A Guide to Stylus Pens

A stylus pen is one of those items that a lot of people know exist but are not sure how it can help them. This knowledgebase is going to go through the different types of stylus pens and all the things that they can do to help you on your day to day.

Also known as the “passive stylus”, this is possibly the most common type of stylus pen that most people have probably used at some point or another. These pens are usually cheaper as they don’t have any electrical components to communicate with the device that you are using. Instead, the capacitive conducts electrical charge from your finger to the screen. Since the pen doesn’t require any software or external hardware it makes for the most versatile version of the stylus but at the same time, not the most accurate as the pen and device won’t be communicating with each other directly.

These pens will commonly be used with tablets and phones, they can also be used on touchscreen monitors but they won’t do the best job at the same time.

Now the active stylus is a much more accurate pen as it has electronic parts within the ben that will communicate with the device it’s being used on. This way it makes the pen more accurate as the location will be communicated directly. These pens most of the time will also have pressure sensitivity, this means that the user will be able to control the thickness of their stokes through pressure without having to change settings on their software.

Typically these pens won’t be used on screens like the passive but will tend to come with their own tablet. This tends to make for freer movement with the addition of being able to see the screen that you are working on. This is especially handy if you are doing any form of art as having to use a stylus on a screen means that your hand will cover most of what you are doing.

Stylus pens for the phone are still very helpful for a lot of people, although today people would much rather use their fingers as it’s more simplistic. Yet they tend to have more than one use on the current generation of phones. For example, if a phone comes with an active stylus pen it has been made to communicate with the phone which will mean that it will be more accurate than using your finger. These usually come with more features too sometimes the pen will have programable buttons, some people use it for taking photos without holding their phone or to lock their screen.

As for active stylus pens they tend to be used more for accessibility reasons. Some people may struggle to use their fingers on their touch screen and having a stylus pen may make it easier. They are also cheap and easy to replace in case they are lost or broken, making for a great accessibility tool.

Stylus pens possible best use is for creating art, especially the active stylus. Using an active stylus means that they have more fluid and accurate movements. The pressure sensor also makes creating content a lot more efficient as the user doesn’t have to keep changing the thickness settings on the software that they are using. A lot of the higher grade stylus pens will also have programmable buttons meaning that they can add custom commands improving their workflow.

The tablet that sometimes comes with these pens also means that they can lean on the tablet and use it like paper as opposed to reaching out to their screen in an awkward position. It also enables the user to fully see their screen whilst they work with no obstructions in the way.

When purchasing a stylus pen be sure to know what machine you are buying it for and for what reason. As mentioned before a passive stylus can work on almost every device but an action may be set to work to a particular device. So when shopping for a stylus check its description or name as it may include the part number to the only devices it will work on.  Knowing why you want the stylus helps you avoid spending too much or too little. It’s best to especially know this if you are using a stylus pen for any work-related activities as some pens can get quite expensive and you may not need all the features it has.

To look at what stylus pens we have on offer look here and if you are ever stuck when shopping or need help on what stylus pen to buy don’t hesitate to contact our live chat as we are here to help.