Chucky and Colored Printed Model M KeyCap

[skcheng]

I think I've finally exhausted all of my options with dinking around trying to get different color combinations of Model M keys.  No one else had anything other than blank colored keys, so I asked Chuck if he could print using their dye sub technique on the colored keys that he has leftover from old IBM/Lexmark stock.   His answer......"sure".    So at first, I simply ordered full sets of printed colored keycaps at $20/set.  Great deal!!  As well as regular blank sets or regular printed sets.  All $20/set until Chuck runs out of keys.   Then I decided to ask for just certain keys printed.  This is much more difficult and time consuming for Chuck since there is no easy setup to print just one key.  

Then finally I asked Chuck to print some black on black.  It wasn't a great success.  Even worse than the grey/black Re^lforce keys which I despise.  

Individual keys are $2/ea with a minimum $10 order.  Since I started buying these Chuck and Unicomp have been flooded with orders LOL.    

I've sorta decided at this point that I like certain combinations.  The Red Esc and the light Blue Esc are my faves and red/black and blue/beige look really nice too.   This is just overkill though and fairly ugly:





I think a little less color is more attractive:

Light Blue or IBM Baby Blue



And Lavender which ch_123 would love for all of his boards LOL



And finally the much anticipated black on black Model M key:







Unfortunately that's one of the better keys.  On some of them, you simply can't see anything at all.  Oh well......it was worth a try.   I'm going to spend an afternoon one day and lay all of them out in correct order.  I'll probably need my microscope to do the job.  

Okay, now rush out and order some bling for that beloved Model M before the stash runs out completely.

Enjoy

skc

[Mental Hobbit]

Show Image

That's keyboard cruelty. We need laws for that.

[itlnstln]

That black on black looks pretty sweet.  How does it look in regular light?  I would imagine the flash from the camera makes the printing look better than I suspect.

[skcheng]

That black on black looks pretty sweet.  How does it look in regular light?  I would imagine the flash from the camera makes the printing look better than I suspect.

It's terrible.   I used special angles on my lighting to get that shot.  It's really bad.....

[itlnstln]

I figured as much.  It works on the Topre, because the keys are gray instead of black like the Unicomps.

[skcheng]

That's keyboard cruelty. We need laws for that.

You're right.  It would look MUCH bettah with black "F"  and "J" and Space Bar.

[itlnstln]

Somebody was looking for one of those stepped keys like the Ctrl.  I can't remember if it was for a Model M or a Cherry one for a Filco.

[itlnstln]

Oh.  I knew it was something like that.  That's what I get for not reading posts.

[ch_123]

Ironically, I want to get some lavender WASD keys myself...

[ch_123]

I was under the impression that they couldn't print on large keys.

[itlnstln]

I was under the impression that they couldn't print on large keys.

I was also under the impression that they didn't have any more minis.  Unicomp lies.

[skcheng]

I was also under the impression that they didn't have any more minis.  Unicomp lies.

Well....they don't anymore  )

[skcheng]

Chuck must not have any Nubbed F and J keys in colors.  Why not just have him print up F and Js on the other keys?

It's not like they are rushing out New Unicomp Buckling Spring Minis anytime soon.

Must have Nibs!!!!   Of course Chuck can print up colored plain "F's" and "J's", but the space bar is still a problem.

[itlnstln]

Bribes.  SKCheng gave them free dental work.

What good would that do?  They're in Kentucky; they don't have any teeth.  Maybe it was a free denture fitting.

[volvo244t]

Now can you get white on black?  That is the question.

I'd love to get a Customizer 104 and make it into a TrackPoint-less M13 clone.

[Mental Hobbit]

What good would that do?  They're in Kentucky; they don't have any teeth.  

Always a joy to learn something new about foreign countries. :biggrin1:

[itlnstln]

I'm always here to help.  Learning through cultural diversity.

[ch_123]

Now can you get white on black?  That is the question.

I'd love to get a Customizer 104 and make it into a TrackPoint-less M13 clone.

You'd think if that was possible, everyone would have them =P

Unfortunately their printing method doesn't allow for white lettering. The M13 used a different printing technology that was prone to excessive wear. Unicomp did make Customizers with such keys, but the wear was too bad and then they made the metallic keys instead.

[kishy]

Has any sort of statement from Unicomp been had about getting such keys made again? (white on black)

Quality aside, of course. The same printing method as before would be acceptable to me and probably others. When they wear down, buy another set.

[kishy]

Somebody (I think Bigpook) asked them about that and they said they did it once and go too many customer complaints.

Would be interesting to see if they'd offer the keys by special order, not advertised, for the people who aren't going to whine about the printing quality.

[ch_123]

It's also quite conceivable that they don't have pad printing any more. I mean, they seem to have discontinued the regular Mighty Mouse.

[kishy]

Probably just sent it to some third party.  If someone was motivated enough they could just grab a bag of blank blacks and send it off to Signature.  I'm sure the technology has progressed a bit since the dawn of black keyboards being introduced.  Or it could be that it's tougher to get the labeling to stick to PBT.

I'm inclined to believe it's related to the relatively rough texture on black M13 keys. I think you've shown pics showing it in detail.

Like the actual cases, rougher than even other Model M variants.

[volvo244t]

You'd think if that was possible, everyone would have them =P

Unfortunately their printing method doesn't allow for white lettering. The M13 used a different printing technology that was prone to excessive wear. Unicomp did make Customizers with such keys, but the wear was too bad and then they made the metallic keys instead.

