Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium review
Our Verdict
This is an ideal pen tablet for illustrators, digital painters and photographers who want a reliable, solidly built piece of equipment. It’s easily portable, wireless and pretty much flawless in performance.
For
- Wireless
- Great build quality
- Fantastic drawing experience
Against
- Nothing of note
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TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Xencelabs are the new kids on the block in the graphics tablet world. The team includes ex-Wacom employees, and they’ve put all their design and industry know-how into the Pen Display Medium – it’s as user- and artist-friendly as you’d hope. We tried the Pen Display Medium Bundle, which comes with the Xencelabs Pen Tablet, two pens (the 3 button and Thin Pen) and a case, a Quick Key remote, and other bits like a drawing glove and a very nice soft tablet carrying case, all for just $359. 99 / £319.99.
So far, so good, but how does it measure up compared to the other tablets in our best graphics tablet guide? Read on to find out more.
The pen tablet has been designed with the user in mind (Image credit: Ben Brady)
Xencelabs Pen Display Medium sits just under a 13-inch MacBook in size, neither too big nor too small, and at only 8mm thick it looks and feels like a very nice piece of design. It has an ergonomic curved front edge, which feels like the user’s comfort has been taken into account. This is especially welcome considering those long hours spent drawing.
- Xencelabs Medium Pen Tablet Bundle (Black) at Amazon for £329.99
The tablet seems super sleek and well made – from the texture, or ‘tooth’, of the active drawing zone, to the metal alloy underside with six rubber non-slip pads, it all adds to a build quality you might expect from a more premium piece of kit by someone like Wacom – an Intuos Pro medium would be a fair comparison.
Xencelabs tablet specs
Product Dimensions: 12.61 x 9.16 x 0.3 in / 320.5 x 232.85 x 8mm
Active area size: 10.3×5.8 in / 262.4×147.4 mm
Active area aspect ratio: 16:9
Pen: Battery-free
Pressure levels: 8192 levels
Weight: 710.5 g
Ports: USB-C to USB-A
The active area is delineated by four corner LEDs you can customise in eight different colours. It’s a nice addition. You can set different colours for different programmes, for example, when they light up blue, you know you set for Photoshop, pink for Affinity, yellow for Corel, etc, or whatever you like.
Three small buttons sit at the top of the tablet, fully customisable of course. They seem perfect for accessing the tablet or pen settings, for example, or for switching programmes. You may well ask – where are the rest of the shortcut buttons, so common on graphics tablets? And that’s where the Quick Key Remote comes in.
..
Xencelabs pen tablet: Quick Key Remote
Customise with ease with the Quick Key Remote (Image credit: Ben Brady)
Because Xencelabs seems to be all about the refinement and attention to detail on a single product (meaning the bundle as a whole), those quick key shortcuts have been lifted off the tablet, save the three primary buttons, and configured, if you will, into this very cool, separate, OLED display and nine-button remote with physical wheel dial.
The remote itself is as nice a build as the tablet and is customisable with up to 40 shortcuts. The best thing about it is its ability to configure by colour too, just like the tablet itself. A bit of time spent in the settings means a relatively easy configuration of dial sequences, which is perfect for scrolling, zooming, rotating, and changing brush sizes. Just assign a colour to each job.
You can configure the eight buttons into different sets for different art jobs, so to speak – Set A for sketching, B for editing, C for colouring etc.
The OLED display makes it easier to remember which button is set to what, when in each configuration. If that all sounds a bit like too much trouble – it really isn’t. Compared to other drawing tablets, this, as well as the initial set up and driver installation, is pretty easy and stress free. Xencelabs has got the user’s experience from beginning to end in mind, and it shows.
Xencelabs pen tablet: stylus/pen
Ooh la la (Image credit: Ben Brady)
Opening up and unboxing the Xencelabs pen tablet medium bundle is pretty satisfying, even surprising, especially considering the cost. It’s when you uncover the pen case that it really gets a bit ‘ooh la la’. The pens also have a nice weight –reminiscent of an old fountain pen.
