[GB] GMK Indigo // Shipping

[Fredington]

GMK Indigo is inspired by Japanese denim culture, particularly that of raw selvedge jeans that fade as you wear them, revealing the various shades present in this beautiful color. The novelties and desk pad draw from sashiko, a type of Japanese embroidery which has a long history and association with indigo textiles. With its distinct stitching on a contrast background, sashiko adds both function and beauty to a garment. Let GMK Indigo do the same for your keyboard.





Specifications

Manufacturer: GMK
Profile: Cherry 1-1-2-3-4-4
Material: ABS
Legends: Doubleshot
Sublegends: UV-Printed
Mod Style: Center-Aligned Icons



GB Details

This set will run from February 18 to March 18 with the following vendors. The estimate shipping window is Q3 2023.

WW: KBDFans (no collaborations)
US: Space
CA: Desk[H]ero
UK: Proto[Typist]
NW: Mekanisk (extras only)
EU: Salvun
EU: CandyKeys (extras only)
AS: iLumkb
OC: Daily Clack (deskmat on a separate page)





Kits

Base

The Base kit features support for 60% boards and up. Terminal-style ISO and F13 are included.



Hiragana

Being that the Hiragana kit contains all the keys needed for a full alpha replacement, an additional TAB has been provided so you can potentially cover two boards with this kit and the Base kit.



Extension

The Extension kit offers additional compatibility in the form of:

• R3/R4 PgUp/PgDn
• 2u Shift
• Mac bottom row swaps
• 40s support
• Alice support

Spacebars

The Spacebar kit provides two 3U bars, 6u bars covering both center stem positions, and accent colors for the more commonly used sizes.



Novelties

The novelties kit features selvedge tape and stitching patterns common to sashiko.



NorDeUK

This kit will be available to purchase once vendors post their extras.





Deskmat





Artisans

Red by Monokei

• R1 1u
• Anodized aluminum
• Engraved sashiko design w/ enamel infill

Continuity by Salvun

• R1 1u
• Copper w/ antique patina
• Laser engraved mitsudomoe design
• Clear coated

Impermanence by HIBI

• R3 2.25u
• Raw brass (no coating, will patina over time)
• Machine engraved crack w/ through holes
• Mirror polished

Wooden Spacebars by YVK Studio

• Engraved and infilled maple and rosewood
• Indigo dyed
• Offered in 6.25u and 7u

Cables

Stitched Denim Straight Cable by RnCables

NOTE: This is a sample. There will be another round of color matching after the GB to ensure the colors are correct for the final product. A coiled option will not be offered for this cable. It will be sold exclusively on the RnCables website.





Two-Tone Cerakoted Aviator Cable by Space Cables

NOTE: This cable will be offered with both straight and coiled options. Multiple vendors will carry this cable.







Render Gallery



























Social Media

As I don't have a Discord, all updates will be made in this thread. You can however, follow me on Instagram if you'd like:





Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Kingk22, konstantin, NathanAlphaMan, and all the vendors and collaborators.

[Fredington]

Reserved.

[HoffmanMyster]

Approved

[konstantin]

Killer set (and not just the set, everything here is awesome tbh). Let me be the first one to say GLWGB!

[rookb]

Love the colours, center-aligned just isn't for me, GL 

[HelloThisIsDog]

I love this and I will buy it. Then I will force myself to forget all about it, then in late 2024 I will get a call from my former landlord saying there’s a package here for you. That moment I will be filled with such joy and surprise that it’ll all have been worth it.

[Fredington]

I love this and I will buy it. Then I will force myself to forget all about it, then in late 2024 I will get a call from my former landlord saying there’s a package here for you. That moment I will be filled with such joy and surprise that it’ll all have been worth it.

Yeah, I get it. It's a tall order asking people to buy GMK right now. Waiting 1.5 to 2 years for your set sucks. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm for the set.

