Keypuller.com, key caps gallery and database

matt3o · 14 Jul 2014, 10:52

some of you may already know that I'm working on http://keypuller.com

it's in a very early development stage but I'm working on it steadily. The goal would be to catalog all keycaps ever produced... and of course I need your help if you fancy.

Let me know if you find errors both in the info or in the code. Also if you have ideas to make it better, please speak your mind.

The planned new features are:
- more lists, tables, search, filters (when we have more data)
- "like this", very important to make charts

- better RSS feeds
- documentation section
- and of course a submission form to contribute to the DB
- admins/mods to help review user's submissions
- featured galleries

I'm working on the submission form right now, in the meantime if you want to help I'm looking for good resolution photos for the keycaps. If you have photos please post them here and I will add them. Thanks!

The form should be ready in a couple of days, but If you want to add a new set or novelty key, just post it here (or send me a PM). The most important part (that takes time) is the description, while not mandatory is very nice to have a quick overview on what the keycap is about (fun facts, problems with production, where the inspiration came from, etc...). You just need to tell: title, color codes, description. Everything else I can figure it out (if you are lazy

)

A quick note about why I developed my own system instead of using the wiki.

Spoiler:

DanielT · 14 Jul 2014, 10:59

Cool

Here is one nice Novelty/Artisan Cap produce by Hammer, the GB was run by IMSTO on GH. Each cap was delivered in a custom bag with the Hammer logo on it.
This is my cap, the profile is OEM (function row), material is resin and on the the inside there is the "hammer" logo embossed.

Spoiler:

I will try and make nicer photos, including the bag, I'm not good at that but I'll try my best

Nuum · 14 Jul 2014, 11:00

How about a field for the printing method: dyesub, doubleshot, etc.? And maybe an alternate list mode instead of the big pictures, since this would be IMO better when there are more keyboards added. Maybe tiny images in a list:

Spoiler:

But an awesome idea!

matt3o · 14 Jul 2014, 11:04

DanielT wrote: ↑Cool
Here is one nice Novelty/Artisan Cap produce by Hammer, the GB was run by IMSTO on GH. Each cap was delivered in a custom bag with the Hammer logo on it.
This is my cap, the profile is OEM (function row), material is resin and on the the inside there is the "hammer" logo embossed.
Spoiler:
Hellboy.JPG
I will try and make nicer photos, including the bag, I'm not good at that but I'll try my best

cool, thanks! Do you have a picture of the custom bag?

do you know what kind of resin is that? was is pressure molded or simply cast?

Nuum wrote: ↑How about a field for the printing method: dyesub, doubleshot, etc.?
But an awesome idea!

yes, that's definitely needed. Not shown but already in the database I have: "designed by" and "switch type". The latter is pretty useless atm since we only have cherry mx.

Regarding the big list, it's in the pipeline, as soon as I get more sets (in the 50 range).

Nuum · 14 Jul 2014, 11:07

Ok, that's cool. Switch type is important, too, you are right. And/Or maybe key mount. If I understood that correctly, not only MX keycaps should be listed, but every keycap type?
And perhaps a naming convention, since e.g. Dolch could mean anything from DCS Dolch replica over DSA Dolch replica and GMK Dolch to the original Dolch PAC.
For keycaps sets there should be a category language layout.
Sorry, if I'm bombing you with input, but these things just occured to me.

matt3o · 14 Jul 2014, 11:16

Nuum wrote: ↑Ok, that's cool. Switch type is important, too, you are right. And/Or maybe key mount. If I understood that correctly, not only MX keycaps should be listed, but every keycap type?

yes, any keycap type, not just cherry mx. that is extremely important especially for the "reference" category.

I just want to add that this is not a keyboard database, we are concentrating just on the keycaps. The reference material is important so people understand what a "dolch replica" is.

Languages are also important, but I'd rather support that with a tag (such as "multilanguage"), instead of listing all of them in a field. I don't know.