Wacom sells its slim pen separately, but Xencelabs includes one with the Pen Tablet medium. So, you get a regular three-button pen and a slim two-button pen, both with ‘erasers’ on the opposite ends (or whatever you want to configure them as).
I spent most of my time using the slim pen and not even bothering with the regular, but it is nice to have a choice.
Being able to customise both pens to different settings is a nice touch – you can grab one for shading or light pencil work, and use the other for inking or painting in, for example. It saves a great deal of time having to go back into the settings and reconfigure each time you want something different. Both pens have the standard (and very high) levels of pressure sensitivity, and 60 degree tilt functions, as standard. The drawing experience with the pens is really very good – no lag, smooth lines, and no marks missing when sketching at speed.
Ten extra nibs are included in the case, four of them felt (as in the material) for extra ‘tooth’, plus a nib extracting ring.
Xencelabs pen tablet: power
The Xencelabs medium pen tablet bundle comes with a USB-A to USB-C connector (Image credit: Ben Brady)
The pen tablet and Quick Key Remote both link up with to your computer via USB (USB-A to USB-C connector included) and once charged, are both connected to the tablet wirelessly via bluetooth – with a dongle included in pen case.
The battery of both the tablet and remote lasted a fair few hours. The pen takes less than an hour to fully recharge (whilst using it), and the remote about half an hour. The pens are of course completely battery free.
Xencelabs tablet: price
All this (except the Apple keyboard) for $359.99 / £319.99 (Image credit: Xencelabs)
The cost of the bundle is very reasonable: $359.99 / £319.99. This includes the Xencelabs Pen Tablet, two pens (the 3 button and Thin Pen) and case, the Quick Key remote, a drawing glove and a very nice soft tablet carrying case.
The Tablet alone is $279.99 / £259.99, the remote $89.99 / £79.99, and the regular and thin pens $49.99 / £35.99 and $46.99 / £33.99 respectively. The bundle is clearly a bargain. It is significantly more than an XP-Pen Deco Pro at $129.99 / £129.99, but worth the hike in price due to the design build, quality and expertise that has gone into it.
It sits around the same price as a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium $379.
95 / £329. Both the XP-PEN Deco Pro and the Wacom Intuous Pro Medium are comparable to the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium in terms of their technical prowess.
Xencelabs tablet: should you buy it?
Between the Deco Pro and the Intuous Medium and this tablet, Xencelabs comes out on top. The Xencelabs Pen Display Medium bundle is a clear signal that the Xencelabs team are serious competitors in this market, offering a capable tablet and accessories set that is understated yet very cool, for a sensible price. Whether you’re a professional or are just starting out, we recommend Xencelabs Pen Display Medium Bundle.
Xencelabs Medium Pen Tablet Bundle: Price Comparison
£329.99
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£339.99
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10
out of 10
Xencelabs Medium Pen Tablet Bundle
This is an ideal pen tablet for illustrators, digital painters and photographers who want a reliable, solidly built piece of equipment.
It’s easily portable, wireless and pretty much flawless in performance.
Ben is an artist and illustrator based in Bristol. He works in traditional woodcut, drawing and digital mediums. For Creative Bloq, he reviews drawing tablets and styluses, as well as the latest and greatest digital software for artists. His artwork has been exhibited across Bristol, and his words have also appeared in ImagineFX magazine.
XP-Pen Deco MW Pen Tablet review: an affordable yet capable entry-level drawing tablet
Our Verdict
The XP-Pen Deco MW pen tablet is a great entry-level pen tablet that’s both affordable and easy to use. It has an attractive, comfortably sized design with great colour choices and overall makes for a pleasant drawing experience despite its few small issues.
For
- Easy to set up
- Simple yet stylish design
- Portable size
Against
- Lack of pen storage
Why you can trust Creative Bloq
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.
Find out more about how we test.