I'd also like to point out however, it's not like GMK hasn't been trying to increase production the past couple years. Of course, COVID has really thrown a wrench into manufacturing everywhere. In case you missed it, GMK had actually put out a statement on this issue several months ago, which you can read here. Some details might be a little outdated by now, but it definitely gives some more insight into the steps that GMK have taken to try and improve the situation, as well as the circumstances and setbacks that they've experienced.

Now, I'm not saying all this to try and convince anyone to buy my set--that is entirely up to the buyer. I just hope that a discussion on GMK lead times could be more grounded in the available facts rather than the negativity that we've been seeing lately (not that your post was negative in anyway, I just felt compelled to say something on the topic).

We're all hoping for an improvement to the situation, with some having taken extra steps to help. I know some vendors like Oblotzky are limiting the amount of GMK sets they will run going forward, and I personally will not be designing any more GMK sets after this one until their lead times become more reasonable.

[whyjay03]

Hi i'm new to the scene and this is going to be my first gmk gb. Cheers and thanks for this great set.

1. For those sites with links that lead to error 404 page, is this a temporary error because the buy isn't live yet?
2. For those sites without full options (eg. kbdfans doesn't have the artisan keycaps) will those options be updated later, or is that going to be the only buyable options for those sites?
3. For the extension kit, it says it will include mac support but the rendered images don't show command keys.. are there keys not rendered in the images?

[Fredington]

Hi i'm new to the scene and this is going to be my first gmk gb. Cheers and thanks for this great set.

1. For those sites with links that lead to error 404 page, is this a temporary error because the buy isn't live yet?
2. For those sites without full options (eg. kbdfans doesn't have the artisan keycaps) will those options be updated later, or is that going to be the only buyable options for those sites?
3. For the extension kit, it says it will include mac support but the rendered images don't show command keys.. are there keys not rendered in the images?

Thanks for your interest and support.

1. They will go live at various times tomorrow. I believe Proto[Typist] is live already. KBDFans has been live for a while now.
2. What you see is all that that particular vendor has decided to offer.
3. Sorry, I meant to write that the Extension kit includes "Mac bottom row swaps" (fixed now), which refers to layouts where SYSTEM (1.5u) and ALT (1u) are different sized keys, unlike a standard layout where they are the same size (1.25u) and thus can be easily swapped in the Base kit. Here, SYSTEM is used in place of COMMAND, as including dedicated COMMAND keys wouldn't be economical for most buyers.

[IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES]

re: GB's that take a while and you've moved in between

i moved a bit because of medical training over the years and have probably rerouted 75 GMK sets (every fredington set too!) and from...i think every USA vendor save when donutcat was selling sets? with still no issues yet. vendors are pretty good about sending out a last call for address change emails too. if you dont want your money tied up that long i get it, but moving isnt a terribly big deal

if youre gonna whale and move a lot tho, make a spreadsheet

[ZAND4]

Astonishing set

[nvh2092]

150 euros for base kit in EU......Well I need to reconsider it now, it's like they don't want buyers or I'm just crazy.....

[Fredington]

150 euros for base kit in EU......Well I need to reconsider it now, it's like they don't want buyers or I'm just crazy.....

Yeah, unfortunately we’ve had to price it at a lower MOQ due to the recent slump in overall sales. Plus, everything is more expensive these days due to various factors related to the pandemic. With the Hiragana kit for example, the margin is already razor thin and that’s with me not taking any designer royalties from it.

[nvh2092]

150 euros for base kit in EU......Well I need to reconsider it now, it's like they don't want buyers or I'm just crazy.....

Yeah, unfortunately we’ve had to price it at a lower MOQ due to the recent slump in overall sales. Plus, everything is more expensive these days due to various factors related to the pandemic. With the Hiragana kit for example, the margin is already razor thin and that’s with me not taking any designer royalties from it.

Ok, can't blame you tho, Gmk hate is a thing atm because of their continuous delay. Sales've been suffering. Still this way of pricing will result in extremely poor sales in EU imo.

