Inexpensive tablets for Linux and GIMP?
By mjhammel ~ January 31st, 2009. Filed under: Hardware.
On the GIMP-User mailing list , Alessia wrote:
I need a GIMP compliant tablet. I use a Linux based OS (Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex).
Another problem is that I’m searching for a tablet [that is] not expensive.
The trick is that last part – not expensive. Wacom’s are pricey but well supported under Linux. What we need are tablets that can use the Wacom drivers but are not Wacom’s – clones, in other words. No such beasts exist, to my knowledge. However, there are a couple of alternatives. The list of X.org input drivers includes support for the following input devices.
| Device or Maker |
Device Type | Models | Xorg Driver | Approximate Price US $ |
Tips |
| Acecad Flair | drawing | 302 | acecad | more like a mouse pad | |
| Aiptek | drawing | HyperPen USB: 4000U, 5000U, 6000U, 8000U and 12000U | aiptek | $80 | |
| Aiptek | drawing | HyperPen Serial | hyperpen | ||
| CalComp | digitizing | Drawing Board II and III | calcomp | CalComp under Linux | |
| Citron | Infrared touch pad | 2nd and 3rd generation serial Touches (see man citron) | citron | ||
| Diamond Touch | Touch screen | MERL DiamondTouch (models unknow) | diamond | Very high end, like MS Surface table | |
| Digital Edge | Pen Tablet | Natural Pen, similar to Aiptek HyperPen 5000 | digitaledge | ||
| DMC | Touch screen | DMC FIT 10 | dmc | Touch screen controlers | |
| Dynapro | Touch screen | Unknown | dynapro | Touch screen controllers | |
| Elographics | Touch screen | E271-2210, E271-2200. E281-2310 devices have limited support | elographics | ||
| Fujitsu | Touch screen | Stylistic LT, FinePont MP800 | fpit | ||
| KB-Gear | Pen Tablet | JamStudio | js_x | ||
| Palmax | Touch screen | PD1000, PD1100. | palmax | Mini-notebooks | |
| Synaptics | Touch pad | Synaptics TouchPad and ALPS Glidepad/Stickpointer | synaptics | often integrated with laptops | |
| Tektronix | Tablet | Tektronix 4957 | tek4957 | ||
| Union Reality | head tracker | UR-F98 | UR-98 |
Note that this information is gleaned from the various input drivers available for X.org under a Fedora 10 system, followed by a bit of Googling. Many of the driver man pages are so incomplete as to be useless to garner any information about the devices they are supposed to support. A few input drivers don’t have any man page at all, including the summa driver which I happen to know is for the old Summagraphics drawing boards (now owned by CalComp). If I couldn’t get any starting points from the man page, the driver isn’t listed above.
Another device that is reported to work is the SignatureGem 4×5 signing tablet. This looks more like a device you use to get peoples signatures than a drawing tablet. It apparently includes software to work under Unix/Linux but I don’t know what Xorg drivers work with it.
The problem I had when doing this research is that the listed devices in the man pages or on web sites for the drivers suggest devices that are no longer made. Only the Wacom drive seems to be kept up to date.
A few years back I tried an Aiptek HyperPen 12000U (not a Wacom clone). A set of Linux drivers (kernel and X.org) were in development back then. I never got the thing working completely.
I recently pulled that tablet out of its box (it’s practically new) and tried again. This time no driver setup was required to get the wireless mouse working over the pad. It just worked. I’m using Fedora 10.
Unfortunately, the pen did nothing. I’m not sure if it’s the pen or not – maybe the pen died for some reason (I replaced the AA battery but the replacement may have been dead too, didn’t have a new batter handy at the time). Do pens on tablets die alot? Anyway, I couldn’t verify the pen worked under Linux or GIMP. You’re mileage may vary. At least the drivers are included in stock kernels and xorg distributions now.
I’ve heard reports that many tablets are clones of the Aiptek series or just rebranded HyperPens. Don’t know if that’s true or not. The HyperPen 12000U is still available from Aiptek.
In the end, your choices are pretty limited under Linux when it comes to drawing tablets. Fortunately, the Wacom series are well supported and relatively up to date. Now, if they could just be affordable….
[...] did a little research on all the input drivers listed for Fedora 10’s X.org distribution. The results are little disheartening. To summarize: get a Wacom. It’s [...]
Do you have a driver (windows driver) for Tektronix 4958 digitizer tablet?
No, I don’t use Windows at all. Just Linux. Sorry.