Wacom PL-700      

Summary

Model: Wacom PL-700

Type: Touchscreen High Res LCD Screen

Size / Resolution: 17 inch viewable area, 1280 x 1024 resolution (1.3 Megapixels)

Applications: Marking / annotating Radiology images, templating for orthopaedic surgery, general digital image viewing.  Reviewing video recordings (endoscopy etc.)

Typical Price: £1,100

Every once in a while, a product arrives that creates a real buzz at our offices.  The PL-700 is such a product.  Everything about this product oozes class, from the clean, clinical looks of the display surround to the ease of use and clarity of the screen.  Installed and working within 10 minutes, the PL-700 offers both analogue and DVI connections. 

The display itself produces a very crisp image that is sharp throughout at all resolutions upto 1280 x 1024.  Both still and moving images are clear and vivid, with skin tones and greyscale shades rendered accurately.  When you consider that the whole screen is pressure and touch sensitive, the PL-700 really comes into its own.  Once you get used to the stylus (which works without wires or batteries - still haven't worked out how!), the PL-700 makes working with digital images exceptionally easy.  The screen gives several hundred levels of pressure sensitivity, and you do not even need to touch the screen to highlight abnormalities, mark and annotate X Ray and MRI images or to show changes in moving images as they happen.  Radiologists will love the natural feel of the stylus, and surgeons will find templating times drastically reduced.  At the current price, this screen will be used primarily in surgical and radiology departments, but as the technology matures and prices come down things will change - I suspect one day all medical displays will be made like this. 

Setup / Installation             5/5  Plug n Play, excellent documentation, DVI + analogue

Image Quality : Still            5/5  Superb image and colour rendition at all resolutions

Image Quality : Video        5/5 Superb performance, accurate colour rendition, one of                                              the clearest screens we have ever seen.

Overall rating: Highly Recommended. Editors Choice 

To read the full specifications , click here [external link]

test model kindly supplied by Wacom Europe