Wacom

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check|nested=1|template=Infobox company|cat=Template:Main other|name; company_name|logo; company_logo|logo_alt; alt|trade_name; trading_name|former_names; former_name|type; company_type|predecessors; predecessor|successors; successor|foundation; founded|founders; founder|defunct; dissolved|hq_location; location|hq_location_city; location_city|hq_location_country; location_country|num_locations; locations|areas_served; area_served|net_income; profit|net_income_year; profit_year|owners; owner |homepage; website }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox company with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank=y | alt | area_served | areas_served | assets | assets_year | aum | brands | company_logo | company_name | company_type | defunct | dissolved | divisions | embed | equity | equity_year | fate | footnotes | former_name | former_names | foundation | founded | founder | founders | genre | homepage | hq_location | hq_location_city | hq_location_country | incorporated | image | image_alt | image_caption | image_size | image_upright | income_year | industry | ISIN | key_people | location | location_city | location_country | locations | logo | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_class | logo_size | logo_upright | members | members_year | module | name | native_name | native_name_lang | net_income | net_income_year | num_employees | num_employees_year | num_locations | num_locations_year | operating_income | owner | owners | parent | predecessor | predecessors | production | production_year | products | profit | profit_year | rating | ratio | revenue | revenue_year | romanized_name | services | subsid | successor | successors | traded_as | trade_name | trading_name | type | website| qid | fetchwikidata | suppressfields | noicon | nocat | demo | categories }}

Template:Nihongo is a Japanese company headquartered in Kazo, Saitama, Japan, that specializes in manufacturing graphics tablets and related products.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2012 Wacom generated sales of approximately 40.7 billion yen with 785 employees.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Better source needed</ref> The company's shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

History

The company was founded in 1983.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The name Wacom came from an abbreviated variation of World Computer (Template:Langx), with the syllable "wa" (和, Japanese for "harmony").<ref name=":4" />

Wacom was the first company to make pens without a cord, which it introduced in 1991;<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="gebolys"/> it released its first pen display the following year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Its products were initially targeted at professional artists, but by the late 1990s it aimed to expand to home users as well.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2001, the company partnered with Sony to introduce a Vaio laptop with built-in touch functionality.<ref name="rogoway">Template:Cite news</ref>

Products

Wacom produces two categories of graphics tablets: those with a screen ('pen display') and those without ('tablet').<ref name="cb"/> In addition, the company provides software for computers and software to interpret pen data.<ref name="gebolys">Template:Cite news</ref> Some pens have an eraser on the rear end.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>

Cintiq

Wacom's professional pen displays are under the Cintiq line.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They allow for drawing directly on the screen, like drawing on paper,<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and are more expensive than other Wacom products.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> The Cintiq Companion is a portable variant of the Cintiq displays.<ref name=":3" />

• Wacom Cintiq (Pxhere-1393443).jpg

  A person drawing on a Cintiq tablet

• Wacom Cintiq13HD.JPG

  A Wacom Cintiq 13HD

Intuos

Intuos graphics tablets do not have displays.<ref name="stapley">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first version was introduced in 1999, replacing the earlier ArtZ line.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is available in an entry-level version and the more advanced Intuos Pro.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2018, The Verge called the entry-level models a "great introduction to digital art."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

One

The One series of products is targeted at beginners, and features versions both with and without screens.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="cb">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The One tablet, released at CES 2020, has a 13-inch, 1920x1080 display. The Verge labeled it as Wacom's "most affordable tablet to date," being priced at $400.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other products

Wacom also makes the MobileStudio, a pen display with an inbuilt computer.<ref name="stapley"/>

They have also made other lines of graphics tablets, such as the Bamboo and Graphire, which were both screenless.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2011, the company released a tablet-less pen, which allowed for drawing on any piece of paper, but was criticized for being inaccurate compared to a normal photo scan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2018, they partnered with Magic Leap to create collaborative mixed reality design tools at CES.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Technology

The tablets use electromagnetic resonance (EMR) technology, a type of faint radio signal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0" /> Magnetic waves are emitted from the tablet, which are then transmitted to the pen and stored. When the pen is released, the waves are sent back to the tablet, which uses it to determine the pen's position;<ref name="rogoway"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> this avoids the usage of separate batteries in the pen.<ref name=":1" /> The pen also contains a movable tip, which allows determining the pressure applied to the tablet.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Criticism

The company has received criticism for collection of user data,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which Wacom says is "for quality assurance and development purposes," where the data is anonymized.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In early 2024, the company was criticised by artists for using AI-generated images in its advertising material.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The company replied in a post on their blogs on January 9, stating that "using AI-Generated images in these assets was not their intent.''<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

References

<references />

External links

• Template:Official website