wacom

Wacom Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational company that designs and manufactures graphics tablets, pen displays, styluses, and related accessories used for digital art, design, and production workflows. The company is widely recognized for its pen-based input technology and has a global presence in professional studios and consumer markets.

Founded in 1983 in Japan, Wacom helped pioneer pen input for computers. Its EMR (electromagnetic resonance) technology powers its styluses without built-in batteries and enables pressure sensitivity, tilt sensing, and precise coordinate tracking across its tablet surfaces. The Pro Pen series, including the Pro Pen 2, is noted for high pressure levels (8,192) and tilt functionality, enhancing drawing and shading capabilities.

Wacom’s product lines span from consumer to professional use. The Intuos and Intuos Pro tablets target general and professional artists, while the Cintiq and Cintiq Pro lines provide pen-enabled displays with on-screen drawing. The Wacom One offers another entry point for pen display use, and the Bamboo line (now largely integrated into other ranges) represents older consumer-focused offerings. All devices connect to Windows and macOS systems and are supported by Wacom drivers and software integrations.

In practice, Wacom devices are widely used by illustrators, graphic designers, animators, photographers, CAD professionals, and educators. They integrate with major software suites such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Autodesk, among others, and form part of broader creative workflows. The company competes with other pen-tablet manufacturers and continues to influence the development of digital drawing and annotation tools through its hardware, stylus technology, and ecosystem.