Having used the Wacom Cintiq12WX for a solid two weeks now, I feel that I’m prepared to write a review on it. (Just as an aside, you can view my Cintiq videos on YouTube.) Here’s a quick overview: The Cintiq12WX has improved my life immensely. No, really! The ability to work directly on-screen is indispensible once you’ve tried it, and to have that in a fairly mobile product like the Cintiq12WX is absolutely fantastic. There are a few negatives–no impartial review could be complete without them–but on the whole, I am extremely happy with my purchase. This is not my first Cintiq–I have a Cintiq21UX at work, so I will be comparing the two where relevant to help those of you who are trying to decide whether to save money and go for the 12WX, or really lace into your wallet to purchase the larger 21UX.

The Cintiq12WX and its big brother, the Cintiq21UX.

I took the above photo the day I unwrapped the 12WX. It was pretty easy to set up: One integrated cable runs from the Cintiq to a converter box, which has three ports in the back–one for the power supply, one for a USB cable, and one for a video cable (The 12WX is compatible with either VGA or DVI monitors). If you want to see for yourself what this setup looks like, watch this video I made (The video also shows how the Cintiq12WX functions as a second monitor). In any case, this setup is probably the easiest Wacom could have made it, unless everything was completely wireless. Now that would be cool. Alas, it is not the case.

Close-up of the Cintiq12WX.

Speaking of cases, unfortunately there is not yet a carrying case for this piece of equipment–temporarily, I am using the original box it came in, as it stows everything away safely and has a plastic handle. It is not quite as portable as I had initially hoped. I visited my parents shortly after getting the Cintiq, and have spare USB and video cables at their house, so it was fairly easy to unplug everything, put it in the box, and haul it off. It’s not very heavy and as long as you’re not hauling luggage, the size is bearable. But once you’ve reached your destination, you’ve got to unpack it all, unroll the cords, install your drivers, calibrate the device…it’s nothing horrible, but it’s nothing I’d want to do every single day. Just keep that in mind.

Take a look at the above pictures, because once you’ve got it set up, that’s what it’s gonna look like–there’s basically only one stand position you can use for drawing (two if you count laying the Cintiq flat on the desk). You can prop the stand up at different levels for viewing, but unless you have an incredibly light hand, you’re going to knock it backwards unless you extend the stand completely. To Wacom’s credit, this drawing position is actually very comfortable. I initially had dreams of pulling the Cintiq over to my couch, holding it in my lap and drawing like it was a sketch pad, but honestly I’ve been too comfortable drawing at my desk to attempt it. It would be nice if the stand would lock in different positions for people who want to draw at different levels, but as it is, it’s not a hindrance and it’s actually quite a joy.

The screen quality is wonderful. The resolution on the 12.1″ widescreen is 1280×800 pixels, which is quite a bit smaller than the 21UX’s 1600×1200 21″ standard-ratio screen. However, the 12WX actually has a higher contrast ratio and, to my eyes, is sharper than the 21UX. It’s absolutely crystal-clear, comfortably bright, and has good color. According to Wacom, the screen is covered by a layer of non-reflective glass that is marginally slicker than the 21UX’s screen. This could potentially be a turn-off for some people who dislike the slippery plastic-on-plastic feel of Wacom’s tablets. My own personal remedy is to use felt-tip pen nibs–they wear down a lot faster than the hard plastic pen nibs, but they offer more friction and feel more natural when drawing. They can be ordered from Wacom’s website for about a dollar each.

Camera shot of the 12WX’s screen

Speaking of drawing, click here if you want to watch the 12WX in action, briefly. I’ve had a lot of questions about screen lag on Cintiqs–I can honestly say that it’s never been an issue for me. I’ve never even noticed it. The Cintiq keeps up with my cartooning style just fine, and it’s a style that requires smooth, crisp lines. I’ve found that performance is affected a lot more by the quality of computer you’re using rather than the quality of the Cintiq itself…if you’re using an old Pentium III computer with a crummy video card, well, you probably aren’t going to get the full benefit of any Cintiq.

Drawing on the 12WX and the 21UX is very similar. The smaller 12WX makes up for its lack of size with its improved clarity and wide screen. Both models come very close to “natural” hand-drawing, especially when compared to lesser Wacom tablets where you don’t draw directly on the screen. My mom is a great artist but totally anti-computer–once she started drawing on the 12WX, she commented that it was actually easier to draw with than pencil and paper, yet still felt very natural. As I said to someone who asked me if the Cintiq improved the quality of my work: It doesn’t actually improve the final result of my work, but it makes that result faster, easier, and more fun to attain. I think that over time it could improve the quality of your work, mainly because you’re free to be more creative than with a standard tablet.

Now, for the negatives. First, the calibration is perfect in the center of the screen, but wobbly around the edges. I find this very unfortunate. The pen and cursor line up in the middle, but drift further and further away from each other as you near the edges of the screen. The only thing I can really say about this is…you get used to it. I inquired about my problem on the Wacom Europe message boards, and was informed by an official Wacom representative there that “around the border, the accuracy is not as high as in the middle.” So that’s a drag. Seriously, you get used to it. It’s not a deal-breaker, just kind of a little downer on a piece of equipment that is otherwise totally awesome.

The other problem is one that I have experienced with many Wacom tablets–the “Expressionkeys” on the sides are not very responsive. I firmly believe that this is a driver problem, however, and not a hardware problem, but I’m letting you know about it anyway. Sometimes I will click a key several times before it finally registers the click. I’ve had this problem on my 21UX as well, but when I re-installed an older driver, the problem disappeared. The problem here is that there’s no older driver for the 12WX. It’s a problem that I imagine is fixable and will be fixed with a future driver update. I hope.

So there you have it. I’ve tried to remain impartial, but the fact is this: I love my Cintiq12WX. It lets me get so much more work done at home and wherever else I take it. Drawing, illustrating and even navigating is an absolute joy on it. I come home from work and I’m actually happy to sit down and start drawing. As to the question of “which is better, the 12WX or the 21UX?” I would have to say that the 12WX is the better value, but the 21UX is the better product. Then again, as of this writing, it costs 2.5 times as much as the 12WX, so can you really expect any less? The 21UX has a huge screen area and virtually no faults aside from the fact that it is not portable. The 12WX is smaller and has some screen calibration issues, but it’s portable and the screen is sharp and bright. The final decision comes down to whether or not you need portability, and whether or not you can afford to spend a lot of cash on the 21UX. As for me, I just immensely enjoy having access to both.