Dell Canvas 27: From an artist’s perspective.

Thanks for posting this review of the Canvas 27. Even in our video, the Canvas is flat when using the Totem. I found these Illustrator and pen discussions here and here. I think that this is the Wacom driver that they are discussing.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your reply and the references that you provided. I followed one of the suggestions that involved uninstalling the Canvas Pen Driver and using the latest Wacom Pen drivers and that seems to have done the trick. Adobe Illustator has become much more accurate and responsive with the pen. The only problem with this scenario is that I have no way to adjust the pen sensitivity or assign functions to the pen buttons. Although, this isn't a huge deal as the default sensitivity seems to work well for me, it would be nice to have access to these controls. Will Dell be updating the pen driver soon so that I might switch back to it in the future?

All the best.... Carlo.

Will Dell be updating the pen driver soon so that I might switch back to it in the future?

* Unknown. Like you, all I can do is periodically check the Dell Canvas file library.

Thanks for your review. I use the Canvas since end of September, connected to my Precision 7720.

You are right, the totem is useless. I hope, Dell and Adobe will add functionality like in Sketchable.

In Photoshop the Canvas works very well, only when view is turned, sometimes the pen lags.

InDesign is my most used program and the canvas and pen save a lot of time.

Everything works fine, but when I open the menue with the pen, for example layout, the layout menue appears. When I try to select a menue item of the layout menue, InDesign changed to the edit menue.

The same happens with other menues, Indesign jumps one, two or three menues to the left. The funny thing: Only Indesign shows this behavior.

The other "problem" occurs, when I closed my laptop. After reopening the laptop, the system don't recognize the pen correct: the pen keys don't worked as configured. I have to restart the "Wacom ISD Service" and "Wacom Professional Service".

I hope, future driver releases will solve this problems.

The canvas is a great device, a little bit to heavy (it is really heavy, but I don't have to carry it very often). Dell: You did a good job, make the left little steps and work on the driver and the usability of the totem.

Best Regards from Germany

Ralf

Thanks for posting Ralf.

Upon doing some further research and experimentation, I believe my Canvas setup is currently working best with the stock Windows 10 pen driver. The Wacom driver that I downloaded is unresponsive without a matching tablet. So I believe the problem with the Canvas pen not co-operating with Adobe Illustrator lies squarely in the current Dell pen Driver. When using the stock Windows 10 pen drivers, Illustrator and the pen respond extremely well together. Whenever I re-install the current Dell pen driver, selections in Illustrator with the pen are only successful about half of the time, requiring several attempts. I hope Dell reads this and issues a driver update for the pen to address this.

Regards.... Carlo.

Any News since?  Just ordered a Dell Canvas yesterday.  WIll be posting along with you to find answers.  I use illustrator often, and I will also have some review on working withing Zbrush, and Maya.

I have used the cintiq much while teaching, but always had a 12x18 wacom intous 2 at home.  Still working after two decades!!!  But ready to move to onscreen.

Hope the drivers are being worked on and updated.  Last driver I see is Nov 13, 2017 (2 months ago).  The Dell canvas looks like an amazing product and a very real alternative to Wacom 27" touch.  I guess we will see!  

Will be attempting to hook up the monitor in front of a tri-monitor setup.  - so four monitors running.  Wondering though, new to thunderbolt, (type c) and wondering how that runs the video on the tablet.  I have added the thunderbolt pci-e port on my Asus deluxe II motherboard.  Just don't know how that card runs a monitor without plugging into the video card.  Always wondered that actually...Will have some info on that.

Thanks for posting.

hi chris,

I just purchase a new dell canvas about a month ago and my first experience wasn't that great since I was encounter the Windows 10 KB update that would move my canvas in photoshop when I was trying to paint. Wont lie, it was very very frustrating especially when E3 is just around the corner and I have some very tight deadlines and I have no time to trouble shoot some tech issues with my new toy.

Glad this got resolve, however Im using Illustrator a lot and Im having some issues with it.
Like most people that are complaining its very hard to work in Illustrator, with the Dell Canvas.. any update working in illustrator?  

Thank you 
Stephan

I can't figure out how to post a new subject, so I'm putting this here...

I just received and installed a Dell Canvas 27. -And just completed my first deadline project on it.

