Artist 15.6 Pro

AIMING HIGH XP-Pen wants to sit at the top table, next to Apple and Wacom. Should the budget tablet manufacturer be given a menu?

The big question with any new graphics tablet is ‘how does it compare to the current market?’ Every new contender can boast improved features and specs, but ultimately what we want to know is how it stands up against the big guns – Wacom and Apple in this instance.

With its lightweight screen and pressure and tilt-sensitive, battery-free pen, the XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is arguably the best non-Wacom/Apple competitor so far. But it does have certain limitations that hold it back from dethroning its competitors. However, the price point/quality level trade-off will be good enough to sway some artists, depending on their particular requirements.

The Artist 15.6 Pro has an active drawing area of 15.6 inches diagonally, which gives it a full HD resolution of 1,920x1,080. The display has an impressive gamut of 84 per cent of Adobe RGB. That’s higher than the Cintiq 16, which has a gamut of around 75 per cent RGB. However, the colour accuracy, while good, isn’t perfect and so you’ll need to use a colour calibratorto avoid your artwork’s colours looking inaccurate if you print it. You can ramp up the brightness of the Artist 15.6 Pro screen and turn it down just as easily, thanks to handy buttons on the side of the tablet.

REDUCTION IN PARALLAX

The screen’s surface is laminated and bonded. This reduces the parallax effect to low levels – very similar to those of the Cintiq. Yes, it’s noticeable, but you’ll soon become accustomed to it during your painting sessions.

The pre-applied and replaceable film cover’s anti-glare properties reduce reflections considerably. However, the trade-off is that the tablet surface is slippery, feeling more like a smartphone’s screen than paper (the screen, sans film, lacks any tooth). The Artist 15.6 Pro comes with a free anti-fouling glove to minimise marks being generated accidentally.