[ocm]

Fredington, you killed it! I love this set, the inspiration and execution are both so good.

[Fredington]

Love the colours, center-aligned just isn't for me, GL 

Killer set (and not just the set, everything here is awesome tbh). Let me be the first one to say GLWGB!

Fredington, you killed it! I love this set, the inspiration and execution are both so good.

TYVM! 

[RoyalOak88]

Although the price is really steep for EU, I'll cope with this because it's too good to pass!
Let's just forget the waiting now...

[CookieFlow]

150 euros for base kit in EU......Well I need to reconsider it now, it's like they don't want buyers or I'm just crazy.....

Yeah, unfortunately we’ve had to price it at a lower MOQ due to the recent slump in overall sales. Plus, everything is more expensive these days due to various factors related to the pandemic. With the Hiragana kit for example, the margin is already razor thin and that’s with me not taking any designer royalties from it.

Jesus that EU pricing, and it's GMK so shipping from EU, I have 0 clue how they ended up at this price.
I hope it's not Salvun taking a huge margin because even with low MOQ, the EU vs USD pricing is generally 1 to 1 or very close on GMK sets. Also his shipping prices are probably amongst the highest compared to other EU vendors.


I was already out since the Hiragana base got changed to Latin, + the GMK wait time and now the insane pricing on top.
GL with this set, really wished it was made through another Manu so I could have gotten a Hiragana base at a reasonable price and not 250€+

[Fredington]

The RnCables collab is now live exclusively on their website! Again, there will be another round of color matching after the GB to ensure the colors are correct for the final product.

Although the price is really steep for EU, I'll cope with this because it's too good to pass!
Let's just forget the waiting now...

I appreciate it!

I was already out since the Hiragana base got changed to Latin, + the GMK wait time and now the insane pricing on top.
GL with this set, really wished it was made through another Manu so I could have gotten a Hiragana base at a reasonable price and not 250€+

Understandable!

[milka158]

The price is indeed ridiculous. Lately, most sets with better kitting were 119€.

[potato_panda-]

Just curious whats the MOQ for this set?

[bigdonnerz]

Colours are nice but I've seen plenty of sets recently that were priced for far less than this in EU. 150 EUR is literally only 10 EUR less than most sets sell for as extras. The pricing in the US is a little expensive but unless the MOQ is like 10 that price EU doesn't seem very justifiable at all

[Mcnos]

Good luck with the buy

[kspark324]

The price is indeed ridiculous. Lately, most sets with better kitting were 119€.

I'm new to the hobby, wondering what you mean by "better kitting"?

[max.clacks]

The price is indeed ridiculous. Lately, most sets with better kitting were 119€.

I'm new to the hobby, wondering what you mean by "better kitting"?

Probably saying that there's other sets which have more compatibility in the base kit or offer more keys. What may affect the price, however, is the MOQ for this set or the use of custom colors, which I'm not sure this set does or does not use.

[bert039]

Love the set so much. Already bought, just hope it hits MOQ now

[Adelscott]

Colours are nice but I've seen plenty of sets recently that were priced for far less than this in EU. 150 EUR is literally only 10 EUR less than most sets sell for as extras. The pricing in the US is a little expensive but unless the MOQ is like 10 that price EU doesn't seem very justifiable at all

If we compare EU proxy to US proxy on another GB running right now :

Base GMK Nimbus : 135 EUR / 129 USD = 1.05 ratio
Base GMK Indigo : 149,50 EUR / 135 USD = 1.11 ratio

Yes for this set the EU proxy is way more expensive.

[kspark324]

Any chance we can get renders on a white board?

[Fredington]

Colours are nice but I've seen plenty of sets recently that were priced for far less than this in EU. 150 EUR is literally only 10 EUR less than most sets sell for as extras. The pricing in the US is a little expensive but unless the MOQ is like 10 that price EU doesn't seem very justifiable at all

If we compare EU proxy to US proxy on another GB running right now :

Base GMK Nimbus : 135 EUR / 129 USD = 1.05 ratio
Base GMK Indigo : 149,50 EUR / 135 USD = 1.11 ratio

Yes for this set the EU proxy is way more expensive.

