Like the Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition ($542.89 at Amazon) , the Wacom Intuos Pro Creative Pen Tablet is a graphics tablet—with a writing surface but no screen—responsive to an included pen stylus, as well as gesture-based finger commands. Your gestures and pen strokes are mapped to your computer's screen or monitor, so you can draw, edit photos, and perform other actions and see the results almost immediately. Like a T-shirt, it comes in three sizes: Small ($249.95), Medium ($379.95), and Large ($499.95). We tested the Small version (model PTH460), which proves itself an inexpensive, highly portable device for artists, photographers, and designers. It's a good choice as a graphics tablet for use with a laptop, especially for mobile use where your working space may be at a premium.
Write On!
The Wacom Intuos Pro Small is a matte-black rectangle with rounded corners. It measures 0.3 by 10.6 by 6.7 inches (HWD), very similar in dimensions to my 9.7-inch, sixth-generation Apple iPad, apart from being about an inch longer.
The tablet's active area, which is bounded at four corners marked by right-angle white hash marks, measures 6.3 by 4 inches. This bounded area is mapped to your computer screen. Hover the pen over the active area's lower right corner, for instance, and your cursor will appear in that corner.
Similar Products
Wacom Cintiq 16
Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16
Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition
To the left of the active area is a column of six programmable ExpressKey buttons. One opens a Settings diagram, showing the ExpressKey Settings (what function each is mapped to), as well as Pen Properties and Touch Properties. When used with the pen, clicking on the buttons marked ExpressKey Properties, Pen Properties, or Touch Properties takes you to a dialog box that lets you reprogram the keys or pen, alter the feel and tilt sensitivity of the pen, and change other settings.
Another ExpressKey takes you to the Wacom Desktop Center, which keeps track of your Wacom devices, lets you access a wide range of settings, and links to the Wacom Store. The other ExpressKeys are by default mapped to Shift, Ctrl, Alt, and Pan/Scroll to facilitate navigation.
The ExpressKey buttons flank a touch-ring control. If you're looking at a photo, say, you can zoom in by moving your finger clockwise around the circle, and zoom out by moving counterclockwise instead. If you're looking at a website, you can use the circular control to scroll up or down.
To the left of the scroll ring, on the tablet's side, is a toggle switch for enabling or disabling multi-touch functionality. At the other end of the tablet is a USB Type-C port, for both charging and data transfer. The Intuos Pro Small can connect to a computer either via Bluetooth or over the USB Type-C connection. Wacom includes a USB Type-C cable that connects at the computer end with a USB Type-A port.
An Auto-Charging Stylus
The Intuos Pro Pen Small uses the same Wacom Pro Pen 2 stylus that has been included with other Wacom products, including the MobileStudio Pro 16 ( at Amazon) , the Intuos Pro Paper Edition, and the Cintiq 16 ($799.95 at Amazon) .
With 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, the stylus is very responsive. It doesn't require charging, as it draws power from the Intuos through Wacom's electro-magnetic resonance (EMR) technology, which eliminates the need for a battery. In terms of how it behaves, pressing the near portion of the pen's rocker switch acts as a double-click, while pressing the far portion (near the tip) acts as a right-click.
Also included is a pen stand, a circular disk with a hole on top that fits the pen. Twisting the stand open (in the same way you would twist a circular smoke alarm) reveals 10 extra nibs (pen tips). I only used the nib that came in the pen, but after nearly three weeks of moderate use, I see that it is a little the worse for wear.
The Wacom Tablet Universe
As I mentioned earlier, the PTH460 is the smallest of the three sizes of Wacom's Intuos Pro creative pen tablets. If you order it, be sure to specify its model number, as there is a previous generation of Intuos Pro Small tablets still being sold.
Rounding out the current group are the Intuos Pro Medium (PTH660) and the Intuos Pro Large (PTH860). Again, realize that the Intuos Pro models, unlike some other Wacom hardware, are purely graphics tablets—with a drawing surface but no screen—that include a Wacom Pro Pen 2 stylus and support multi-touch finger gestures as well. The Intuos Pro Paper Edition is a variant that, in addition to the aforementioned features, lets you clip a sheet of paper to its surface and draw with an ink pen and save the drawings as digital files. The regular Intuos line (not "Pro") is the same as the standard Intuos Pro models, except without multi-touch capability.
