Wow that price. I think standard real force keycaps are pbt while the novatouch is thin abs?
they weren't that thin on the one I looked at, and while actual topre keycaps are PBT, their printing is horrible, some of the worst I've seen.
lol you are either trolling, or you've never seen a Topre board in your life.
I have two right now, and am waiting on a third to come through. the dye-sub printing on my Topre boards is top notch, and I haven't seen anything beat it.
ANYTHING.
Clearly, you assume too much! I have much more experience with keyboards and manufacturing processes than you seem to realize.
I have dye-sub PBT keycaps from a large number of manufacturers. It is currently my favourite keycap legending process, so I collect them somewhat. While I don't have as many topre keybaords as (say) 002 does, I have seen my fair share. I was one of the first to buy SP PBT dyesub when it became available, I have NMB dyesubs, at least four generations of different IBM dyesubs, etc. Probably the best dyesubs I have seen are from an alphameric (now devlin) keyboard and are keytronic compatible. They all are exclusively and without question better than the topre keycaps currently on my 30-gram 104 pro.
Said keycaps have an appalling bleed, crooked legends, inconsistent typography. Sure, some topre keycaps are nice (like the 10'th anniversary grey ones that came on the board) but the ones I currently have on there (purchased from the classifides) are downright horrible.
This means that topre keycap quality is wildly inconsistant. The lasering on the novatouch, while not as nice as some topre keycaps I have seen is at least not as bad (at it's worst) as topre keycaps here. Therefore, they are more consistent, and consistency is everything.
And people saying that "doubleshots ahve clearer legends" need to look at the real facts. I have two different sets of keycaps from two different manufacturers that are both more blurry than dyesubs. The colours in the plastic can mix somewhat during the high-temperature second shot. This is why some red alert keycaps have some pink in them.
I would also like to note that owning two topre keyboards does not make you an expert.
says the expert, of course...
I never claimed to be an expert. "expertise" is in the eye of the beholder, usually. My experience, findings, and conclusions stand on their own, separate from any "expert" status. They form a clear chain of logic, lending credence to my position.