Touched By A Tablet - Choosing The Right Graphics Tablet For You

Touched By A Tablet - Choosing The Right Graphics Tablet For You
by: Annie Goss


There you are: you have finally decided to purchase a graphics tablet. Whatever your reasons may be for purchasing one, you are now faced with a very major decision: amongst all the numerous graphics tablets out there, which one would best suit your needs and your budget ?

Wacom is without any doubt, a genius when it comes to graphics tablet (also known as pen tablet) technology and is continually improving their products. Due to these frequent upgrades, this article will only touch the following Wacom models: Bamboo, Bamboo Fun (a successor and an improved model over the Graphire series), Intuos3 (the 3rd generation of Intuos) and Cintiq.

The basics

All Wacom graphics tablets are easy to install and use, thanks to Wacom’s Plug & Play technology. Every Wacom tablet is compatible with Macintosh and Windows, supports widescreen format, offers application and tool settings, provides a comfortable design and comes equipped with a detachable USB cable, and a programmable, cordless and battery free ergonomic pen. Therefore, your decision will be based on the main differences between these major models. Those include: pressure sensitivity, resolution and size.

• Pressure sensitivity of the pen tip and its eraser( when present) is measured in levels: 512 levels for the Bamboo line and 1024 levels, the highest thus far, for the Intuos3 and Cintiq models.

• Resolution, measured in lines per square inch, is marked at 2,540 for the Bamboo series and 5,080 for the Intuos3 and Cintiq models. Based on these two differences alone, if one needs or desires more precision and sharper results, the Intuos3 or the Cintiq are by far the better choices.

• Size relates to the active area of the graphics tablet, which is the drawing/writing area and not the actual size of the tablet. If space is really a tight issue, make sure you take into consideration the actual dimensions of the graphics tablet. Since the active area of a tablet matches your computer screen no matter what size it is, don’t let a smaller sized Wacom tablet fool you: the smaller sizes offer just as many features as the larger ones. Size becomes a concern when considering desk space, laptop use, portability, and user preferances. Bamboo, Bamboo Fun Small and Medium, Intuos3 4x6 and 6x8 are all wonderful options for small working environments.

Bringing pen to tablet: beginners ....
Let’s start by comparing the three Bamboo models.

• Bamboo standard (4x6 approx.) with its sleek black piano finish, is a wonderful improvement over the past Wacom models. It is perfect for any office, be it at home or at work and a perfect travelling companion. Specified mostly for office work rather than artistic tasks, it performs very well by working with your computer’s existing software for marking up documents, jotting down notes and writing your signature. So if you do not need any extra art related software, and the budget is as tight as your desk space, this is the perfect graphics tablet for you.

(Bamboo standard is the only Wacom tablet, of the newer models, which does not come with a matching mouse, or any software. The accompanying Bamboo pen does not have an eraser which could prove to be inconvenient.)

• Bamboo Fun (Small) (4x6 approx.) is terrific for children and beginners with creative minds. With four colors to choose from, (Blue, White, Black and Silver) you can personalize any office, home or at work, with your preferred color. However, despite the great Wacom quality and advantages, the active area might prove to be too small for elaborate projects.

• Bamboo Fun (Medium) (5x9 approx.) which also comes in the same 4 different colors as the Small version, is ideal for beginners and excellent for young students, digital photographers and more creative users. The new possibilities range from personalizing your work with your signature or other creations to touching-up photos.

Bringing pen to tablet: intermediate

The Intuos3 line, in its cool charcoal gray color and with an extra year warranty, replaces the Bamboo’s Touch Ring (at the top of the tablet) with a Touch Strip (at the side of the tablet for scrolling). The position of the ExpressKeys (for shortcuts) has also changed from the top (on the Bamboo) to the side (on the Intuos3). The Intuos3 also adds tilt control to the mix, an added bonus for any serious user. It even offers more pen tips for different writing and drawing results with the one accompanying cushioned Grip Pen which provides extra comfort and reduces tension. Extra accessories are available for the Intuos3 such as an array of different pen types ranging from the classic pen for a more natural, day-to-day work and feel to the sophisticated airbrush for unbelievably realistic paintings and other art designs. The whole Intuos3 series is specially designed for wide screens and multiple monitor work stations. If you are a serious graphic artist or you spend long hours using artistic software, an Intuos3 is certainly a worthwhile investment, and most graphics professionals would call it an essential tool. That said, there are still 6 different sizes to chose from !

• Intuos3 4x6 is easily portable with more features than the Bamboo series and perfect for small desk spaces yet affordable. However, this graphics tablet is not recommended for left-handed users because the single set of ExpressKeys and Touch Strip is on the left side of the drawing tablet. (All the other Intuos3 sizes have dual ExpressKeys and a Touch Strip on both the left and right sides of the tablet.)

• Intuos3 6x8 benefits more professional work yet is still an excellent size for cramped spaces and is a perfect travelling companion for the laptop and ideal for serious students on the go.

