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Digitize your physical drawings in real time with the Slate 2+ from Iskn

Dyllan Furness
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A French startup called Iskn just made it even easier to turn physical drawings digital with the Slate 2+, a tablet-like device and magnetic ring that lets creators draw on normal paper and immediately digitizes their sketches.

Iskn made a huge splash in 2013 when it raised nearly $350,000 in a Kickstarter campaign for the Slate, the first iteration of the device, which could digitize drawings in real time with little more than a magnetic ring. In 2016, the firm took the concept further with the Slate 2, which had a more ergonomic design. Now, at IFA 2017 in Berlin, Iskn announced the Slate 2+, which it says makes the product even more functional.

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“The Slate 2+ is basically the same as the smart drawing pad that allows you to give digital life to your paper drawings,” Maeva Revellin, brand and content manager for Iskn, told Digital Trends. “You can use any paper, any type of notebook, your own pens and pencils. All you need to do is slide the ring onto your pencil and pen and when your draw, it comes to life in real time on your screen and in our app.”

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The device works by using 32 sensors which track the movement of the magnetic ring that is attached to a pen or pencil. With the Slate 2+, Iskn added a new UX and design; a sleeve and pencil case; and a specially designed stylus that gives the feel of a pencil drawing on paper. Revellin said these features will allow creators to “keep an authentic drawing experience with traditional tools, but at the same time have all the benefits of a digital technology.”

Although the Slate seems like an ideal tool for illustrators on the go, Iskn insists it’s practical for anyone who likes to jot down notes the old-fashioned way, yet have them saved digitally.

“We have a lot of illustrators but also people working within the creative industry who like to take digital notes, who like to make tattoos, or write down ideas,” Revellin said. “A lot of designers and architects, for example. It’s really for everybody who wants to get creative and find inspiration wherever they go.”

The Slate 2+ is available to buy through the Iskn website for $179.

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