Well, it's rarely a 1:1 comparison between any two given sets. GMK Nimbus for example, uses 1 custom color and 2 stock colors in its Base kit, while Indigo has 3 custom colors and 1 stock color. The vendors also make a difference. I imagine that MyKeyboard, having been a vendor for significantly longer than Salvun and having run significantly more GBs, can probably afford to underprice their Base kit a bit. Newer and smaller vendors don't have that luxury.

I just want to make it clear that nobody is trying to swindle anybody here. As a gesture of good faith, Salvun has decided to drop his prices on the keyset across the board. The tradeoff here is that he will be in a much weaker position with regards to purchasing extras. There has been a lot said recently in the community about having more in-stock products, but the fact is that vendors use margin to purchase extras. Simply put, less margin means less extras. If you are interested in this set, especially if you live in the EU, I would advise you not to depend on extras as you might be left disappointed and empty-handed.

[Fredington]

Totally forgot to post this here, but we are running a giveaway on IG. There are less than 36 hours left to enter!

In a three way collaboration between myself, @spacecables and @key.klub, we are giving away a GMK Indigo bundle to TWO winners. Both winners will receive a Base kit and a Hiragana kit.

Complete rules can be found on the giveaway post. Entries will close tomorrow at 4pm EST, and the winners will be chosen shortly after. Good luck!

[Fredington]

Hi all,

I'd like to announce an exciting new collaboration with YVK Studio, who specialize in wooden spacebars:



As you can see, three different designs will be offered in two sizes: 6.25u and 7u. The sale will be conducted using Google Forms and will open for one week starting this Friday, March 4. I will post the link here once the sale goes live.

For sound tests, you can visit their YouTube channel.

[Fredington]

The wooden spacebars by YVK Studio are now available to purchase via Google Form!

Again, these are indigo-dyed maple and rosewood with various sashiko designs engraved and then resin infilled. They come with the option of 6.25u or 7u sizes. Further details can be found in the form, which will remain open for ONE WEEK ONLY, closing next Friday, March 11.

[davek184]

Any update on sales/moq?

[Fredington]

Any update on sales/moq?

We won't be publishing sales numbers for this GB, but we're on track to meet MOQ. Pretty good attachment rate on the Hiragana kit as well, so if you were worried about that, I wouldn't be.

[Tyson]

In for the base kit, Monokei cap and cable! I know it will take a while for everything to come in but the wait will be worth it!

[mixie]

In for the base kit and deskpad. Would have preferred the selvedge novelties to be without the sashiko, but great set nonetheless!!

[Fredington]

In for the base kit, Monokei cap and cable! I know it will take a while for everything to come in but the wait will be worth it!

In for the base kit and deskpad. Would have preferred the selvedge novelties to be without the sashiko, but great set nonetheless!!

Thank you for your support!

Just popping in here to announce that there is one week left for GMK Indigo, so don't delay if you've been meaning to join!

The wooden spacebars by YVK Studio will also be extended until the end of the GB window next Friday. You can join that here.

[ZAND4]

ETA is cruel, but still in for Base an Hiragana.
Make it happen guys, lets go!

[Adelscott]

In for base + 2 kits !

[Fredington]

Friendly reminder that GMK Indigo is ending tomorrow. This is your LAST CALL! Thank you for all the support!

[kspark324]

Friendly reminder that GMK Indigo is ending tomorrow. This is your LAST CALL! Thank you for all the support!

How are we looking on MOQ?

[Fredington]

Friendly reminder that GMK Indigo is ending tomorrow. This is your LAST CALL! Thank you for all the support!

How are we looking on MOQ?

No issues with MOQ.

[ZAND4]

Lets go!