• Intuos3 6x11 targets the CAD users, and technical illustrators which may desire a larger surface area and artists who are used to drawing or painting with large sweeping motions. It is also optimized for work in single screen or for multiple monitor work stations and is ideal for editing HDTV videos. Remember, the larger your tablet surface, the more you will need to move your arms which may be viewed as a disadvantage to some users.

• Intuos3 9x12 greatly assists professional photo-retouching artists, illustrators and industrial designers with challenging endeavours, allowing for wider sweeping strokes.

• Intuos3 12x12, the only square tablet, caters to professionals with elaborate artistic ideas and highly detailed expectations like professional technicians and designers in any industry including automobile, textile and fashion.

• Intuos3 12x19 targets sophisticated and high-performance work involving precision and accurate results like professional digital imagery, audio-visual technicians, graphic artists, and architects. It offers optimal use of wide screen and double monitors and is excellent for creating HDTV videos.

Bringing pen to screen: intermediate and professional

Cintiq is the combination of the Intuos3 technology with an LCD monitor. The result: a state of the art monitor that allows you to write or draw directly on the screen with unparalleled accuracy! The fact that it is detachable and totally adjustable to any angle and for any purpose (on your desk or on your knees) makes it the holy grail of the Wacom graphics tablets and obviously, the most expensive. The Cintiq series (which comes with an Intuos3 Grip Pen for optimal comfort and fatigue prevention) will greatly improve workflow and efficiency while providing spectacular, detailed results in any professional field ranging from industrial designers, audio-editors and animators to doctors, educators and story-board creators requiring faster visual effects. This interactive pen display, with leading edge technology, literally becomes your canvas or your easel.

Yet again, there are 3 Cintiq’s to choose from. Size is measured diagonally, from the smaller 12.1”, and mid size 20.1” to the large 21.3”. The native resolution and the total number of pixels (1.0, 1.8 and 1.9 million pixels respectively) are what set them apart the most.

• Cintiq 12WX (1280x800 native resolution) is very light (4.4lbs) and portable thanks to an extra cable and a convertor box to keep it small and lightweight. It’s half the price of the other Cintiq models. However, due to its small size, you may want to add this to a multi-monitor set-up. If you are a very serious artist or technical designer, it is recommended that you save for the next model up.

• Cintiq 20WSX (1680x1050 native res.) is every professional’s dream. This 20 lb unit is the preferred choice by many due to its price and size. Less costly than its larger brother, it basically offers the same features.

• Cintiq 21UX (1600x1200 native res.) is the top of the line for pixel perfect results. Weighing in at 22.4 lbs, it’s the only Cintiq with an aspect ratio of 4:3 (standard resolution). All the others have 16:10. See it in action by going to YouTube.com and searching for Cintiq … it is absolutely incredible !

When trying to choose between all of these great Wacom contenders, wallet and desk size will always be an issue. Everyday users for home and basic office duties will delight in Bamboo, Bamboo Fun and Intuos3 4x6. Professionals at home or at the office in all fields will require and thoroughly enjoy Intuos3 6x8 and up. (Academic specials for students and schools do exist for the Bamboo and the Intuos3.) Serious illustrators, educators, technical designers and artists demanding elaborate detail and high pixel perfection will absolutely love the freedom, comfort, efficiency and convenience of drawing directly on the screen … and for many users - that is priceless.



About The Author

Article researched and written by Annie Goss for http://www.drawittablet.com, a site which specializes in Wacom graphics tablets and related accessories.

Statistical Process Control (SPC) Software: The Past, Present and Future

Statistical Process Control (SPC) Software: The Past, Present and Future
by: DataNet Quality Systems

Remember the first time in school you used a calculator instead of paper and pencil to add, subtract, multiply or divide? It made the job so easy, it almost felt like cheating. The technology freed you to focus on the problem rather than the mechanics of arithmetic.

Statistical process control (SPC) methods have been applied in manufacturing process control since the early 1930s. Over the decades, countless hours were expended plotting charts with pencils on graph paper. Then computers arrived and, like the calculator did for the schoolboy, freed the engineer to spend time analyzing the process instead of focusing on the formulae.

Over the years SPC software has matured in functionality, making statistical analysis quicker, more powerful and more flexible. The driving force has made the software easier for the practitioner to use. SPC software will continue to develop in ways that eliminate unnecessary steps, freeing quality practitioners from rote tasks and enabling them to focus efforts on improving the manufacturing process.

The Past

SPC software can show real-time control status of all data collection stations plant wide. As access to computers in the manufacturing environment grew, along came the first wave of products that automated the tasks associated with statistical analysis. Although they provided the tools for engineers to analyze the manufacturing process, these systems were difficult for many practitioners to use. They required tedious data entry and a Ph.D. statistician's knowledge to configure the software and analyze the data--a combination of tasks and abilities not easily married. Furthermore, obtaining interpretable results was a process completed long after the production run being analyzed had finished. This delay complicated the task of addressing process problems that continued to change--and probably resulted in additional process variation--in the interim.

The Present

Many timesaving features have since been added to advance SPC software usability. These software systems leverage other technologies such as automation standards and Internet access to simplify and integrate tasks--making administration, data collection, statistical analysis and reporting easier for today's practitioners.

