Ever since Xencelabs (pronounced sense-labs) arrived on the scene a few years ago with their Pen Tablet options, I’ve been eager to review their products. They have a clear focus on the professional market by bringing thoughtful design and a premium drawing experience at a more competitive price. I have finally had a chance to test out one of their devices and I am definitely impressed.
I have here for review, the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle, a worthy contender against the Wacom Intuos Pro which has been the go-to screenless option for more experienced creators. Let’s take a closer look.
Xencelabs did send me the tablet for review but the opinions here are my own. Affiliate links are included in this post and I may earn a small commission on purchases made through them.
Highlights
- highly customizable shortcut remote
- 2 different pens
- premium-feeling materials
- great driver design
- Affordable price for pro-level experience
Key Specs
- 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity
- 3g initial activation force
- 60 degrees of tilt recognition
- ~10×6″ active area (16:9 ratio)
- wireless connection (wireless dongle included)
- 16hours battery life on the tablet
See the full specs on the Xencelabs Pen Tablet bundle product page
Box contents
Inside the box you will find the following:
- a medium-size tablet
- pen case
- 2 pens
- spare pen nibs
- wireless receiver
- usb-a to usb-c adapter
- usb-a to usb-c cables
- quick keys remote
- artist glove
- carry case
The tablet
The Medium-sized tablet has an active area of roughly 10 x 6″. That active drawing area is defined by four corner indicator lights which can be different colours and brightness depedning on the application you are using.
The overall size of tablet on your desk is 320.5 x 232.5 x 8 mm (or 12.61 x 9.16 x 0.3 in).
At the top are three customizable buttons. Rather than replacing your regularly-used shortcuts in your workflow, these are more ideal for things like opening up your settings, resetting your viewport, or switching your cursor between displays.
Around the back you’ll find: Kensington security slot (ideal for the education setting), a USB-C port for charging or wired connection, and a power switch.
The front of the tablet has a slight slope to it making it more comfortable to rest your wrist on. When you flip it over, the underside has a metal alloy finish, rubber feet, and slight indentations at the sides.
A Small version of tablet also available with an active area size of around 7 x 4″.
The Xencelabs pens
The Xencelabs Pen Tablets come with not one, but two different pens. The one is a standard broad-grip pen with that tapered designed we see with many pro pens. This also has three customizable buttons on it.
The other is a slimmer pen, similar in shape to a regular pencil. This one only has two buttons. Each pen can be individually customized and used for completely different workflows.
I really like that both of these are included. They not only cater to different preferences that artists can have, but can also be set in such a way that they are two unique tools. I found myself using the slimmer one for loose sketching ideas, and then the broader one for longer painting sessions.
There are also ten spare pen nibs, four of which are felt ones for those who prefer a little extra resistance when drawing.
Something that isn’t included is a dedicated pen stand. This looks like feedback others have given and in response, Xencelabs has released a couple of awesome artist pen holders on their website.
The QuickKeys shortcut remote
Xencelabs decided to separate the shortcut buttons you often see along the side of many graphics tablets into a dedicated remote which they call QuickKeys. I like that this is an optional add-on as many artists prefer to just use their keyboard or other dedicated macro pads. With the bundle, however, it comes included.
The QuickKeys remote features a large physical dial at the top which can have 4 different functions. There is a total of 8 shortcut buttons running along either side of an OLED display. It reminds me a bit of the old Intuos 4. This display will show what you have programmed each key to do, and indicate what dial function or settings profile is activated when you cycle through them.
QuickKeys versus other remotes
While the QuickKeys remote offers a lot o versatility, it still wouldn’t replace my Tourbox Lite. The big element to adapt to is that getting familiar with your keys and what dial function is active requires me to look down at the remote quite a lot. There are no on-screen indicators for which button you are pressing.
Where this remote does stand out though is that you can have multiple layers of settings per application. So you can have a different set for different kinds of workflows. These are cycled through using the button at the bottom of the remote.
The bag
The Xencelabs Pen Tablet bundle also includes a really nice carry case for the tablet and your accessories. The inside has a very soft lining and it fits the tablet in perfectly. There are also dedicated pouches for the QuickKeys remote and the pen case.