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Welcome to our review of the XP-Pen Deco MW Pen Tablet. XP-Pen is a smaller name on the drawing tablet scene: they offer more affordable products than the bigger name brands like Wacom and Cintiq, so it can be easy to doubt quality. However, we frequently feature their products and the lower price point makes them a fantastic starting tablet for amateurs and younger artists.
As a digital artist, I’ve used both the prior mentioned Wacom and Cintiq but had never tried my hand with the XP-Pen brand. I was sceptical about how this would live up to my Wacom tablet, but I will happily say I was pleasantly surprised and now find myself reaching for my XP-Pen Deco MW tablet over my older Wacom model. While I definitely wouldn’t consider this a high-end tool for full-time digital art, it’s a fantastic addition to my desktop setup and the slim, compact design makes it easy to store. But is it good enough to make it among one of the best drawing tablets out there? Let’s find out.
XP-Pen Deco MW review: Price
(Image credit: Future)
Costing $69.99/£69.99, the XP-Pen Deco MW is a mid-range tablet when it comes to cost vs. size. There are plenty of good affordable tablets on the market now that can start from $40/£40, so competition is very high when it comes to choosing a cheaper yet good quality tab.
Overall, I find the $69.99/£69.99 price tag a reasonable ask for the XP-Pen Deco MW as it’s a fantastic entry-level tablet that is easy to set up and feels good to use, especially when there are frequent discounts from various retailers on the device.
- XP-Pen Deco MW Pen Tablet at Amazon for £69.99
XP-Pen Deco MW review: Design and build
(Image credit: Future)
Measuring 8×5 inches, this tablet is nicely mid-sized. It sits comfortably on my desk when I’m hooked up to my laptop and slots away unobtrusively when I store it. It’s very lightweight, but still has a solid build that gives it a nice weight. The tablet features 8 shortcut keys that you can easily customise using the tablet driver which was very easy to assign.
Speaking of the tablet driver, I really appreciated how simple it was to install and set up. It has a clean UI design that is easy to navigate. There is a live pressure input sensor, but I wish it had a visual representation of your pen stroke to show if your tablet is picking up pressure differences for artistic apps as I had an issue getting pen pressure to work in Photoshop, but was unable to tell if it was a fault with my tablet or the programme.
Colour-wise, I went for the blue variation. It’s a pale navy blue and visually I can’t fault it. It’s easy on the eye and looks really unique compared to my past tablets. The XP-Pen Deco MW comes in a total of four colours: blue, pink, green and black. Graphics tablets usually come in a bog-standard black or grey, so this funky selection of vibrant colours is a nice change of pace.
XP-Pen Deco MW review: Stylus
(Image credit: Future)
The XP-Pen Deco MW comes with the new X3 Elite plus stylus. The new X3 smart chip promises an authentic drawing experience thanks to its 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and up to 60° tilt recognition.
The pen is incredibly light, which in the long term is a good thing but it does feel a little cheap compared to other art styluses I’ve used. One major downside I noted after extended use was the lack of grip where you hold the pen: it got a little uncomfortable after a while and I feel the stylus could definitely benefit from some kind of groove or grip beneath where your fingertips sit.
The stylus comes packaged with over 10 spare nibs and a tool to easily replace them. As someone that goes through pen nibs frequently, this was very appreciated and a great addition that prolongs your product’s lifespan. It has 2 buttons on the side that you can customise to quickly switch between tools as you work, and these have a really satisfying “click” to use.
As with most graphic tablet pens, it’s important to note you do not need to charge the stylus to use it. The technology works using pressure recognition, so no need to worry about batteries or fiddly charging cables. Another small issue I have in regards to the stylus is that there is nowhere to store it on the tablet, like a fabric loop or clip, meaning it would be very easy to lose if you’re out and about and I struggled to find somewhere safe on my desk to store it where it wouldn’t go missing.
XP-Pen Deco MW review: Drawing experience
(Image credit: Future)
Considering this is a cheaper tablet than ones I’ve used before, I was pleasantly surprised with how good it felt to draw on. It has a surprisingly large “active area” considering the size of the tablet itself, and the smooth surface felt good to draw on thanks to the matte finish. It has four rubber grips on the bottom which hold it secure against your desk/workspace so I didn’t have to worry about it sliding around when I was putting pressure on it.
You have two different options when it comes to connecting the XP-Pen Deco MW to your chosen device: it works both through a wired connection and Bluetooth. Simply download the free driver from the website and you’re good to go. It even comes with two adaptors to connect to a range of devices: USB-C to USB and Micro-USB to USB. I like to limit my cables, so I pretty much exclusively used the Bluetooth connection which works by plugging in a Bluetooth adaptor to the USB port of my laptop/PC.
I did experience a few issues when it came to Bluetooth pairing where the laptop was registering it was paired, but not picking up any input. To rectify this I had to remove and then re-pair the tablet each time I wanted to use it which was a considerable downside.
Overall, the actual drawing experience felt good and easy to handle. As an artist that has used a multitude of tablets, I would definitely consider this a “starter” device that would be better suited for beginner digital artists, especially in regards to the lower price point. The aforementioned stylus has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity thanks to the X3 chip and I found my brush strokes and lines to be accurate to my pressure input. I found the eight side buttons to be very helpful when working, and once I’d assigned them custom shortcuts they considerably sped up my artistic process.
XP-Pen Deco MW review: Is it worth buying?
(Image credit: Future)
Overall, the XP-Pen Deco MW is a great tablet if you’re looking for a compact yet affordable digital art option.
It would be a great beginner tablet as well as a nice cheaper addition for long-term artists. Despite having a few small issues when it came to connection via Bluetooth and picking up pen pressure, these were quickly rectified and minor inconveniences given the decent price point of the XP-Pen Deco MW tablet. If you want to get an idea of a wider range of tablets, you can find our guide to the best drawing tablets right here. But be warned: most options on this list are a lot more pricey which is why I think the XP-Pen Deco MW is a great and easy-to-use device to start with as an artist.
XP-Pen Deco MW Pen Tablet : Price Comparison
£69.99
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8
out of 10
XP-Pen Deco MW Pen Tablet
The XP-Pen Deco MW pen tablet is a great entry-level pen tablet that’s both affordable and easy to use.
It has an attractive, comfortably sized design with great colour choices and overall makes for a pleasant drawing experience despite its few small issues.
Abi Le Guilcher is Creative Bloq’s Ecommerce Writer. With a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Design for Game and Film, Abi enjoys almost anything creative and will either be found crafting or gaming in her spare time. Her previous experience as a retail assistant at CeX means she has a wide range of knowledge in both technology and media and loves to keep up to date with the latest tech. Abi is an avid cosplayer and has most recently worked with PlayStation and Santa Monica Studio on a promotional campaign for the release of God of War Ragnarök.
LCD drawing tablet, 8.5″ diagonal K7518: green, 599 ₽, article no. 51301000
LCD drawing tablet, 8.5″ diagonal K7518: green, 599 ₽, article no. Online store kari Shops
8 800 200 10 63
kari CLUB
art. 51301000
+60 points
to kari CLUB card
in 4 installments
for 150 ₽ without overpayments
799 ₽
-25%
599 ₽
+60 points
to kari CLUB card
in 4 payments
for 150 ₽ without overpayments
Methods of receiving
- Pick up
Product information 9000 3
Article 51301000
Age category3+
Composition 75% PS (polystyrene), 15 % PET (polyethylene terephthalate), 10% metal
Country of origin China
Brand KariKids
Price offer is valid for 1 hour.
Drawing board KariKidsProducts KariKids
Reviews and questions
Reviews can only be left by authorized users
Login or register Rating:
Excellent tablet, everything works, for long distance trips are great fun.
