FAQs
Inkling is for artists, illustrators and designers who sketch their first rough ideas on paper, then wish to quickly and easily convert their sketches to an editable digital format.
Inkling works best for sketches that are used at the beginning of the creative process, such as rough concept illustrations and storyboards. For precise results, such as those needed for final artwork or sketches that require very perfect geometric figures and lines, we recommend using a Wacom Intuos4 pen tablet or Cintiq Interactive Pen Display.
In general, sketches with Inkling will be accurate to within approximately +/- 0.1 inches (+/- 2.5 mm) in the main drawing area of an A4 page, and within (approximately +/- 0.2 inches (+/- 5.0 mm) at the edges of the page.
The maximum size area that Inkling can record is A4 paper, 8.27” x 11.69 inches (210 x 297 mm). Inkling can be attached to a larger sized paper, but it will only record a portion of the drawing that fits within this recording area. Inkling also does not record any part of a drawing that is within approximately 0.8 inches (2.0 cm) of the receiver.
The receiver can be placed on the top, bottom, right side or left side of the page. The best position will allow you to draw freely without your hand obstructing the line of sight between the pen and receiver. When you choose your receiver position, be sure to select the paper orientation and receiver position in the Sketch Manager settings when transferring the data to your computer. Each time you remove the receiver from a page, a new file will be created.
Inkling uses both ultrasonic and infrared technologies that require proper conditions to operate well. The main factors that can affect the accuracy of Inkling are obstruction of the line of sight between the pen sensors and the receiver. (the pen sensors are located in the pen tip area starting just below the widest point of the pen). Very high stroke speeds, direct sunlight on the receiver, the position of the receiver, ultrasonic noise, and other “white” noise at specific frequencies can also affect performance.
Inkling can replace scanning in your workflow in certain scenarios – when rough sketches are used at the beginning of a workflow and will be edited, for example.
Using templates, rulers and straightedges can interfere with the signal between the pen sensor and the receiver. Using templates, rulers and straightedges is not recommended with Inkling.
For best results when using Inkling outside, shield the receiver from direct sunlight. Direct sunlight on the receiver interferes with the IR signal.
Inkling uses standard mini ballpoint refills with a 1.0 mm ball size.
Wacom sells refills only in black, but other ink colors are commonly available from stores that carry ballpoint refills.
No, Inkling only supports ink cartridges.
No, Inkling only works with Intel-based Macintosh and Windows operating systems. Please refer to the system requirements for more details.
Inkling can save as .JPG, .BMP, .TIFF, .PNG, .SVG and .PDF files.
Inkling can export with layers directly to Adobe® Photoshop® and Illustrator® (CS3+), as well as Autodesk® SketchBook® Pro and SketchBook® Designer (2011+). Note: SketchBook Pro users will need to install Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2011 SP2 (5.2).
The resolution of the sketches is 600 dpi.
Inkling uses ultrasonic and infrared technologies.
You can create layers with Inkling both during the sketching process and within the Sketch Manager application. While sketching, press the New Layer button on top of the receiver to create a new layer. The layers will be preserved when you export to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as well as Autodesk SketchBook Pro and SketchBook Designer. In addition, a stroke sequence in an existing layer can be selected and separated into a new layer within Sketch Manager.
The pen and receiver can be charged simultaneously by inserting them in their respective positions in the charging case, then connecting the case to a computer via USB. The receiver can be charged separately by connecting it directly to a computer’s USB port.
Inkling will fully charge within 3 hours, yielding a typical work time of up to 15 hours for the pen and up to 8 hours for the receiver.