Wacom Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet (Blue)

by Wacom

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BBAL0W
• Item model number: CTE440B
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Whether you're an artist, graphic designer, or business person, the Wacom Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet can make your life a lot easier and more productive. Using the Graphire4's unique pressure-sensitive wireless pen and tablet, you can mark up Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF documents with your handwritten comments, edit and enhance your digital photos, quickly create original digital art work, add handwritten notes to your PowerPoint presentations, write your e-mail messages by hand, and much more. Not only will the Graphire4 help your productivity soar, it will also reduce the problems associated with repetitive stress problems and bring a level of performance to your work that is not possible with a typical keyboard and mouse.

Wacom Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet features a unique, pressure-sensitive wireless pen and tablet. View larger.

An Artist's Tool That's Not Just for Artists
The Graphire digital pen and tablet have long been essential for graphic designers and artists. With the help of Corel Painter Essential 2, which is included with the Graphire4, the Wacom pen can give you the control you need to create just about any type of graphics you want. You simply draw your design against the tablet just as you would with a canvas or piece of blank paper. And if photography is your art of choice, the included Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, along with the included nik Color Efex Pro2 GE filter collection, will let you quickly edit and enhance your digital photos for stunning professional results. And Macintosh users can use the Graphire pen to enjoy all the digital-inking capabilities of Apple Inkwell.

Wacom's cordless, battery-free pen is loaded with functionality.

Because all of Wacom's tablets are pressure sensitive--they literally feel the full range of pressure from the pen on the tablet--you get unparalleled control with your creations. Press hard, and you get a more opaque clone, a fatter paintbrush, or a darker stroke. Press lightly, and you have a transparent clone, a thin brush, or a gentle stroke of color. The tablet can even sense the tilt of your pen, giving you the ability to tilt your brush for cool effects.

Microsoft Office OneNote is specially designed for note taking. With the Graphire4, OneNote lets you capture information in several ways. For instance, you can move the cursor to any place on the screen and start writing. You can also add handwritten diagrams and pictures. If you're working with the English language version of Microsoft XP, you can also write directly in a Word document, Explorer search bar, or e-mail, and with the help of Microsoft's handwriting-recognition capabilities, your writing will be converted to text just as if you were using the keyboard.

If you've ever been in the position of reviewing documents, you know how inefficient it can be to print out your document, mark it up, and then forward your comments. With Graphire4, you can convert any of your documents to Adobe PDF, digitally sign it, and mark up the documents using your pen and tablet just as you would with pen. You simply select the pen tool from your PDF toolbar and add your comments and revisions. When you're done, you can just forward the document via e-mail, saving several time-consuming steps.

Altering documents and photos is a breeze with the Wacom Graphire4 tablet. View larger.

If you are a teacher or need to make presentations to a business audience, you can even use Graphire4 to turn your PowerPoint presentation into a "whiteboard." With PowerPoint's pen tool, you can add your handwritten marks onto a blank slide or straight onto your slides. This gives you all the flexibility of the old-fashioned overhead projector, but without the mess to clean up.

Advanced Tools That Know Few Boundaries
At the heart of the Graphire4 is a wireless, battery-free digital pen that offers 512 levels of pressure sensitivity for maximum control, two programmable side buttons for convenience, and a pressure-sensitive eraser for easy fixes. Pressure sensitivity makes it possible to control the amount of a software tool's effect simply by varying how firmly the pen tip is pressed to the tablet, just as you would with a mechanical pen or pencil. Using a Graphire4 pen is easy because every point on the tablet has a matching point on the screen. When the pen is moved over the tablet, the cursor moves in precisely the same way on the screen.

The Graphire4 tablet uses a USB connection for quick installation on both PCs and Macs. At a compact 4 by 5 inches, it offers a large enough area to do your work but is portable enough to be carried wherever you need to go. A transparent photo frame surrounding the work area makes the tablet easy to personalize with photos and artwork. The photo frame also contains a clever pen compartment that, along with the pen stand, provides two convenient ways to keep the pen handy and secure. The Graphire4 also features a scroll wheel right on the tablet and two programmable ExpressKeys for navigation, mouse clicks, and keyboard shortcuts. With a sleek metallic blue design, the Graphire 4 will nicely complement your work station. (Note: the Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet is also available in white and silver.)

The cordless, battery-free mouse offers smooth and highly accurate tracking with up to four times the resolution of an optical mouse. It features a rubberized grip for comfort, and the scrolling finger wheel also serves as a third programmable button for convenience. By alternately using the pen and mouse, you can significantly reduce the repetitive motion that contributes to stress injuries.

The Graphire4 also profits from years of research into how people use pens and tablets. Everything from the elegant shape and feel of the pen--with its tapered waist and finger flare--to the exact texture of the drawing surface is designed to minimize strain and maximize comfort.

The Wacom Graphire4 6x8 USB Tablet is loaded with great features, such as the ExpressKeys, Tablet Wheel, clear tablet cover, and the patented, cordless, pressure-sensitive pen. View larger.

