stylistic look.

The brush pens produce quite a different look on paper with more texture. There's more tendency to produce the dry brush effect. To produce sharp edges, you have to go really slow, or the better way is to use smoother paper instead.

The dry brush strokes are more textural and create a totally different feel to the artworks.

When you're using it on textured paper, the ink gets spread more evenly.

When the brush pen gets clogged

Be warned that the following procedure may damage your brush pen.

The plastic "ferrule" that's holding the bristles together can be removed. To do so, twist very slightly in clockwise and anti-clockwise manner. You don't want to twist too hard because the bristles will turn with the plastic part. Once it's loose enough, you can just pull it out to expose the bristles. Now you can start the cleaning.

Put the plastic "ferrule" back very carefully so as not to damage the sharp tip of the bristles.

If that does not remove the ink clog, just buy yourself a sable brush tip replacement (shown above).

If your brush is too worn, you should also get the replacement sable tip. Generally speaking, the sable bristles should be able to last quite long with proper care.

Conclusion

The Kuretake sable brush pens are the best compared to the other brush pens I've used. The caveat is you might need some luck to get one with good ink flow.

It's quite pricey but it's definitely worth the money.

To check out other brush pens, visit http://www.parkablogs.com/content/brush-pens-compared-drawing-purposes

Availability

I suggest getting the brush pens on Amazon as they have better prices. I got ripped off buying from some other website that I shall not name.

The links below go directly to the brush pens on Amazon.

Kuretake No. 40 Brush Pen is available on Amazon US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP

Kuretake No. 50 Brush Pen is available on Amazon US | CA | UK | DE | FR | JP

Kuretake Sable Brush Pen Replacement tip is available on Amazon US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP

The Pentel Pocket Brush Pen is one of the more popular brush pens around, judging by more than 200 over reviews on Amazon.

The first few brush pens that I bought had problematic ink flow. Recently I finally got one that had almost perfect ink flow. It took me a few tries, spent a bit too much money than I wanted to, but I'm glad I did it all for the sake of a proper review.

The brush pen is usually sold with two spare disposable ink cartridges. The Pentel FP10 ink cartridges are sold in packs of six. The ink is waterproof and intensely dark.

The whole pen is made of plastic except for the metal clip. It's lightweight and feels good in the hand.

It uses synthetic bristles which are soft and able to hold a sharp point. When you first load the cartridge, allow the ink some time to flow down to the tip.

The brush pen is capable of producing nice strokes of varying thickness depending on the pressure you apply. The strokes above are drawn on smooth cartridge paper.

It certainly takes control and techniques to be able to draw a thin line without any wavering.

The maximum thickness you get is around 5mm but if you use the side of the brush you can get 7mm. If you use the side, then there will be some dry brush effect but if you use it normally then you'll get sharp defined edges.

Some hatching. Go slow for sharp defined edges, or use an even smoother paper.

On the left is another faulty brush pen that has lousy ink flow. On the right is the bus is drawn with the better brush pen.

These are strokes on a fine grain cartridge paper. The brush pen has more tendency to produce dry brush effect at the edges.

Above are two sketches drawn on the fine grain cartridge paper. The paper used will affect the style.

The ink from the FP10 ink cartridge is waterproof.

The lines above are drawn with a fountain pen. To fill up the black areas quickly, I would just dip the brush pen into ink. It also helps me conserve ink in the cartridge.

Here's a video of Scott Robertson demonstrating with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen:

Conclusion

The Pentel Pocket Brush Pen is quite an economical and affordable brush pen. When the bristles get worn, you just replace the whole thing and it's not too expensive.

It's a good performing brush pen for its price. The bristles are able to mimic the natural hair well enough.

Ink is waterproof so you can use water medium on top of it.

As compared to the Kuretake sable brush pens, I feel that the Kuretake brush pens have slightly better control with thinner strokes, especially strokes that go from thick to thin. Maybe it's got to do with the slightly heavier weight of the brush pens or just the nature of the natural bristles. Anyway, you can only feel the difference if you have two brush pens on hand to compare.

To check out other brush pens, visit http://www.parkablogs.com/content/brush-pens-compared-drawing-purposes

Availability

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen is available on Amazon US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP

Here's a buying guide for budget monitors for graphics and design work.

Budget can a relative term for people with different spending power. The monitors listed are below USD $300.

And I limited to monitors with resolutions close to 1920 by 1080 and not beyond as they would get more expensive.

Factors to consider when buying a monitor for graphics work

For artists or designers, colour accuracy is important. Your artwork should appear to your audience in the exact way that you've coloured, whether in print or online.

E.g. You don't want to paint the perfect skin tone only to realise that on your friend's computer, it appears either more yellowish or magenta. That can happen on if you don't get the correct monitor and there are monitors you'll want to avoid.

My philosophy for choosing a monitor is to get one with the output in mind. For artworks going to high quality printers, such as magazine printers, one should get a high end monitor that's able to match as close as possible to the printout. For newsprint, the monitor doesn't have to be that high-end. But again, I must stress that you choose according to your work environment.

