Not All Linears Are The Same!
Figure 1: Not even all of these (mostly) KTT-made linears are the same! After all of my years of collecting, reviewing, and obsessing over switches, I can say with certainty that linear switches are the most misunderstood of all of the switch types. No, I’m not talking about mechanically either, as all of the claims of them “just going straight up and down” are somewhat kind of true. (Not too much though, don’t get that excited.) The part that is often misunderstood, though, is usually in what is being implied when people say that these switches just go straight up and down – “All linears might as well be the same.” If the title of this article didn’t make that obvious enough to you, I find that sort of idea to be completely and utterly wrong. The people who make these implications wouldn’t say that a Cherry MX Black is the same as a Novelkeys Cream switch? They also certainly wouldn’t ever claim that every Gateron-made linear is the same as every fancy TTC one out there...
May 29, 2024
Basic Overview: Designing a keycap set from start to finish Creating a keycap set may sem deceptively simple, but there is actually quite a bit of nuance that goes into creating a successful set. To kick things off I want to provide a basic overview of the entire process, and I’ll be going further into detail on each aspect in subsequent posts. In these subsequent posts I will be concentrating exclusively on the requirements for creating a GMK keycap set, but in this introductory post I will speak in broader terms. I think it is important to understand all the choices you have when designing a keycap set.
Novelty Keys At the same time the IC ins happening, you should also be working on any novelty keys, new fonts, or special keys you want to add to the set. Not every set will need special keys (my old set GMK Honeywell was awarded the Deskthority “Set of the Year” for example, and it included no special keys or novelties). When designing novelties, be aware of any protected materials, especially if you are designing a set based off of an existing work (like a movie, book, show, etc). When designing new legends you need to keep in mind a few important details – most important what the specific manufacturing tolerances are for the caps you are using. For example, if you are creating a doubleshot keycap set, you can’t have novelties with more than 2 colors, or shading. Colors The final consideration for this stage is selecting the colors that will be used. This is often a deceptively hard part of the process. When selecting colors it is best practice to use either RAL or Pantone, with RAL being preferred as it is intended to be used for plastic manufacturing. When working with colors there are a few things you should be aware of. First – make sure you calibrate your monitor, and always check your work on as many different screens as possible. If you are using a “gaming mode” or some high contrast mode, turn it off. Colors on the screen never translate perfectly to how colors will look in real life, which is why I always suggest getting sample plastic chips if possible. Anytime I use pantone colors I always get the samples. These allow me to look at the colors and contrast between the colors in a variety of lighting. Buyers will always want to know the specific colors used in any set – so having this information readily available is quite important.
Packaging Now that the design process is wrapping up all that is left to do is design the packaging and get the required files to the vendor so that they can place the order. Different manufacturers each have their own packaging, but templates should be readily available. Mod Edit: Formatting