Intuos 5 nib wear

March 2, 2012 · Filed under Computer's World · Tagged flattening, graphic tablet, intuos, intuos 5, nibs, wacom, wear

Bad news. Looks like Intuos 5 still has same issues with nibs wear as Intuos 4, cause it has same overlay shit sheet.

And info from Intuos FAQ:

What has Wacom done to address pen nib wear?

To address the nib wear that some customers previously reported, we introduced a new active area surface overlay with Intuos4 in January 2010. Intuos5 has this same proven overlay sheet. When Intuos4 had originally been introduced in 2008 some customers told us that their pen nibs were wearing faster than expected when compared to previous versions of the Intuos pen tablets. This active area surface sheet is also available as an accessory for Intuos4 at https://direct.wacom.com/.
As with traditional media such as pencil, charcoal, and pastels, any tool or pen used on a textured surface will wear after continuous use, including the Intuos nibs. This is normal as the nib is intentionally designed to be softer than the surface sheet to avoid wear on the sheets. This wear occurs faster or slower depending on the smoothness of the surface, hours of usage, the type of nib and the amount of pressure applied when used.

Please note that replaceable surface sheets are provided only for the Intuos5 non touch model PTK-650. The surface sheets for Intuos5 touch are not customer replaceable.

In plain language: We know our overlay sheet sucks. And it still sucks.

Looks like 90+ pages forum thread on quickly flattening nibs and scratched surfaces is not enough. Add to this numerous DIY solutions like using tape to fix glass or paper on top of tablet, using sandpaper to smooth overlay sheet and covering it with iPad screen protectors… Wacom is love and hate in one place.