Thanks to much encouragement and enthusiasm as a result of the interest check, I’m happy to be able to offer a group buy for the After-school 1992 retro-inspired (vaporwave, memphis, etc.) 90s keyset in the new DSS profile from Signature Plastics.
I also offered a special finish called VHS on the Norbaforce Mark II, which I think makes an especially great pairing with this set. I will likely offer the same finish again on future products as well.
This set is shipping with my new special gift box packaging rather than the normal jumbled bags used on my SP group buys. They’re made here in California and quite expensive, but I feel that they really improve the keycap buying experience.
I’m also working on a set of fun little 90s-themed surprises to include in the gift box.
What follow are actual photos (not renders) of a physical sample I got made from Signature Plastics.
Interesting to make the numpad a point of consideration for people when looking at the appropriate kit to buy
Honestly I’m balking a little bit on the 4 month estimated timeline, but I’m not terribly up to date on SP’s DSS production line. I’m hoping that 4 month estimate is a lot of you just setting favorable expectations lol.
The set definitely is a warm and fuzzy with memories kind of set!
SP’s pricing is pretty high these days–and the extra stuff like the packaging and little whimsy items add to the cost as well–so my goal was to offer a TKL set at the lowest possible price point and then let folks add stuff on as necessary.
I don’t really fully trust SP’s stated timelines, so I’m being a bit pessimistic. Could always ship early.
I love the colors, but I’m still not completely sold on DSS, I think I need to spend some more time with the dolch kit I’ve got in the next week or two before I can decide. Tbh I’m less interested in a nice box and extras and would probably be more interested in lower cost, but hey maybe I’ll be surprised.
Haha. Awesome to hear. Just doing my little part to make life slightly less boring and a bit more weird/fanciful. It’s the only reason I do this stuff.
Good point. I’ll remove the extra scooped F and J in the lower section; it’s just a duplicate. The F and J unscooped are for the DVORAK (etc) nerds.
If you’ve never gotten a product from me in the past, my packaging is something people are often excitedly give me quite positive feedback about, so hopefully I’ll be able to pull off a little bit of unboxing frisson for you if you decide to pick up a set.
But, FWIW, yes the packaging and other items do add to the cost, but really the two main reasons for the price of this set are 1) neither the caps nor packaging nor even the pogs and slap wraps are made in China (rather, they’re all made in the USA) and, more significantly, 2) the unique aesthetic of this set requires a large number of resin color changes, which really drives up the production cost at SP given the way the mold shots work. That’s why the cost to produce these is markedly higher than your standard two- or even three-color GMK or other SP set.
If it counts for anything, my calculations suggest that I’ll likely break even or lose money at any quantity that this set is likely to hit. I’m just running it because I really wanted to see the set be made, especially since it pairs to perfectly with the VHS finish I’m offering on my Norbaforce housings (and am likely to run again on subsequent designs).
Ah, okay. I do have a round 2 novatouch which I adore, and I do remember that having pretty good packaging. I definitely forgot that a lot of the cost is driven by the custom colors, which totally are what makes this set. I do appreciate the made in the USA aspect too. I’ll most likely end up with the tkl+enthusiast kit.
That was actually my first foray into custom keyboard packaging and it had uncoated paper on the outside with black foil stamping, which always felt kind of cheap to me. While I aesthetically love uncoated paper, I ended up not loving it so much on packaging for practical reasons of durability. On my newer designs I use a matte coating on the paper (and what is, I think, a much nicer design) with offset printing. I’m much happier with the newer form. Hopefully you will be too.
Oh wow, that new packaging does look nice. I remember just being impressed that the novatouch box had your logo on it. Are the keycaps going to come in trays here?
That is the idea anyway, though I’m still working on a universal design that will fit caps ranging from SA Row 1 all the way down to DSA, which is an interesting technical challenge.
It’ll be something similar to what I did on the Galaxy Class set for Roddenberry.