XP-PEN Artist Pro 16 DRAWN TO IT
Boasting revolutionary pen technology, does the new Artist Pro 16 live up to its name and stand up to the competition?
Price £450 Company XP-PEN Web storexppen.co.uk
Even if you lightly drag the nib across your canvas exerting almost no pressure at all, marks will still show up
This may look like a revamped Innovator 16, but Xp-pen’s latest tablet boasts improved stylus technology, with the inclusion of the interesting-sounding X3 Smart Chip, and a higher colour gamut than its predecessors. This offers what the manufacturer calls a true-to-life drawing experience. Let’s see if it lives up to the billing…
The XP-PEN Artist Pro 16 has a clean look and is fully laminated with a subtly textured anti-glare film. While this mirrors the XP-PEN Innovator 16 in design features, the work area is slightly smaller at 15.4 inches whereas the latter is 15.6 inches.
Display resolution is the same at 1080p, a standard high enough to work with little to no pixelation, but the colour gamut – its ability to replicate colour accurately – is significantly higher at 99 per cent
Adobe RGB, compared to the Innovator 16’s 92 per cent.
When we finally got the thing working (the pen just would not calibrate, and it kept shutting down) we found it to be a surprisingly good experience. The display’s glass is so close to the LCD screen beneath it that there is no discernible gap to speak of, leaving the impression that you’re drawing directly on to the image displayed. This is close to the experience of drawing on an ipad.
Apart from the initial calibration issue, we have no complaints with the drawing action. It’s smooth, responsive and accurate, and we soon got lost in the image-making process, which is what it’s all about really.
MIGHTY PEN
Behind the user experience is that X3 Smart chip. While the pen looks similar to some of Xp-pen’s many other styluses, the tech inside ensures the resulting action feels new. XP-PEN purports a “10-fold increase‘ in sensitivity, resulting in a mere three grams needed for the activation force.” That means even if you lightly drag the nib across your canvas exerting almost no pressure at all, marks will still show up, as they would with a real pencil. Although there are the standard 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, the lightness of touch to produce soft lines that taper with pressure is impressive.
The tablet has a stylish metal casing front and back. At just 9mm thin it’s a
neat product. The customisable dual dials and eight shortcut buttons are the same as the Xp-pen’s Innovator 16. The buttons are nicely dampened and have a great feel to them – as does the dual dial, the inside of which is touch capable. As you’d expect with a ‘Pro’ upgrade, everything with the Artist Pro 16 feels a little more tactile and better made.
The back is just plain with no rubber feet, which isn’t ideal for resting on the desk. It’s better to use a stand, although no stand is included in the box. XP-PEN sells them separately on its website. The Innovator 16 came with a relatively cheap stand at least. But it’s a strange ommission to put up with, as is the bundle of cables: a USB-C to a three-lead HDMI, USB-A, and power adapter seems a bit unnecessary and messy.
The nicest surprise in quality is the pen case, complete with nine spare nibs, and a very handy small circular nib remover. We’re not sure how helpful it is having nine identical nibs because the laminated work area’s ‘tooth’ isn’t that prominent and the nib would probably last quite a while without wearing down. Overall though, the design and build justify the ‘Pro’ designation.
CHOOSE YOUR OWN
At £450 the Artist Pro 16 is priced the same as its Innovator predecessor. The qualities of the Pro 16 should steer you in its direction. It has a better build quality, a slightly better drawing experience and higher colour gamut.
The XP-PEN Artist Pro 16 looks and feels the part, even if it doesn’t come with a stand and has a mess of wires. A complex installation process doesn’t make the best first impression, but persevere: you’ll benefit from an excellent drawing experience.