Rounding out the Wacom universe are a couple of lines that incorporate LCD screens into the draw surface. Wacom Cintiq tablets, such as the Cintiq 16, are really interactive monitors, so you can see the effects of your pen's actions as if you were actually drawing on the screen. Cintiq Pro models add multi-touch capabilities to the mix. And at the top, the Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 is a full-fledged Windows 10 tablet that can run full versions of graphics programs, unlike the iPad Pro ( at Amazon) , which has developed a following among designers but is largely limited to basic versions of popular graphics programs.
A Photo Buff's Experience
As a photography enthusiast, I use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for photo editing. My setup has been strictly mouse-based, apart from using the Wacom Pro Pen 2 stylus when reviewing the Wacom Cintiq 16. (I have also used the Apple Pencil ($79.00 at Amazon) with my iPad Pro, but strictly for drawing.) In my time testing the Intuos Pro Small, mostly to edit images in Photoshop, I kept the mouse connected to my test laptop, but I was determined to use it only should I have no other choice.
Despite the active area's relatively small size on the Intuos, it proved easy enough to navigate, using the very responsive pen, to the exact position on the screen I wanted to move to. I found navigating with the touch ring, control buttons, and pen more effective than gesture-based control; for example, you can use stretch and pinch gestures to zoom in and out, but it's much easier to reach one's desired zoom level without overshooting or undershooting by using the touch ring.
Although I still resorted to using the mouse now and then, those occasions grew less frequent over the two weeks I spent in testing the Intuos Pro Small. There is a learning curve for people who haven't used a graphics tablet before, and although I wouldn't say that I mastered its use, I was well on my way. Should I ever need to up my photography game, or simply want to invest money in a creative accessory for my laptop, I would give strong consideration to the Intuos Pro Small and its larger siblings.
The Graphic Designer's Experience
To get a professional artist's take on this tablet, I enlisted Jose Ruiz, PCMag's production designer—who is no stranger to Wacom products—to try the Intuos Pro Small for a few days. Here are his impressions.
I use the Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition (Large) at my desk. While my setup works well in the office, I find myself cramped for space when I take my laptop and Wacom elsewhere—especially in New York City where the café tables have just enough room for your coffee cup and crumbs. As a quick fix for remote use, I recently purchased the Wacom Intuos S With Bluetooth [which we have not reviewed —Ed.]. But while it decreased the amount of space I need to work in, I did lose key features, such as half of its pressure points and some pen accuracy.
The PTH460 is the perfect solution. It's a compact version of my current Intuos Pro, keeping the same pen pressure points and with almost no pen lag. I tried it at both my office desk and used it remotely. When the Intuos Pro Small was connected to my laptop, the screen mapping reflected well on to the tablet. However, when I used it with my office setup—which consists of my laptop and a 27-inch monitor—I found the mapping on the tablet to be just a little tight. Things like resizing a window took me an extra attempt or two. Comparably, I found my hand sat just as comfortably on the Intuos Pro Small as it would on my Intuos Pro Paper Edition (the Large version), which wasn't the case with the Intuos S. While I much prefer the large Intuos Pro, I will be replacing my Intuos S with the PTH460 for remote usage.
Trade In Your Mouse for a Stylus?
While you can find lower-cost graphics tablets out there, the Wacom Intuos Pro Small offers a lot for what you'd pay: a highly portable slab that includes a sensitive pen stylus and responds to finger-based gestures. It's easy to recommend for professionals looking for a tablet to use when out of the studio, as well as to amateur artists and photo enthusiasts wanting to give a pen-tablet-based approach a try. Designers who do all their work at one location, though, might want to go for one of the larger Intuos Pro offerings.
The Wacom Intuos Pro, available in three size variants, gives pro and amateur artists and photographers new functionality, including finger gesture support, in a draw-only graphics tablet. Note, though, that the two larger models may be better for designers who do all their work at one location.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
