Checking a Wacom pen, part by part
Which chips you should be able to light depends on the pen: Wacom makes pens with and without tilt, side switches, an eraser and barrel rotation, so those are marked as model-dependent. Look up your pen’s model on its packaging or in the driver, then work through the list.
- Proximity first. Bring the nib within a few millimetres of the tablet surface without touching. A Wacom tablet tracks the pen in the air, so the ring should appear on the canvas before contact.
- The nib. Press gently, then firmly. The gauge should climb all the way, and the readings shouldn’t flicker while you hold steady.
- Side switches. Hold the tip down and click each switch. Barrel lights up for a switch the driver sends as a right-click; anything you’ve remapped to a keystroke or a menu is handled by the driver and stays invisible to a web page.
- The eraser. Flip the pen and rub out a stroke, if your model has an eraser end.
- Barrel rotation. With an Art Pen, roll the pen between your fingers and watch Twist in the Readings panel.
Pressure curve and nib wear
Wacom drivers let you set how much force full pressure takes, and that curve is applied before the browser sees anything. The Pressure ramp test makes the curve visible: one slow stroke from feather-light to firm, plotted as it arrived. If the trace flattens out at 70 or 80%, soften the curve and draw the ramp again. If it reaches the top within the first third of the stroke, the curve is too soft for heavy hands. A curve that stays odd after a reset, and follows the pen to another computer, points at the pen.
For slow-line jitter, the Diagonal line test against a ruler gives a number you can compare before and after a driver update. Other pens work on the base pen pressure test; the tilt test checks lean in four directions.