[bert039]

Picked up the spacebar also, really excited for this set!

[davek184]

Went in for base + bars stinks about the eta but still excited for the set!

[Fredington]

Hi all,

One last collab for this set is holding a raffle today only (this is not an April Fools' joke)! Picaps has graciously contributed 3 sculpts for this project. You can enter the raffle at the Google Form on their Instagram. There are 15 units available for each sculpt. Good luck!

[mytommy]

does anyone know when the HIBI Enter Artisan cap will ship out

[Fredington]

Hi all,

Apologies for the radio silence since the GB ended, but I'm here today with the first major production update...

Colors have been approved after only 1 round of sampling!



Additionally, I'm very pleased to announce that though we will not be releasing sales numbers, the set did very well. Well enough in fact, that we have been able to add a comprehensive NorDeUK kit:



This is was submitted along with the GB kits and will be made available for purchase once vendors post their extras (or preorders, depending on the vendor).

I'd also like to welcome aboard two additional vendors who will be selling extras once the set delivers: CandyKeys (EU) and Mekanisk (Norway)! Both will be stocking the new NorDeUK kit, in additional to several of the other kits.

[keeboredguy]

I'd also like to welcome aboard two additional vendors who will be selling extras once the set delivers: CandyKeys (EU) and Mekanisk (Norway)! Both will be stocking the new NorDeUK kit, in additional to several of the other kits.

Will any of the vendors be stocking all kits or only specific kits when this set ships?

[Neely_12]

Show Image

Are there any other pics of the alpha color? Looks a little more navy than I would think

[kspark324]

Show Image

Are there any other pics of the alpha color? Looks a little more navy than I would think

Agreed, the alpha blue looks pretty far off from the renders

[jay6889]

Hi all,

Apologies for the radio silence since the GB ended, but I'm here today with the first major production update...

Colors have been approved after only 1 round of sampling!

Show Image

Additionally, I'm very pleased to announce that though we will not be releasing sales numbers, the set did very well. Well enough in fact, that we have been able to add a comprehensive NorDeUK kit:

Show Image

This is was submitted along with the GB kits and will be made available for purchase once vendors post their extras (or preorders, depending on the vendor).

I'd also like to welcome aboard two additional vendors who will be selling extras once the set delivers: CandyKeys (EU) and Mekanisk (Norway)! Both will be stocking the new NorDeUK kit, in additional to several of the other kits.

The alpha looks little too dark than i thought, Wish it was more brighter than that

[ZAND4]

Well, I love the color

[gtg465x]

Yeah, alpha does match the color card, but both are pretty far off from the render. The render alphas look like the color of blue jeans (a slightly faded blue), but the sample looks like the color of blue chinos…. never seen any jeans that color.

[Bryan]

I've gotta agree, the alpha's color sample and color card seem very far off from the renders. It looks way to saturated and darker.

[potato_panda-]

https://i.imgur.com/8UslIF8.jpeg

Colour matching is a complicated process and its almost impossible to determine if something is colour matched based on pixels on a screen. The exact same keycaps might look completely different simply based on the angle or the lighting

https://i.imgur.com/W8DATL3.jpg

We should wait for the set to actually arrive before we can comment. If the colour matching really was poorly done, then i'll be raising my pitchforks too. In the meantime, if the designer wants to share the deltaE of the analysed colour compared to his chosen colours then that would be great. However, considering that this set has been rather secretive about information such as RAL colours and even final MOQ numbers, I doubt this will happen.

[Fredington]

Here are some images of the samples in different types of lighting, so you can judge for yourself:



I have never been secretive about the color codes chosen. They were posted prominently for the duration of the IC, and I will post them again here: RAL 5000, RAL 5011, and RAL 5014. If you really want to see the colors for yourself, you can purchase the RAL K5 color book for $54 on Amazon. This is what both Space and I have been using as reference.