It's very nice.  EXCEPT...

There is a performance bug in the digitizer system.

Fast strokes (Left to Right; it doesn't happen in the other direction for some reason I think might have to do with the tilt sensing feature..?) have little hooks in them at the beginning of the stroke.

It's annoying.  It only happens on fast strokes, but I draw fast all the time.  For comic book lettering, this is particularly annoying.

I've tried everything, and wish now that I hadn't decommissioned (donated to the local library) my old Cintiq 21UX where this issue didn't exist.  (Nor does it it happen on my Samsung Notebook 9 Pro).  So my portable studio gear is okay, but for a super-expensive desktop studio rig?  This needs a fix fast.

It appears to be a timing issue.  -The digitizer is still tracking the last stroke even after the pen has broken contact with the screen surface.  It's a driver issue.

So...

I NEED THIS FORWARDED TO A SOFTWARE ENGINEER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CANVAS DRIVER.

How do I contact a software engineer and get a fix?  I'll have to return this otherwise beautiful machine for a refund if there is no solution.  What a total headache!

Please help!

 thatcomicsguy, try disabling pen flicks. hit your windows key, search "flicks" and disable it.

Unfortunately in my case, doing so invokes other issues - my cursor no longer follows my pen strokes in Flash CS6.

Thank-you for your suggestion.

Sadly, however, I have tried with no success the twiddling of every dial and the flicking of every switch and other control surface provided to the user.  Flicks was among the first I explored.

I'm 99% certain that the problem is in the driver code.  How nice it would be to have access to the driver source code, or a little "config" file like in the good old days of Wacom's Penabled system, and Bill Gates showing off inch thick Tablet PCs to a non-plussed computing public at the turn of the millennium!

Luckily, it isn't a Windows Ink problem.  (Well, not entirely.)  -The same MS architecture works okay on Samsung's line of Win10 tablet devices (The Notebook 9 Pro/Pen and Galaxy Book series).  It's the Dell driver in this case.

https://youtu.be/8r2d3KFe8QQ

The little video above demonstrates the issue, using the same Dell pen on both the Canvas and a Samsung OEM Wacom licensed 2-in-1.  I have them mirrored to the same OS and art program, but each using their own specific pen driver.  The Samsung works and the Canvas doesn't.  -Demonstrating that it has nothing to do with any OS settings available to the user.

Oh, man!  If only I could force the Samsung driver to take input from the Dell!  I hate that drivers are all closed mystery boxes.  Users could solve so many problems on their own if they had real access!

Well, I just got the brush off by Dell's tech support.

They did what they could, -which once you get into the grey and murky area of product design flaws as opposed to "No, No, Plug THIS cable into THAT slot and reboot" solutions, is understandable. It's beyond their immediate scope and they need to rely on elusive engineers returning emails, which they don't. (They also didn't respond to my requests for phone numbers and email contact info so I could approach the relevant people directly. They're probably under strict instructions to NOT give that kind of useful information out to customers. And so I have really no idea what is going on, if anything, behind the scenes.)

So the tech support pulled a bit of **bleep**-covering by telling me that I was no longer going to be supported by their division due to some obscure technical nonsense which allows them to pass the buck to some other unsuspecting department -which will no doubt take the blame when customer support results in a returned item and refund. I'm sure management keeps track of such things and this kind of sneaky buck-passing becomes a required survival strategy. It's annoying and disrespectful to say the least, but honestly, it's the fault of the system and not the people trying to pay their bills.

So.., basically, To **bleep** with Dell.

Now I just have to work out whether or not I should keep this device.

It has a flaw which can only be solved by a driver update, but how often does Dell update drivers? I don't know. Do I want to work with a maybe permanent performance bug in the hopes that somebody will eventually get around to solving the problem?

I *can* work through and around it. It's not a critical flaw; it's an unnecessary annoyance which slows down my work flow. But I need a desktop machine, and Wacom seems to be having trouble getting their own Cintiq Pro 24" to market. It could be months before I manage to replace the Dell Canvas with a comparable machine.

I have less than a week to decide whether or not to return this thing.