Administration

Today's SPC software is designed to make the setup of parts and processes easy to accomplish. Common graphical user interface features such as tree views with drag-and-drop functionality dominate the market. These features reduce the repetitive tasks of separately creating items with only minor differences and instead allow for copying and duplicating similar components and then assigning unique parameters.

The introduction of communication standards across various platforms takes this ease-of-administration approach even further. Now SPC software can be configured to automatically obtain and update parts, processes, specifications, nominals and other pertinent information from values stored in other enterprise software systems such as manufacturing resource planning, manufacturing execution systems and human machine interface. Not only does this eliminate the effort spent re-entering and updating configuration information in multiple packages, it saves the effort expended tracking down entry errors that occur when the process is done manually.

Data Collection

Today's SPC software can automatically collect data from other enterprise software systems. As with the time-saving benefit for administrative tasks, this capability reduces the need to configure and maintain separate data collection interfaces and eliminates re-entry errors.

Current SPC software also has used communication standards to simplify the time-consuming job of connecting the system to data collection devices. Advances in software masking functionality permit out-of-the-box connection to a wide range of digital devices. And with dynamic masking capabilities, SPC software can automatically react to changes in device output and adjust to collect the specified data. This flexibility frees the practitioner from the tedious chore of administering SPC software every time there is a change to a device's output.

Real-Time SPC Analysis

Today's SPC software products are designed to collect data, produce charts and alarm in real time. This enables shop-floor operators to receive statistical feedback as close as possible to the point of production. Alarming capabilities include notification of supervisors, managers and other personnel responsible for maintaining and improving the production process. Immediate feedback and alarming enable all parties to begin problem solving and root causes analysis immediately. Eliminating the delay between a special cause and detection can reduce the investigation and corrective action effort by empowering quality practitioners with useful production feedback at the moment of a problem's inception.

Current development in SPC software includes the ability to provide supervisors with dashboard-style status indicators of all collection operations in the plant. Snapshot views of production status on a single screen allow busy supervisors to manage by exception instead of manage by walking around. Such SPC software systems aggregate and prioritize production information for the supervisor, reducing data-gathering demands.

Reporting

One of the most time-consuming tasks in applying statistical methods to a manufacturing process is developing relevant and understandable reports to form the basis for decision making. Modern SPC software makes the job easier by providing built-in report templates that can organize and deliver reports focused on the key characteristics of a process. Moreover, reports that are needed on a regular basis can be scheduled and automatically generated based on then-current production information. This is a time saver for those responsible for communication among quality team members.

Finally, the effort previously expended producing and distributing charts to various users and locations is reduced by leveraging the Internet. A Web-based SPC report with hyperlinks to various types of analyses can easily be distributed to multiple persons, teams or facilities.

The Future

Future SPC software development will follow the trend to eliminate cumbersome, low-value tasks and generally make SPC systems easier to administer and use. Describing the particular form such future development will take is speculative, but the combined capabilities of intelligent and expert systems is one possible way SPC software could evolve to address new challenges.

Intelligent systems emulate the human ability to learn from past experience and to make reasoned decisions and take action based on those experiences. Expert systems rely on a knowledge base to build models to diagnose, advise and act on real-world problems. Intelligent and expert systems are already deployed in control technology for manufacturing processes. It is not a great leap to believe that these technologies will profoundly change the nature of SPC software.

There are many ways in which intelligent and expert SPC systems would enhance the effectiveness and simplify the work of quality practitioners. On the most superficial level, these systems would learn from previous SPC configuration to logically reorder the system to make future administration easier. For instance, such systems could recognize which devices are being deployed and suggest effective collection methods and preferred connection approaches based on past experience.

But the administrative assistance offered by intelligent and expert SPC systems would run much deeper than that. Such systems could save countless hours helping determine how to monitor the process. Building on the history of previous production successes and failures, SPC software could select key parameters to track when to set up new parts or processes, and determine the most effective way to chart and report on those parameters. The software itself could anticipate problems and alter monitoring methodologies to adapt to changes in the manufacturing process.

The impact of intelligent and expert systems would perhaps be greatest when it comes to interpreting process statistics and acting on that analysis. There is not enough time in the day for the quality practitioner to thoroughly analyze the mountain of information generated from each production run. SPC software with learning and knowledge-based capabilities, coupled with computational power, will provide insights into the process beyond what the practitioner alone could achieve. With the advent of intelligent and expert SPC systems, the computer can transcend the earlier comparison made to a calculator. Such systems could not only assume or simplify menial tasks currently performed by the quality practitioner, but will also become a readily available and trusted source of expert guidance and advice.

Of course, the future developments suggested here may never come to pass. Nonetheless, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the SPC software of tomorrow will be more intelligent and capable of simplifying many jobs that burden today's quality practitioner. The future of SPC software is what frees those practitioners from time-consuming, low-value tasks and enables them to more easily obtain the analytical results that inform business decisions.


About The Author

DataNet Quality Systems provides quality control software (http://www.winspc.com) including WinSPC, a statistical process control software (http://www.winspc.com/datanet-quality-systems/products/winspc.html) solution designed to improve manufacturing process and product quality.