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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Xarmydis on Sat, 28 June 2014, 20:22:22

Title: Why are Deck Keyboards the only ones with PBT doubleshots with backlit?
Post by: Xarmydis on Sat, 28 June 2014, 20:22:22

Seriously. How the hell do they have PBT doubleshots that are backlitable.  I want these. It's only just coming out that you can buy PBT doubleshots in the first place, but they've had this stuff for a while.

Why ;__; do they have some kind of patents or something?

Title: Re: Why are Deck Keyboards the only ones with PBT doubleshots with backlit?
Post by: dorkvader on Sat, 28 June 2014, 22:05:57

They're not doubleshot the same way.

The entire "top" of the keycap is one piece of PBT (so is the stem). It's dyesublimated with the legend (or rather everythign but the legend is dyesubbed). Then an ABS "skirt" is doubleshot around the side. The entire top is one piece of PBT.

As far as why no-one else has that? it's hideously expensive, and TG3 (deck) has the only tooling. There's no profit in spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars kitting up a new plant to make keycaps like this.

I will admit, taht they are great keycaps: some of my favourites for sure. I do prefer blank ones (preferably black POM) on my backlit keyboards, so I get a sweet underglow effect. Every keycap is backlightable.

Title: Re: Why are Deck Keyboards the only ones with PBT doubleshots with backlit?
Post by: Hyde on Sat, 28 June 2014, 23:28:38

^  I think you're talking about their old approach.

The new keycaps are indeed double shot and I think they're probably made by Vortex based from the underside pattern.

As for why no one makes it?  Probably like you said too expensive or maybe they signed a deal with Vortex or maybe a bit of both.

:P

Title: Re: Why are Deck Keyboards the only ones with PBT doubleshots with backlit?
Post by: BucklingSpring on Mon, 30 June 2014, 10:05:34

Only few people in the world know/care about keycap quality.

Why would you bother making something better (at a higher cost) when less than 0.1% of the market will notice the difference.

But I'm happy someone crazy enough at TG3 managed to convince the money guys to waste some on quality keycaps.

Title: Re: Why are Deck Keyboards the only ones with PBT doubleshots with backlit?
Post by: Hyde on Mon, 30 June 2014, 11:30:43

Yeah though I'm still surprised certain company that carries custom keycaps don't sell it.  Like Ducky and Vortex and maybe Max Keyboard.

Clearly there is a market for them, but in this case it makes it feel more like Deck bought exclusive rights or something.  (kind of like Cherry RGB switch with Corsair)

Title: Re: Why are Deck Keyboards the only ones with PBT doubleshots with backlit?
Post by: Oobly on Mon, 30 June 2014, 13:11:13

What I don't get is that if they went to all that effort, why by all that's sacred choose THAT font?!?!?

I'd like to try them out sometime, but I don't want to cringe every time I look at the keyboard.