Oh, and I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the reasons I got the brush off by the support team was that I asked that the 15% "Restocking" fee be waived when I do go to return it. Their job isn't helping customers. That's secondary. Their actual purpose is retaining sales and ensuring future sales. Not giving back money.

By the way; at this point, despite the Dell Canvas being an otherwise beautifully engineered machine and having several features I didn't even know I wanted, due to this performance bug and the wall of silence from the Dell boffins, I would strongly recommend other artists in the market to NOT buy. Give the Canvas a miss and buy a Cintiq when they become available.

Too bad.

Hello that Comics guy,

Well I got the dell canvas as well, and had some issues with the pen in general.  I wish Dell would create a new pen, that is shaped more like Wacoms pen.  I find myself still using one of my 12x18 Wacom XD tablets  when I can get it working in Windows 10 periodically as they work well for flow.  I have the Dell Canvas working with three other 25" dell u2415 monitors.  I had some issues with the dell canvas at first working with super large multilayered files in Photoshop;  The lasso was having super lag.  That problem may be gone. I had a RAM module go bad...and since then no problems.

I do not experience any of those problems of my fast strokes hooking.  I do thin it has something to do with the tilt sensitivity of your laptop surface vs. the Dell canvas.  Anyway, thanks for posting.  Will watch out for this though.  WIll be testing the Canvas is various 3D programs....

You are right though about Dell support.  They seam so DISCONECTED.   A bunch of people with protocol.  I have been trying to reach someone about the possibility of seeing the Dell Canvas come out with another pen model for a long time now.  No AVAIL.  Dell, please if you are listening... YOU HAVE A GREAT PRODUCT.  CREATE a new PEN for this thing so we don,t feel so ancient!  A bit larger, and thicker pen... and button can extrude just a little more.  Actually, just make it like Wacom's.  They got it right!  You got their technology, why ruin it with a bad pen?

I set up a user page for Dell Canvas here:  https://www.facebook.com/dellcanvas

Sorry. I had no idea people had been responding and adding on to my original post. I wasn't getting any email updates about it.

In any event, Dell has obviously, still, not updated the pen driver for this otherwise great tablet. I am in the completely stupid and unnecessary position of having to uninstall the pen driver when I have an assignment that calls for a lot of Adobe Illustrator work and re-installing it when I have a Photoshop heavy job. Never mind that, in each state, the pen exhibits eccentricities that I have to compensate for when I use email, Word, Excel, Acrobat and other daily-task software. THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!

It shouldn't be this hard. My old WACOM Intuos 3 never gave me these sorts of headaches before it finally broke down. I will never ever purchase another DELL product again. They will have to fix this issue and more to regain any sort of customer faith and loyalty from me again.

I am going to agree with you. FC18.

Dell has ignored me, and ignored me.  In fact I had an issue with this thing from the beginning, and instead of sending it back, they offered a pretty hefty refund discount if I would keep it.  I thought I would get used to the problems with it.  It is hard to describe, but the darn thing is just not responsive sometimes, and freezes my system once in a while...and my system is pretty upscale.

I think Dell has abandoned this product after having manufactured a bunch that are probably sitting in a warehouse somewhere.  There is no marketing on it anymore, and I think they realized the problems and that is why it was a "too good to be true" find.

Dell actually ignores my questions.  I never get any comment through FB, here, or by phone many times.  The support team does not even know what the dell canvas is.  The guy that i spoke with last at Dell actually felt sorry for me, and was truly apologetic.  He seamed to understand my frustration, in an unresponsive dead end company.  He was like....  "Yeah.  We got that problem here." 

DELL....is about SALES.   Not about support.  I think they ship the support jobs to foreign countries so that they don't have to deal with the mess behind them,  How did they manage to screw up the great tech behind Wacom?  Dell is Wacom tech.  Why mess up the pen design?  Why not add an eraser (not that i need it)? Why only support windows 10 (which does not matter to me)...but....why?

I am without too much more words, except Dell is a massive company, that obviously does not even check it's own forums.

I am back using my old wacom XD ancient 12x18 intous 2 tablet for workflow.   I have little hope that there is anyone designated to the support of the Dell Canvas. **bleep** to see so much potential lost.

I think Dell make some great products.  And in the past, had great support.  Those days seam long gone.

Well, join me here!