Skip to main content
L
lenny_eiger
Known Participant
September 19, 2025
Question

Pen pressure in Photoshop 2025 capped at ~75% of brush diameter (Wacom diagnostic shows 100%)

  • September 19, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 106 views

I’m on macOS [insert version], running Photoshop 2025 26.10.0, with a Wacom [tablet model] on driver version [insert number].

 

The issue:

 

  • Using the default Soft Round Pressure Size brush with Minimum Diameter = 0%.

  • In Wacom Diagnostics, pen pressure reads cleanly from 0 → 100%.

  • In Photoshop, the stroke never fills the full brush circle. It only expands to about 75% of the brush diameter, regardless of brush size.

  • Adjusting Wacom’s pressure curve (including Customize mode) makes no difference.

  • In earlier Photoshop versions, full pressure filled or even exceeded the brush circle.

 

 

What I’ve tried:

 

  • Reset Photoshop brushes (reloaded Default Brushes).

  • Tested with a brand-new document, default brush.

  • Verified macOS permissions: Photoshop and Wacom are both added to Accessibility and Input Monitoring.

  • Cleaned and reinstalled the Wacom driver.

  • Reset Photoshop preferences.

  • Disabled GPU in Preferences (no change).

 

 

Expected:

Full pen pressure (100%) should map to the full brush diameter.

Actual:

Full pen pressure only maps to ~75% of the brush diameter.

 

Request:

Is this a known change in Photoshop 2025, or a bug? How can I restore the full pressure-to-diameter range?

1 reply

creative explorer
Community Expert
creative explorerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 29, 2025

@lenny_eiger curious, have you trid the pen pressure in other applications. Test this with Illustrator or any other Adobe application. If the pressure works correctly and reaches full size in another Adobe application, it pinpoints the issue specifically to Photoshop 2025 (26.10.0). If the issue persists in other Adobe apps, it suggests a deeper macOS or Wacom interaction problem that only manifests in new Adobe versions. 

Also, check the brush spacing too while  you are at that. The spacing is set to a reasonable default, typically around 25% for a round brush. An extremely low or high spacing value, though unlikely to cause this specific issue, could be interacting unexpectedly.

m
L
lenny_eigerAuthor
Known Participant
September 30, 2025

I tested this in Lightroom Classic. It does not exhibit this behavior.  The tablet is an Intuos Pro Large. I have found the control that is throwing it for a loop... after looking here... If you change the MacOS System Settings -> Display -> Pointer Size setting down to zero, it allows the brush to paint up to the 85% range. Setting it to 50% size gives you only 50% of the possible width of the brush (within the circle). Brush spacing had no effect.
It seems pretty clear that the Pointer Size control is trying to work with the same controls as the brush. Photoshop 26.11. I'm hoping you can fix it. I like a slightly larger mouse pointer in general for everyday tasks. Now I have to change it to go into Photoshop. I've been on Photoshop since before it was Photoshop and I still like masking (or perfecting) masks with the brush....

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices