After nearly six years of R&D and tooling work, pad printed white text on black Model F keycaps are now available to order!  They are compatible with Model M keyboards as well.  These sets were once only available through an incredibly rare IBM Model M keyboard, the M13 13H6705 trackpoint version, which is currently only available for nearly $1,000 on eBay.

Summary:

• The pad printed keys came out excellent!  The first batch arrived last month.
• The legends are protected with a clear coat, so durability should be better than the uncoated IBM originals.
• To order this key set, Just pick the default option “delivery later this year” unless you want one of the special options Dvorak, Colemak, M13 Trackpoint, Blue, Apple/Mac 6 Key set (not included in the main sets), Dark Gray, or one of the 25 in-stock sets.  
• These are being made to order at the factory, except for the first 25 sets which are now in stock.  For the other sets, shipping is expected to be later this year.
• Please order now to guarantee the current early bird pricing shown; do not wait for the remaining quantity to be in stock.  Pricing may change, I may run out of stock by then, and in-stock orders have a couple month backlog so you’d be waiting a couple extra months if you decide to wait before ordering.
• Included at no extra cost:  HHKB 6 key sets and some novelty/extra keys (Super, Fn, Buckling Spring Logo, Menu, Any Key, Clicker/Beeper/Solenoid Toggle).  The pictured custom blister packaging is included and can be reused for other Model F key sets.
• Only the US ANSI regular key set was made, in 3 colors, plus the Dvorak and Colemak variants.  No ISO sets; no international sets.  These may be made later or not at all due to high tooling costs required for every unique key set design, so I recommend ordering the only available key set design even if it is not your first choice.  If you want the M13 Trackpoint set but can’t afford its premium cost please reply to this email to let me know.  I can only make 15 of those sets with current key stock.  Unicomp ran out of these keys but may be able to make more.  If Trackpoint is too costly, I recommend that you purchase the normal set and just re-use the original G H and B keys, or purchase the pearl G H B Trackpoint keys with black text on the Extra Keys page.
• Because pad printed sets obviously wear down over time, I strongly recommend ordering multiple sets now while they have not yet all been claimed.   I’m not sure if I’ll ever make a second batch due to cost.
• International addresses:  you can add this to an existing shipment, though due to the uncertain timeline it may delay your other order.  For the separate international shipping charge so as not to delay your order, please order 29 units of the store item $1 increments and choose free/other shipping at checkout, right before clicking Place Order. This is a flat rate, good for up to 3 pounds in shipping weight, so feel free to order additional extras to get the most value out of the shipping cost.
• There are quality limitations from the pad printing process itself, and other important product details.  See below for full details.

Please review these important details below before ordering.  Most importantly, review the details on defects (all keys have cosmetic defects), the fuzziness of the ink (see product photos), the expected timeline (delivery later this year, subject to change without notification) and the important note that the Apple/Mac 6 key set in the product images is not included.

The first 25 key sets:  in stock, earlier shipping, extra QC that hand selected the best available keys but still has some markings:  These first 25 sets have gone through hours of additional QC to reduce the number of keys with more obvious surface marks, though you will still see many keys with surface marks if you purchase this premium set.  Do not expect a good set without marks of any kind.  Premium QC does not mean “no defects” or “only a few defects;” there will still be noticeable defects, just fewer of them.  The remaining few hundred sets will not go through this process.  To cover the additional pad print tooling, QC, and air shipment costs, and to make available the key sets earlier than the remaining batch, these sets will be priced far higher than the sets for more patient folks 🙂  As always, all orders are subject to the shipping backlog; for the most up to date details on the backlog, see the updates page.  As disclosed elsewhere, a reminder that the expected shipping timeline of all orders is always more than 30 days.  For the highest quality keycaps and the shortest wait time, you have to pay a premium to get one of these 25 sets.  Pricing will change as fewer units are available, so I recommend guaranteeing a reservation and locking in current pricing by ordering now.

The remaining several hundred key sets being produced will be delivered later this year.  They are not in stock.  Ideally these will be in hand in a few months from now, but by purchasing you agree to wait with no guaranteed delivery date, and you agree to check the forums and updates page for updates instead of emailing me periodically asking for personalized updates.

Why order now if they won’t be delivered until later?  Why can’t I just wait until they are in stock before ordering?  There might not be anything left to order and pricing may be higher; these sets are in extremely limited quantity.  If I have any left that have not sold by the time they are delivered, pricing will be higher than what you would pay now, as was done for the last remaining keyboards of various models like the ortholinear Model F.  Additionally, there is always an order backlog, so you’d have to wait a couple extra months if you decide to order later.  For the absolute shortest wait time, order now.

Durability (clear top coat and abrasion-resistant ink):  The number one complaint of the original Model M pad printed keysets (found on the M13 13H6705) was the poor pad print durability.  The pad printing was thin and uncoated, so it began to noticeably wear quickly.  Based on feedback with a focus on durability instead of authenticity to original standards, these keycaps will be using the highest quality abrasion-resistant inks offered by a major manufacturer, as well as a protective clear coating on top of each legend, with a slight margin of safety surrounding each legend.  However, as noted below, pad printed keys are by design not durable and will wear almost immediately after usage, so I make no claims that these keycaps will have durable legends; they do not.  They are just expected to be more durable than the IBM legends, though this is not guaranteed.

Trackpoint Model M13:  I have enough to make 15 sets.  These are some of the last available special black trackpoint M13 keys from Unicomp.  They don’t have any more.  If you can’t afford this set I recommend ordering the regular non-Trackpoint set and reusing your G, H, and B keys.  I also have some pearl color GHB trackpoint keys that can be ordered for $7 each from the Extra Keys page, if you are fine having a few keys in pearl (with black dye sublimated text) with the other keys in black (with white pad printed text).  Delivery later this year; not in stock.  This listing is for the full key set with the special GHB keys, not just the GHB keys of course!

Extra keys included:  The standard keys are expected to be included, plus the HHKB 6 key set, with all key sets.  As shown in the photos, you get some novelty and extra keys such as the buckling spring logo, super keys, Any key, 1U and 1.25 Menu keys, solenoid/beeper toggle, and 2 unprinted keys.  Everyone should get 2 Left Shift and 2 Enter keys as shown but one may have worse printing than the other or these spares may not be included in some sets.  The full size spacebar is included but not pictured.  If you want to purchase the shorter spacebar (to use the 1.25U Menu key for example), you’ll need to purchase it on the Extra Keys product page; you can’t substitute for the included large spacebar.

Packaging:  To protect the pad printing which is less durable than sublimation printing by design, these keycaps will be packaged both before and after the pad print process in custom blister packaging. These should be available to order separately in the future, to store other Model F keycap sets, but are not available at this time. Note: by design, the blister packs do not hold a spacebar, and they contain additional spaces for keycaps, more than what would fill a regular board.

You’ll see empty spots for the 3 additional key cap designs which are not being made at this time (the production parts were rejected due to not meeting my standards).  You will not receive these 3 caps.

For the above reason, ISO key sets will not be made this year.  I recommend getting the standard set now, which you can start using, instead of waiting for a set that may not be made.  Each ISO set would require separate tooling of several hundred dollars.  Please sign the interest form if you have not done so already, if you will not accept any other set than the particular ISO set that you want.

You can also order these sets in dark gray and blue.  You may want to mix and match a blue/gray set; to do this please order 2 sets, one of each color.  I’m only making 6 dark gray and 30 blue sets, so they are priced accordingly; the pricing is accurate as shown.

Other key sets, individual keys, front printed keys, stepped keys, and printing in colors other than white will not be available to order at this time.  There are no additional keys to fill the F122, no Extras, Icons, Ortholinear, Mopar Blue, F13-F24 etc.  Given the high tooling costs mentioned above for each tray.  Sign the Google form linked above if you want these additional keys or colors, if you have not already signed.  For a color other than white, you’ll need to commit to pay several hundred dollars in setup costs).  If you like stepped caps lock, your best option would be to use the 1.5U Caps Lock key in that 1.75U key position.

The pictured Apple/Mac 6 key set is not included unless you choose the key set option with this set.  Each pad print operation prints half of this set (3 keys) so quantity is limited.  The set can be purchased separately as well.

Cosmetic defects, wear:  Pad printed key legends are not as sharp as dye sublimated.  The process involves transporting wet ink on silicone pads and stamping them on keycaps, and then covering the ink with a clear protective layer.  All keys will be delivered to you with cosmetic defects including fuzzy printing and surface marks, and due to the limitations of pad print technology, all pad printing starts wearing quickly, the very first time you touch each key.  You will see noticeable wear to pad printed keys in the first weeks, months, and years of typing, more so on the frequently used keys.  For this reason of fast wear, I recommend purchasing more than one key set while they are still available, because they may never be made again.  View all the listing photos for a reference of what you may receive, with the understanding that your keys may look better or worse than what is pictured, and you agree to accept that your keys may vary from the appearance of the pictured keys.

Fuzziness:  My objective with this pad print project was to maximize durability; the tradeoff is in the cosmetic appearance of the legends.  Due to the higher texture of these top surfaces of the keycaps and the limitations of how pad printing is done (see above paragraph), the use of more ink to create a thicker result compared to the light IBM printing, and the special abrasion-resistant ink used, the result is a less precise, more fuzzy appearance to the legends, as shown in the detailed images.  Most folks will never stare at each keycap from a few inches away or even notice the difference; something not normally done while typing!  The special abrasion-resistant ink just can’t stay in place given the higher texture of these keys compared to the Model M keys, in addition to the strong curve of the key top not providing a flat surface for wet ink to dry.  This was less of an issue with the Model M pad printed keys which by that time had a much more worn mold surface for the key top texture.  Keep in mind that the photos show the keys enlarged on your computer screen by 10, 20, or 30 times their actual size, so the actual ink droplets and fuzziness will be far more visible at such huge magnification compared to when you are looking at the keys from a normal typing position.  The factory is one of the ones that make the millions of pad printed keyboards for HP and Acer, so they know what they are doing, but my requirement to maximize abrasion resistance at all costs resulted in some tradeoffs (keep in mind, maximum abrasion resistance doesn’t mean the sets won’t wear as soon as you start typing, and noticeably – they will for sure).  They may use a little less ink for the remaining production units, so your set may look different.  However, this may improve for the final production batch after the initial 25 already-produced key sets (the factory is looking into the options).

Not IBM Quality:  The legends will not look as nice and sharp as most other pad printed or dye sublimated legends, even though my hope is that they exceed IBM’s durability.  These caps are not considered “IBM quality” like the XT quality dye sublimated caps made for this new Model F keyboards project.  If you prefer sharp, thin legends that wear down quickly after usage, you can purchase an original Model M 13H6705 for $1,000.

Surface marks:  for whatever reason, the black keycaps tend to show more top surface marks created during the injection molding process and handling.  All keycaps will show these marks, which may not be as visible from all angles and in all photos, so by ordering you agree to accept that your set will have noticeable surface marks and other cosmetic defects, which are all considered acceptable.  I expect that these caps will be easier to mar.

Does not ship free with existing US orders:  USA addresses must pay for the separate shipping due to the uncertain delivery timeline, even if it ends up shipping with another order of yours that you paid shipping for already.  It’s $10.  Do not pick “free/other shipping” at checkout.

International addresses:  you can add this to an existing shipment, though due to the uncertain timeline it may delay your other order.  For the separate international shipping charge so as not to delay your order, please order 29 units of the store item $1 increments and choose free/other shipping at checkout, right before clicking Place Order. This is a flat rate, good for up to 3 pounds in shipping weight, so feel free to order additional extras to get the most value out of the shipping cost.

Note: Legal, safety, and limited warranty information for this MODEL F LABS LLC product is available to consumers pre-sale and will be furnished upon request, by writing to the email or mailing address at the bottom of this web page.