What's in the Box
Graphire4 4x5 pen tablet, pen, pen stand, mouse, 2 CD-ROMs, Wacom tablet driver software, user manual, and bundled software (Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, Corel Painter Essentials 2, and nik Color Efex Pro 2 GE)

Product Description

Wacom Graphire 4x5 Graphics Tablet - A graphics tablet gives you the ability to be more creative on your computer, and with much more precision than a mouse. Using a pressure sensitive pen, you can more easily and more naturally enhance photos, draw, paint, jot notes, write your signature, and more. It works with any program your mouse does, but Wacom will start you off on the right foot by giving you a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, Color Efex Pro 2 GE, and Corel Painter Essentials 2. Graphire Pen with Eraser 512 levels of pressure sensitivity for natural brush control Patented cordless, battery-free technology for a natural feel and superior performance 2 programmable side buttons for efficiency right at your fingertips Pressure-sensitive eraser for easy fixes Graphire Cordless Mouse Cordless, battery-free technology Scrolling finger wheel - also functions as a 3rd programmable button Optical Technology Connects to a PC or Mac via USB Color - Blue

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE cure for my tendonitis, October 20, 2006

By 

J. McKnite - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wacom Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet (Blue) (Personal Computers)

At work part of my job is to create designs for applications and web pages. I developed tendonitis in both wrists and using a regular mouse became quite painful. It didn't matter that I kept swapping hands. A co-worker suggested one of these tablets and it's been a few years now and no symptoms. It is so much better ergonomically for your hand and arm than any other mouse I tried. In fact when I bought a new laptop for home, I ordered this new version of the tablet. It's even better because it has the scroll bar. Try it, give yourself a little time to adjust to the new way of "mousing" and you will never go back to anything else.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful product!, October 20, 2006

By 

T. Wright (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wacom Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet (Blue) (Personal Computers)

This is a wonderful tool for making computer art. I had been warned that these have a steep learning curve, and it took a friend of mine about three weeks to get used to the tablet. She initially hated it, but now she claims that it's the best thing she owns! I tried out a friend's tablet and immediately decided I needed to buy one of my own.

It can be slightly awkward at first. Depending on your driver settings, the tablet's screen corresponds to the computer screen, so wherever you place the pen on the tablet, the cursor clicks on the corresponding point on the monitor. A bit strange when you're used to a mouse that you can pick up and move without moving the cursor. The cursor does follow the pen even when it's not touching the tablet, so you can see where you are going without clicking or drawing lines all along the way. It is not meant to revert to the center of the screen every time you use the pen as another person commented. I can only assume that was a user error. If you truly prefer mouse-style movement (you have to pick up the pen to keep moving the cursor but it doesn't matter where you put the pen down initially) you can adjust the tablet to that setting using the included driver software. I personally think that it loses a lot of its art value by doing this, but it's a matter of personal taste.

As for the size, two other people that I talked to recommended getting this size, and I tend to agree with them. It's cheaper, more portable, and it's really all that you should need. Unless you are used to drawing with very wide strokes or have somewhat limited hand coordination, this size is large enough. It is easy to zoom in and out using the tablet, so you can always zoom in if you want finer detail.

Update - I've had my tablet almost a year now and I am totally in love with it. I can do things with this tablet that would simply not be possible with a mouse. The absolutely only downside that I have found with it is that if you use the pen at the top of the tablet, the rubber grip around the pen will eventually loosen and make the buttons difficult to push properly. Keep in mind that this was after a year of very hard use on a laptop (constantly putting it into the holder every time I moved the computer). Just try not to keep repeatedly taking the pen out and putting it back, and I can't see what problem there would be with the tablet. I've also found that I can draw through several layers of paper if I'm in a pinch for space. It's not an extremely useful feature, but handy at times. What's more useful is that there is a clear plastic cover over the top of the tablet. You can place a photograph or drawing under the cover, snap the cover closed, and trace from the picture. Another nice feature is that the included driver lets you easily choose different functions for the two buttons on the pen and the buttons & scroll wheel on the tablet itself.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product that can be used both for business and art, July 19, 2006

By 

HeraldMage (Lubbock,TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wacom Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet (Blue) (Personal Computers)

I own several tablets and use them instead of the mouse. The addition of the JustWrite and Ever Notes software in the Graphire 4 version is an excellent addition. This software allows you to add your signature to Word documents as well as edit or make notes on a word document.

Those who have problems with the pen generally didn't use the installation software that comes with the product. It is very user freindly and doesn't need a instruction book although one is available in the readmetxt. Once you install the pen the tablet area equals your monitor so where ever you put the pen on the tablet is where the cursor is. You are also able to adjust the pen sensitivity.This, however is very fine tuning with the advanced user or long time user in mind. That said the pen settings can be easily changed so it won't hurt to try making minor adjustments until you find the setting you like. You can always reset the parameters back to default.