Here are several things to look out for when buying a monitor.

Panel type
There are two types of LCD monitor technologies out there, IPS and TN.

Always get a monitor that uses an IPS panel, or a variant of the IPS sub-types. Avoid TN panels. Most manufacturers have that information in their specifications.

IPS panels have wide viewing angles, usually up to 178 degrees for horizontal and vertical viewing angles. This is important because you want the colours to appear in the same shade regardless of where your eye level is, or where you're viewing your monitor from. You can be sitting down and showing your work to your supervisor who's standing behind and both will be looking at the same colour. For non-IPS monitors, your grey can turn to some other shades when you tilt the screen. No kidding.

Avoid glossy screen because you'll be looking at your own reflection. The reflection impairs the colours you see.

Colour Gamut
Another thing IPS characteristics is its wider colour gamut. A colour gamut is the range of colours that your monitor can produce. Ideally, the best monitor should reach close to 100% range on the sRGB and Adobe RGB colour gamut, however those are expensive, and out of budget range.

Just for reference, a wide colour gamut IPS monitor like the Dell U2413 has a colour depth of 1 billion colours and has a gamut of Adobe RGB 99% and sRGB 100%. A non-wide colour gamut IPS monitor still has very respectable gamut of 16.7 million colours.

In my opinion, for artists and designers, you do not need that 1 billion colours because you're mostly using representation colours, e.g. colours you create from the colour palette.

Ultra wide colour gamut is for those who work frequently with observational colours captured from photos or videos. So if you do a lot of photo manipulation, or output to a very good printer such as magazine printers, then you should consider an ultra wide colour gamut monitor.

You can read more about colour gamut at http://www.eizoglobal.com/library/basics/lcd_monitor_color_gamut/

Resolution
Get at least 1920x1080 or 1920x1200. These are monitors that are generally in the 20 to 24 inch category.

1920x1080 resolutions are common nowadays. 1920x1200 are rare. If price does not differ much, that extra 120 vertical pixels is quite helpful to fit in more drawing space.

At this resolution, you'll have a decent amount of working space for your artwork and space for the extra stuff like palettes, menus and other controls.

Size
The next step up in resolution is usually 2560 by 1440 pixels and monitors with that are usually around 27-inch, and hence more expensive. For budget monitors, nowadays it's probably good to stay between 20-inch and 24-inch.

Connection
Make sure your computer has the right ports. Most monitors come with DVI or HDMI ports, and increasingly DisplayPorts (especially for Apple computers).

Recommended monitors

My personal favourites are monitors from Dell. Over the years, I've used various IPS monitors from them and have always been impressed by their quality, colour production and price.

EIZO produces some fantastic graphic monitors but they are too expensive. HP monitors are alright but they offer only 1 year warranty while other brands usually offer 3 years.

Dell

After filtering out the touchscreens, glossy screen and more expensive models, we're left with the UZ2215H 21.5-inch and U2415 24-inch.

The U2415 24-inch is a much better monitor but it cost US $100+ more. However, for the extra money, you get a larger screen, 120 rows of vertical pixels in resolution, stand with adjustable height.

Dell offers 3 years warranty. If you buy the monitor from their website, you have the option to extend the warranty to a total of 5 years, but the base price of monitors sold there is also slightly higher than Amazon.

ASUS

ASUS offers a lot of monitors. Two suitable ones for graphic work are the VS24AHL 24.1-inch and PA248Q 24.1-inch.

The difference between the two aren't much, except that the PA248Q has inbuilt USB3 ports which is very convenient. PA248Q also supports more connection with HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D and D-Sub. If the USB port on your computer is easily accessible, then you may not need the USB3 ports on the monitor.

Monitor stand for both support height and tilt adjustments.

Best of all they are quite price competitive with 3 years warranty.

NEC

NEC's monitors are popular for graphics work as well. The three monitors to check out are 224WI-BK 22-Inch, A234WMI-BK 23-Inch and E243WMI-BK 24-Inch.

Main difference between the three are the screen size. They all have stands that can be adjusted for height and tilt.

For NEC, my choice goes to NEC A234WMI-BK 23-Inch because it's larger than the 22-inch (actual 21.5) and has USB2 ports compared to the 24-inch. If you're on budget, the 22-inch should do just fine. Nowadays, if there are USB ports provided, I would expect at least USB3 and so my overall choice would still be either Dell or ASUS.

NEC offers 3 years warranty.

Samsung

Only one monitor caught my eye and that's the Samsung SD590 Series S24D590PL 23.6-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor. Their other monitors are either too expensive or the viewing angles aren't that good.

The S24D590PL supports 1920x1080 resolution, 178 degrees vertical and horizontal viewing angles, 16.7 million colours. The inputs it supports are HDMI and D-Sub.

The design of the monitor stand isn't very functional. The stand has no height adjustments and only limited tilt adjustments. It's a very bare monitor with no other features like USB3 or other connections.

Samsung provides 3 years warranty for their monitors.

Conclusion

As mentioned, my top two choices are the Dell U2415 24-inch and PA248Q 24.1-inch.

Happy shopping.