Wacom Inkling Review

Wacom’s Inkling is a whole new type of gadget—a drawing tablet minus the tablet. Its purpose is to let you write or sketch on plain paper with an ordinary pen, and still get perfect digital copies of your work. Up until this point, Wacom has manufactured its traditional Intuos tablets, which require you to keep your eyes trained on your monitor, and its Cintiq monitors which let you draw directly on your software work surface. Tablets are far cheaper but require some tricky hand-eye coordination, and the Cintiq line is priced out of reach for most people. Either way, Wacom has made a name for itself with digital artists because of its input devices’ sensitivity and responsiveness, and have become the de facto tools of the trade.

The case also holds four spare refills and a mini USB cable

Now the company is trying something new. The Inkling is designed to track a pen and recreate its movements on a computer. The unit consists of a cigarette-lighter-sized receiver that clips onto the top of your paper and a ball-point pen “stylus” much larger than most pens. The receiver tracks the stylus using infrared and ultrasonic sensors.

Features
The Inkling is designed to be portable and self-contained, unlike tablets that function as input devices for your PC. The pen and receiver come with a very clever carry case that doubles as a charging station for both units. The case isn’t much larger or heavier than a schoolchild’s pencil box and also has room for a short mini-USB cable and four spare refills. You can throw it in any bag and use the Inkling with any pad, notebook or loose sheet of paper.

The receiver’s clip covers a microswitch that creates a new document every time you attach it to anything. You’ll need to tap its power button to turn it on, and the only other button it has is for creating new layers. As you draw, an LED indicates whether or not the receiver is picking up signals. The pen is thicker than most regular pens but has a matte rubber coating for grip. It’s quite top-heavy and you can’t hold it too close to the base, which makes it slightly awkward, but not impossible to get used to. No pairing is necessary between the pen and receiver; simply touching the nib to a paper is enough to turn it on.

A PR handout photo of the Inkling in action

Our test unit came with two identical black refills. We were hoping for a few different sizes or types, but even Wacom’s refill packs are all 1 mm “M” sized, and black. These aren't proprietary to the Inkling though; you'll be able to buy other colours at most stationary or art supply stores. You’ll also have to be careful how you hold the pen and paper. Direct line of sight is needed between the pen and receiver, so fingers, rulers and other stationery can’t get in the way. Direct sunlight can also affect accuracy.