This site best viewed with Internet Explorer

Digital tablets are all the rage in the cartooning world. I know of more cartoonists moving toward digital tablets and leaving behind traditional paper and pen. As you may now know, I use both traditional and digital methods to produce my cartoons. I do own a digital tablet just like the one pictured on this page. You may wonder why I selected this tablet over some of the more expensive models. Well, price is the exact point. I’ve never paid $500.00 for a fountain pen when an 89 cent Flair pen does just as good a job. And I don’t see the need in paying upwards of $300.00, $400.00 or $500.00 for a digital tablet when you can find tablets out there that do the job and have similar features and ease of use for hundreds of dollars less. In order to give you an idea of what a digital tablet should have, here are the features of the one you see at right (with my own comments on each feature)
Pressure Sensitive Tablet -Obviously, this is the most important aspect of a digital tablet. Pressure sensitivity gives the artist the ability to make thin and thick lines by pressing harder or lighter with the digital pen. This feature is also dependent on whether or not the graphics application you use supports pressure sensitivity. PhotoPlus 8 does.
Cordless Graphics Pen - All the newer tablets are utilize cordless pens. However, some are also battery-less. The one I use needs to have a battery to work. But I don’t mind. The pen uses a AAA battery and the added weight is negligible.
Cordless Internet Mouse - This is an extra that I never use. I prefer to use an optical mouse.
Standard Serial Port Connection - This type of connection is not much of a hassle at all. But, if you can, always opt for a USB digital tablet. Setup and installation is a bit easier.

12 Programmable Macro Keys - These are keys on the tablet where you can customize routines.
512 levels of pressure sensitivity - The higher the pressure sensitivity, the more responsive the pen is. But as sensitivity increases, so does price. 512 is a standard Pressure Sensitivity level and quite good for most users. I’ve had no complaints with using only 512 levels.
Ultra-high 3048 lpi resolution - Again, the higher the better and this level is more than most, but less than the $200.00 models.
The rest of these features (below) are extra icing on the cake:
Digital Signature Recognition
Art Dabbler Painting Software
Intelligent Handwriting Recognition
Programmable Symbol Translation
Microsoft® Word Annotation Software
NetMeeting Video Conferencing
Each tablet comes with extra goodies. You may use them, then again, you may not.
To visit sites where digital tablets are available, stop off at the Web page.