Pressure levels
The number of pressure levels supported by the pen.
The more levels of pressure, the more accurately the pen tracks the force of pressure and the closer the drawing is to the drawing made by real tools like a pencil. The minimum value for a modern tablet is
512 levels, an indicator of
1024 levels is considered relatively small,
2048 is considered average, and in some models
4096 and even
8192 levels are found. At the same time, it is worth noting that the difference between pens with different accuracy becomes noticeable mainly on the thinnest strokes and on lines with a thickness that changes along the stylus; so numerous levels, even a professional artist is not always required. For this reason, this parameter has practically nothing to do with the general class of the device: for example, there are low-cost models on the market with 8192 levels, and professional solutions with only 1024.
Resolution
The resolution of the graphics tablet's working area, expressed in lines per inch (lpi). The parameter includes the density of sensors on the tactile surface of the device per inch. It is these sensors that recognize the signal upon contact with the pen. The higher the resolution, the more accurately and in detail the movements of the pen across the working area of the tablet are transferred. This ensures the creation of objects with a high degree of detail.
The simplest devices are characterized by an indicator of
2540 lpi. The “golden mean” is
4000 lpi. And in professional graphics tablets the
a resolution of 5080 lpi can be found. Moreover, it is important to take into account that higher accuracy significantly affects the cost of the device.
Response
A characteristic of a graphics tablet that determines how many times per second the tablet records the artist’s actions. The response rate is expressed in PPS (Points Per Second).
The higher the PPS value, the more responsive the surface is. If responsiveness is low, there is a possibility of getting jagged lines when working with the pen, and the stylus cursor may lag behind the movement of your hand. Devices with a response of
266 PPS or
more perform best, the “golden mean” is the range of values
230 – 233 PPS and
250 – 260 PPS, and in entry-level models the response can be
220 PPS or
less.