At the end of the day, the set will always be matched to the chosen color codes, not the renders. Of course, we try our best to produce accurate renders, but many factors can affect how the renders appear to any given viewer, including the lighting environment used in the renders, as well as the viewer's monitor's color settings. With renders, you are trying to communicate a physical 3D product in a digital 2D medium, which is never going to match perfectly. Ultimately, a render is just that--a render--and comes with its usual disclaimer. This is the one on Space's product page for all his GBs:

Kindly note that the images are of 3D renders and are for illustration purposes only. The final colors may differ slightly.

I picked these three colors due to their overall hues fitting the theme, as well as their distance from each other and hence, contrast. I am confident the colors and contrast of the final product will turn out great. Hope this helps.

[involuntarysoul]

please don't pull a GMK Nord, I have PTSD already

[IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES]

please don't pull a GMK Nord, I have PTSD already

The colors are…right there above you in three different lights and have not deviated once from the colors chosen before the GB started. Nord colors all varied from the listed color standards, Gtrx didn’t have color standards for much of the matching process and admitted as such.

If you think they don’t look like the renders, that’s the point of the color standards. A ton of times I look up the colors and realize the render is probably in direct sunlight but not rendered as such. In a dim artificial room, GMK Red Dragon looks like the renders.

[Fredington]

Hi all,

Today, I have approved the renders from GMK and the set is now queued for production. We are expecting a July/August completion date.

Unfortunately, we had to make a small revision to the two Enter key novelties due to a production limitation according to GMK. In light of this news, Space and I tried a few different iterations of this artwork and ultimately landed on a version where no changes to the actual artwork were made other than moving it down slightly on the keycap:



While this is not ideal, we felt that this represented the least amount of change to the original spirit and intent of this novelty. Thanks for your understanding.

[Keybort_Alex]

Not a participant in this GB, but I will say that the alpha color does not look like the renders at all. We understand renders and IRL colors sometimes don’t match 1 to 1. However, I believe most people are buying the set based off of the stand alone kitting renders, and the renders of the set on different keyboards. If your vision was closer to the RAL colors you have chosen IRL, then you should try your hardest to make the renders appear more like what those RAL colors look like IRL.

[crucifiedpooh]

Is this accurate? The accent color seems like the alpha color to me.

[involuntarysoul]

Is this accurate? The accent color seems like the alpha color to me.
(Attachment Link)

the accent and mod looks fine, but the alpha is way off, might as well rename the set to GMK Khaki

[jay6889]

Any update?

[Fredington]

Sets are in transit to vendors. I think European vendors have already received theirs. I know Proto[Typist] has already shipped out their orders.

[gtg465x]

What’s up with Space? Seems like extras are already available from some vendors, but I still don’t have shipping from the primary vendor almost a month after the estimated ship month. Oh well, probably going to try to sell anyways because customer photos are emerging and the alphas look nothing like the renders, as we all thought. Guess I learned my lesson to buy my own RAL book instead of trusting renders.

[keeboredguy]

Anyone have irl pictures of this set? Would love to have a look at it.

[vhaarr]

There's a few good ones here that convinced me to pick up GMK Indigo for my navy Arc60: https://www.zfrontier.com/app/flow/36G3NZ0Rg3E5

[involuntarysoul]

the alpha color came out awful, deskmat is a banger though

[keeboredguy]

Yea looking at the photos in the link that vhaarr shared, alphas doesn't even look close to the renderings. Looks more like striker lmao.

*edit: Looking closer none of the colors actually match the renders at all.

[vhaarr]

Oh wow, I didn't even notice I never looked at the original IC/GB post LOL

I just bought Indigo the day before I made that comment above because of those photos in the zfrontier post. I've been having real problems getting a set with nordeuk support that fits well with the deep navy ano of the Arc60, so I was happy when I saw that post and found a store with base+nordeuk in stock :-)

Obviously when I bought the Arc60 I had a different set in mind for it, but when the Arc60 and keycap set arrived THAT keycap set also didn't match the render colors so it didn't really fit haha