Awww damn, oh well.

[TheSoulhunter]

Perhaps a dumb question...
But who is this Chuck guy, and where can I order the caps?

[itlnstln]

Chuck works for Unicomp, and you can order the caps through him.

[TheSoulhunter]

At this PCKeyboards site, or here on geekhack?

[skcheng]

At this PCKeyboards site, or here on geekhack?

Call and ask for Chuck.   PM sent with direct phone number.  Easier to speak to Chuck......he'll know what you're talking about.  Mention that I sent you  

[skcheng]

Don't mention my name.

Why not??

[skcheng]

The quality of the printing doesn't seem as good as it used to be. Sometimes it doesn't seem to be properly horizontally aligned, or smudgy.

The printing is different.   A little thicker.  But I like it.   I just wish that they had the standard keys in one piece rather than two piece.

[itlnstln]

At this PCKeyboards site, or here on geekhack?

The PCKeyboards site.

[itlnstln]

I don't think Welly is allowed in the state of Kentucky.  Not that I would want to go there for any reason, anyway.

[TheSoulhunter]

Thanks @ skcheng and itlnstln... ^^
Talked with Chuck, and if everything goes right I'll soon have a otaku customizer 104!

[kishy]

For all the jokes that Jim has become the target of, I think it's worth saying that he's the only person in the company I've dealt with for my small miscellaneous requests (information on old IBM terminal keyboards, requesting M5-2 trackball parts) and like this "Chuck" character, has been very helpful (and happy to be so).

[skcheng]

Chuck has given me the okay to post his public contact information for direct correspondence:

Phone:   859-233-2130  ext 206

Wait till the end of the message where there will be a prompt for entering the extension.

Email:   ccropper AT pckeyboard.com

And for anyone looking for either a straight white or black SDL to PS/2 cable, these are the model numbers to ask for:

Black:   1379947
White:  1397449

[kishy]

Do Chuck a favour and replace the @ sign with the word AT

(username AT domain.com)

[skcheng]

Now we can really forget the new Space Saver. What's the product number for a lavender wasp? The description will  probably confuse him.

Hope c c r o p p e r  A T p c k e y b o a r d D OT c o m needs some viagra.

Chuck is working on the new Space Saver.   I promised him that you would purchase 30 of them.   And yes......it will come with the ugly keycap/trackpoint Unicomp label.

[ch_123]

The only real wish I'd have with that thing is that the Trackpoint is usable on a modern system without cranking the sensitivity up to the max, I doubt that they're going to change their tech that much at this stage though.

[phoenix]

I tried to cheat to get a unstaggered caps lock from Chuck. I told him I was looking for two caps to replace the right shift, as in the Portugese Model M. One of those caps is the size of caps lock. He said they never made such models at Unicomp and thought it was the size of Alt.

I tried the same thing, only that I asked about the Japanese 5576 C01, which being the predecessor of Endurapro must have existed in their Lexmark stock in the past. Same answer, no parts for such models any more.

[TheSoulhunter]

Booooooooooooooooo, seems I cant order my Customizer 104... :/
They only offer payment per credit-card, and like most people (around 70%) in my country, I don't have one!

[ch_123]

Over here we have a card that you buy pre-paid credit for. Do you have anything like over where you live?

[TheSoulhunter]

I don't know, but I'll ask my bank next time I go there...

[ch_123]

I wonder if anyone has tried asking Unicomp to do green-on-black or silver-on-black keycaps... Dye sub of course.

[skcheng]

I wonder if anyone has tried asking Unicomp to do green-on-black or silver-on-black keycaps... Dye sub of course.

No light colors for dark keys.   But Chuck can still pad print ala the crappy chip off, easily yellowed M13.   But a minimum order of 250 is necessary.  

And black on black just doesn't work well.   Chuck gets that we want white print on keycaps.  It's just not happening right now.   I've asked him every way possible.

[ch_123]

Oh right, I was thinking that it was that white printing didn't work, but it makes far more sense that the problem is dark coloured keys...

[kishy]

I think Geekhack would have enough interested people to get 250 black M13-type keys made, if not more...

Mind you, since I'm not needing any, I wouldn't be in on that 250 minimum order. My suggestion recently that they offer that type of key again was based on the idea that M13 keys are practically consumable and available replacements would both help those users and give people yet another reason to make a purchase from Unicomp (hopefully the price they sell keys for does in fact generate profit, if only tiny).

[ch_123]

You could easily find 10 people who would want lettered M13 style keys. 10 X 101 = 1,010... at least the last I checked.

[skcheng]

You could easily find 10 people who would want lettered M13 style keys. 10 X 101 = 1,010... at least the last I checked.

I'm pretty sure that Chuck meant 250 "sets" of keys.   Not 250 individual keys.    I'm doubtful that there is enough interest ........

[ch_123]

Oh, whoops. That's quite a lot of sets...

[kishy]

...that is quite a lot of sets.

If they have the machinery in the building, why not just use it? Obviously they have it if it's possible for them to make the keys again...

If not using it, they should sell it. Not generating revenue = might as well be costing them money.

[skcheng]

...that is quite a lot of sets.

If they have the machinery in the building, why not just use it? Obviously they have it if it's possible for them to make the keys again...

If not using it, they should sell it. Not generating revenue = might as well be costing them money.

They sent out for the pad printing.   And they had customers return keyboards (albeit not that many) due to the quality of the pad printing.  So they just stopped providing the service.