Xencelabs Driver
Before diving into you first artwork with this, you’ll need to download the driver from the Xencelabs website. In the installed application you can tweak all the settings for your tablet, the pens, and remote.
(Note: It’s recommended that you uninstall other tablet drivers first before installing new ones from other brands.)
It’s well designed and gives a great user experience. Probably the best I’ve had in comparison to other tablet brands so far. Navigating through the different areas is really easy, and setting things up to my preferences was smooth and fast.
Some interesting things to note:
- You can customize the colour of the tablet’s active area lights depending on the application you’re working in. You can do the same for the QuickKeys dial light;
- Each application can have up to 5 sets of shortcuts, giving you a total of 40;
- To preserve battery life, you can adjust the seep time for the tablet and remote;
Pen Tablet line test
The overall quality of the lines produced by the Xencelabs Pen Tablet and it’s included pens is very good. The pressure response was smooth and predictable, which is exactly what you want from these devices: predictable behaviour.
Making lines from thin to thick, and back to thin, was accurate and even. I was also able to keep pretty consistent line weight easily enough.
With pen tilt, pressure, and stabilization disabled, I did not notice any line wobble. With pressure turned on, there was the slightest wobble which can easily be knocked out with a touch of smoothing or stabilization.
Painting experience with Xencelabs Pen Tablet
The painting experience with the Xencelabs Pen Tablet has be extremely good. I would say that it was on par with what I’d expect from the Intuos Pro, which has been my preferred screenless tablet for a few years.
The pens always responded well, and I did not notice any difference in performance when using the tablet wirelessly versus with a cable connection.
The QuickKeys remote, nice as it is, does not quite suit my preferences. I’m generally not a fan of cycling through functions for buttons and dials and prefer to have all options more readily available. This is one reason a keyboard can be a better option. For me though, the Tourbox is far more comfortable to use as I can instead pair a button with a dial to modify it’s functions rather than cycle through them on a button press. Again, this is just a personal preference thing.
Xencelabs versus Wacom Intuos Pro
While the drawing experience feels very much the same, there are some differences between the Wacom Intuos Pro and the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle that you may want to factor into your decision when choosing a new tablet. I’m comparing with the bundled version as this brings the two devices closer in price.
- Xencelabs Pen Tablet active area is ~10×6″ while Intuos Pro Medium is ~9×6″
- Xencelabs offers two different pens which can be individually customized;
- Wacom includes a pen stand, whereas Xencelabs provides a pen case;
- Wacom Pro Pen 2 has 1g of initial activation for required. Xencelabs pen has 3g of IAF;
- The surface of the Intuos Pro is slightly toothier;
- Xencelabs separates the majority of shortcut buttons from the tablet into their included QuickKeys remote which can also be used for other tasks when the tablet is put away;
- Wacom also has their ExpressKeys remote at an additional cost;
- The Wacom Intuos Pro has multitouch support while the Xencelabs pen tablet does not;
- Xencelabs also includes a drawing glove and carry case. This is not included with Intuos Pro;
- Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle is $330 versus the Intuos Pro Medium at $380 (prices from official store websites without discounts applied).
Final thoughts…
Overall, I am very impressed with the performance and quality of the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium and it offers great value for the more professional users. When it comes to drawing and painting, I’d say that the experience felt pretty on par with what I’d expect from my Intuos Pro.
From opening the box for the first time, to the design of everything inside, and even the driver application, it’s clear that Xencelabs put a lot of thought into their products and how artists will experience them.
Who is this tablet for?
As mentioned, Xencelabs are targeting the professional market with their devices, and I would say that they are delivering on meeting the needs of pro users. So, if you are working as a photo-retoucher, digital painter or concept artist, webtoon creator, etc. then I think the Xencelabs Pen Tablet would serve you well.
If are a former Intuos Pro user looking for a replacement that is a bit more affordable, then this is worth considering.
If you are on a tighter budget though, perhaps consider the Deco Pro Gen 2 I reviewed recently from their sister company, XPPEN.
Buy the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle below:
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