Wacom Intuos Pro (2017) L

I've used a variety of drawing devices with and without screens and I've found myself preferring screen-less drawing tablets mainly for posture and ease of setup. I've found the Intuos Pro L to be the best device I can use in terms of my own needs although it isn't necessarily leap years ahead of the competitors. MAIN POINTS + Large drawing area with a nice drawing texture + The drawing area can be replaced so you won't have to replace the entire thing if that specific part feels worn out + Driver seemed to work without issue for me on Windows +/- Extra space on the side alongside buttons, I don't use the buttons at all but nice to have for some people +/- Includes the Pro Pen 2, although this is standard in most high end Wacom products and the Pro Pen 3 exists now - They don't sell the smooth texture anymore, so you're stuck with the standard or extra rough textures if you want a replacement (and the standard/rough texture obviously eats up nibs faster) - Bluetooth does not seem to function reliably, although I do not really use it as it plugged in to my PC at all times TEXTURE ISSUES It is true that the default texture is going to eat up nibs like crazy depending on how hard you press it and I really do wish they still sold the smooth texture, but it does seem to be a sacrifice for a more paper-like drawing surface which feels a lot nicer than a smooth surface. Nibs are prohibitively more expensive than they should be (because it's Wacom), but at this price point you probably won't be worrying too much about buying replacement nibs to have a nicer drawing surface. COMPETITORS Pen tablets are already simple enough that it is extremely hard to justify this price point for someone who isn't looking for an end-all-be-all pen tablet. If you are looking at getting your first drawing tablet I wouldn't get this and would just settle for a normal Intuos, a Huion/XP Pen Intuos Pro equivalent, or the One by Wacom instead. At this price point you could probably buy a larger sized display tablet from Huion or XP PEN (such as the Huion Kamvas Pro 16) instead if you think having a screen might suit you better.

Fantastic product with a wide variety of uses. The software included was easy to understand and having had this connected up for nearly a year now I would highly recommend it. Compatibility wise, it worked flawlessly with Windows 10 and now since I upgraded, Windows 11 and I had no problem with the drivers. The pen and feel of the tablet is very natural, the drawing area size was excellent and for functionality it's perfect. The side button being extremely useful for quick access to functions. Although this product has now been overtaken by a newer version, this is a stand up product from a company where I would return to and purchase again if needed on a different laptop.

I used a basic Intuos Draw for a couple of years for photo editing and day-to-day computer use. As that inevitably got scratched up to the point of causing input hitches, I decided to replace it by upgrading both the model line to Intuos Pro and the size to 'medium'. My actual drawing I prefer to do on paper, but for photo editing, this has been a huge upgrade. The difference the additional surface area makes can not be overstated. If you're working on high-resolution files and you're doing the kind of editing where you need to get in at a 1:1 pixel level and make even, smooth alterations across the whole width of the screen, the 'medium' size is definitely better than the small/basic Intuos size. The expanded express keys and dial found on this 'Pro' are also extremely useful, especially in Lightroom which can be pretty clunky without shortcuts, and the pen is noticeably nicer than the one bundled with the basic Intuos, as well; the eraser is very much appreciated. The surface and nibs are a tough one to call because there are some objective downsides but some potentially huge subjective upsides. The surface is a little bit rougher than the older and more basic Intuos I had (as well as other tablets I've owned many years ago) and the nibs are a little bit smaller and softer, too, and this leads to fast wear. The plastic nibs have lasted a week each and the felt nibs just a few days longer, maybe 10 days; and this is with my relatively light photo editing use. I can imagine if I were to do much digital drawing, both types of nib would wear down in just a couple of days. (Again, I prefer drawing on paper, but I did try some digital drawing with this tablet once right after getting it and sure enough, the impact on the nib could be seen after only a couple of hours.) The potential upside to this though is it does feel a lot more like using a traditional pen on paper. With the plastic nib it feels a lot like a Sakura Pigma Sensei pen I have, and the felt nib feels near-identical to a Zebra Fude brush pen. I prefer the felt nib as it offers just a little more resistance and does seem to wear down a little slower, but it's all personal preference. I am very tempted to try the extra smooth replacement surface, with the felt nib, in order to have the slowest wear possible while still having a little resistance. The problem with that is replacement surfaces for these tablets run in the area of £40 local or £25+shipping and import to get from the US, so it's certainly not a cheap part to switch. For that matter, replacement nibs aren't cheap either, and given how quickly many people will eat through nibs, I think that's a big fault. Whenever they revamp the line again, Wacom need to either make more durable nibs or they need to bring the price down on replacement nibs. All that said, while I can only guess at how other people may use the tablet, all I can really speak for is my own use and experience with it, and overall it's been fantastic for me. I do wish the nibs wouldn't wear quite as fast, but it's not too horrific with my use, and for photo editing this seems like a very worthwhile upgrade over the basic Intuos. If you don't care about express buttons or the eraser then I have to imagine the regular Intuos Medium would be just as effective, but for those of us battling with clunky Lightroom, these extra keys do make a difference.

Fantastic tablet, downloading the drivers on Windows 10 was easy - you just go to Wacoms website and search for the latest drivers. I upgraded from the previous model Intuos Pro S - I had it for years and to this day it's still an awesome tablet, but I felt the need to upgrade as there are vast improvements in this model. The only qualm I have with these kinds of tablets is that the tiny edges can get filled of dirt quite quickly - especially if you eat at your desk. The crevices are easy to be filled with that kind of stuff. I occassionaly clean my tablet, if anything gets under there I'll use a tiny needle to get rid of anything wedged inside. Another thing is that the texture of the surface was quite rough, this can result in your pen nibs wearing down more quickly compared to a smooth surface. The default surface they send seems to be rough which is annoying, they have 3 types of texture sheets: smooth, standard and rough. You can find these on their website - I purchased the standard and it feels way better. A test card is included so you can feel what the different textures feel like. I think this is a sneaky tactic by Wacom, they'll know most people won't like a rough surface - not the end of the world but considering texture sheets are around £30 (depending on the size of your tablet, larger sheets are more expensive) they know they can get more money from this. It should have been a standard texture sheet, but unfortunately - not the case. Aside from those minor issues, it's a step forward in terms of specifications. I've noticed the difference in levels of pressure sensitivity from my last Wacom tablet which had only 2048. The new pen is also comfortable and has an elegant new pen holder/stand that holds the nibs inside, which I love. Changing the texture sheet was easy to do, and it was delivered very quickly - I ordered it from the Wacom store. I've had no driver issues thus far, I have had problems with Wacom drivers in the past - they're not perfect but they've certainly improved quite a bit. Simple to set up, and easy to use. I'd recommend this tablet for professional artists, but if you feel like splashing out - go for it. Wacom are stingy with their prices, but I do believe 'you pay for what you get for'. If you can't afford a screen tablet then this is the next best thing.

I cannot praise these Wacom Intuos Pro tablets enough. I use mine every day for hours (I'm a cartoonist) so being comfortable with the equipment is paramount.

I have used this device for over one year. It’s extra sensitive, easy to use and durable

Got my first Wacom tablet 1999. Lasted me until 2013. Then I upgraded to a Wacom Intuos pro medium. I have used that until now. Both my 2 previous tablets were for digital art and graphic design. Pretty much in use every day over that time. So do swear by Wacom. After using the medium for so long this feels very different. Bigger and build quality excellent. Have to get used to more space on the tablet again like it was on the first one. Got a good deal on it. Damaged box but contents were new and unused and in pristine condition. Very happy with this. Know Wacom Cintiq's are a thing but I've never used one. Going with what I know and with what I have a proven track record with and trust. Hopefully as with the last two. There will be a good few years of use in this one. A few things in using for 2 days. Setting up the Bluetooth was not straight forward. It wasn't just plug and play. Had to buy an Bluetooth adaptor and look through a few forums to get it working. This involved going into "services.msc" by typing that in the search. When that comes up resetting the Wacom Professional Service driver. Then deleting the pen in the Wacom Tablet properties and then just touching tablet again to make it work. So be aware of that. Lastly nibs. I think over the course of ten years I only changed the nib twice on the Medium 2013 pro. And I am a heavy tablet user. Line art. Digital painting. Two days in and that nib has worn down quite a bit. Other than that it's fantastic to work on.

I use a wacom tablet every day for work and it varies between intuos pro models and intuos 4. I do everything with a tablet and it replaces my mouse for 95% of the tasks I do. I had an old cintiq 12wx at home previously but as i do morr 3D work than 2D now, for a number of years I just used the cintiq as a regular tablet without the screen function but the screen had no texture and was too slippy and was getting outdated so I went for this model. Like all wacoms, its really great and i cant imagine working without one but it doesnt come without its annoyances. The texture sheet is really rough.. so went from polar opposites, and takes a while to get used to the default but it is much nicer than slippy glass. It does wear down the nib fast though. Software is still a big issue. Sometimes the drivers just stop working properly or something interferes with it which is very annoying. WINDOWS still insists on making the experience of using a tablet really bad by default, so still need to turn off flicks, press and hold for right click and the rubbish visual effects (but to be fair, theyre windows issues) I would suggest turning off windows ink in the Pen > Mapping section of the settings and create a seperate mapping for just photoshop with windows ink turned on because otherwise pressure sensitivity doesnt work.. but if you leave it on for all, other programs dont work correctly. It is also a little expensive. Its a professional tool so pays for itself, but still feels a little pricey. The new pen and pen holder are very nice. The overall slimmed down size is really useful too and it looks great. All-in-all, great but not perfect. UPDATE: A few days ago in the heavy rain, it turns out that the seal around my whole window seal leaks really badly. What poured through the window and down the back of my desk. I thought I had dealt with this, but 3 days later, I pull the tablet out and find that it's been sitting in a puddle of water for 3 days..... Devastated I quickly cleaned it all up... Works perfectly. Super happy with it.