Tatyana
03/30/2023 04:35
Color: Green
Method of purchase: Pickuper
Estimates:
Bought in the Kari store LCD for drawing, diagonal 8.5. The kit includes a battery. Everything works perfectly. It will be useful for preschoolers and for those who study in elementary school. The drawing is clear, everything is easily erased by pressing one button. Bought as a gift. Thanks for a great product.
Nataliya
05/25/2023 08:54
Color: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
Bought as a gift for a competition, for a child of 7 years old just right 900 03
Anonymous
05/15/2023 21:53
Color: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
Cool tablet
Anonymous user
05/10/2023 10:32
9 0008 Color: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
Very entertaining toy.
We bought on the road so that the children would not be bored. Convenient and interesting.
Anonymous user
05/05/2023 11:51
Color: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
liked it! child draws!
Ekaterina
25.04.2023 10:30
Color: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
My daughter really liked the tablet. batteries included. works great.
04/23/2023 08:18
Color: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
very cool tablet, the kids play for grabs
Ekaterina
90 008 21.04.2023 13:13
Colour: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
The tablet is cool, my daughter draws and erases, everything is fine.
Anonymous user
04/04/2023 20:49
Color: green
Purchase method: Pickup
Rating:
Cool tablet, large size
Digital tablets for manga and comics
Whether your style is fun, scary, or whatever, you’ll love drawing manga with Wacom products.
Many artists of popular books and comics in this genre tell their stories using a Wacom pen tablet or interactive display. Just grab all the tools you need and bring your characters to life.
The perfect solution just for you
Making manga and comics is a lot of fun! And with the right tools, you can turn your ideas into reality and achieve stunning images. It’s much easier than you think – just connect your Intuos Manga to your computer!
Intuitive drawing and sketching
The Intuos Manga combines the freedom of a pen with the convenience of digital media. The pressure-sensitive pen reproduces natural brush strokes, as if you were drawing on paper. An endless array of digital brushes, colors and effects are always at your fingertips. You don’t have to frequently change consumables and clean your desktop. Sketch, ink and color – all with one tool.
Correcting is now even easier
When working with ink, making corrections is quite difficult.
But now it’s easier to edit images. Change the appearance of the character or the world that surrounds him. Rearrange panels, copy or delete them. You don’t have to start all over again!
Then post your drawings to your favorite online gallery or social network like Pixiv or deviantART.
What to do next
Continue working on your projects. Once you’ve mastered drawing on your tablet, you’re ready for the next step. Are you creating your own stories? Enhance them with digital editing and effects. Do you make animation for your works? Import and convert your drawings into vector graphics that are easy to work with. Working on a graphic novel? Track all plot lines with special files. Intuos Manga is your support every step of the way.
Do you want to become a professional? Practice is the way to perfection. Professional comic artists choose Wacom products for their versatility, quality and ease of use. Discover the displays in the Cintiq range and you’ll have access to a rich set of professional features.
Manga software
Intuos Manga is compatible with the software you use to create your own creations. All lines of imaging software, including Celsys, Adobe ® , Corel ® work great with Wacom products.
And of course, the creative apps fully support Wacom’s touch and pressure-sensitive features. Wacom works with leading illustrators and animators to create the tools they trust to bring their artistic vision to life.
The perfect solution
Of course, you can draw more than just manga! Wacom pen tablets are suitable for all kinds of multimedia content. Follow your inspiration: create drawings, sketches, paintings, design objects and more. You’ll find that Intuos Manga is the right fit for your characters, stories, and yourself.
Wacom products for manga and comics
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Wacom MobileStudio Pro
An ultra-high-definition graphics computer designed for creative professionals.
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Wacom Cintiq Pro 16
An ultra-high definition interactive display with multi-touch functionality for creative professionals.
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Wacom Intuos Pro Paper
Powerful pen tablet with advanced paper/digital features for professionals, available in medium and large sizes
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Wacom Intuos Pro
Professional graphics tablet with multi-touch capabilities available in small, medium and large sizes
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Wacom Intuos
A graphics tablet with a great pen feel.