DanielT · 14 Jul 2014, 11:16

I will make some detailed photos tonight both the cap and the bag. I don't know what type of resin was used, IMSTO gave no details. From the looks of it it seems to be cast. The quality is exceptional.

matt3o · 14 Jul 2014, 11:17

DanielT wrote: ↑I will make some detailed photos tonight both the cap and the bag. I don't know what type of resin was used, IMSTO gave no details. From the looks of it it seems to be cast. The quality is exceptional.

do you know how many have been done?

Nuum · 14 Jul 2014, 11:27

matt3o wrote: ↑
Nuum wrote: ↑I just want to add that this is not a keyboard database, we are concentrating just on the keycaps. The reference material is important so people understand what a "dolch replica" is.

Ok, I didn't know that this was just intended as a keycap database. I think you should give a source (the name of the keyboard) for old keycaps, so that interested people know what to search for in classifieds or ebay.

matt3o · 14 Jul 2014, 11:57

Added hellboy novelty key http://keypuller.com/hellboy/

DanielT · 14 Jul 2014, 12:06

Cool

I don't know the numbers, on IMSTO's site I saw something like 100pcs, but I can't be sure. There was also a Skull cap (Red and Black), but I don't have that one.

When the Galaxy Class will be shipped I will make some photos. There are some interesting facts regarding that set, first the printing which is Dye Sublimation but using a special silkscreen method with a special paper, and as far as I know, the first PBT set to use a custom PANTONE matched color for the orange caps.

Halvar · 14 Jul 2014, 12:30

That looks really great. Nice mobile-frienly design, too.

Maybe a category "partial sets" would make sense for things like SP Moogle kits or Ivan's purple GMK Modifier kit that are neither full kits nor novelty caps?

Also, a "manufacturer" field.

matt3o · 14 Jul 2014, 12:41

anything that is not a full set should probably go into novelty keys. manufacturer? yeah why not

edit: thinking about it... probably you are right re full/partial sets

Muirium · 14 Jul 2014, 13:04

I'll submit a few (well illustrated of course) non-MX keysets, most of which are from unknown (to me) manufacturers. Did IBM make its own caps? What about NMB? Or Apple?

Eszett · 14 Jul 2014, 18:21

Hi matt3o, nice project. When the aim of this database is to keep record of at least 50% to 80% of all keycaps ever produced, then someday it will be too much work to administer it anymore. I is simply too much data to shoot fancy fotos and write specifications of every single item. So my advice is, start this as a Wiki, where you leave the work to the contributers, who post pictures and specifications by themselves. You can "correct & revise" the data afterwards if you like. Make the upload fuction really easy without much hassle (only one or two clicks), then people will post freely.

matt3o · 14 Jul 2014, 18:23

my idea is to let people contribute, I'm working on a submit form for everyone to contribute. I can't work on it alone of course.

Muirium · 14 Jul 2014, 18:25

I'm fully in favour of this over a wiki. We already have a wiki, and the fact that so many of us contribute practically nothing to it (me included) shows that either there's something wrong with us, or something wrong with wikis. The solution to both problems is, conveniently, the same: try something else. And I like the look of this!

Daniel Beardsmore · 14 Jul 2014, 22:42

The standard of photography on that site is disturbingly high …

How would a photo such as this one work?

: RAFI keycaps -- engraved vs double-shot.jpg (169.13 KiB) Viewed 16772 times

I know the keyboard (Neve Necam 96 audio workstation keyboard), the switch (RAFI RS 74M), the keycap manufacturer (RAFI), and the printing methods. The keyboard does not use a single legend method — they're using stock moulds for the standard keys, and engraving for the custom keycaps. The profile is one of RAFI's own. The keycap mount might be Cortron — I'd have to measure it and get someone with Cortron keycaps to compare the measurements.

I never had space inside to take a photo of the whole keyboard, though I've since realised that I can do it outdoors, so maybe one day I'll get around to taking a photo of it all. (It's a bit tatty and I've destroyed at least one switch so far.)

Muirium · 14 Jul 2014, 22:46

Content trumps presentation. Those caps deserve a place!

matt3o · 15 Jul 2014, 00:30

wow, that's pure keycaps gold, Daniel.

every field is actually one-to-many, so you can have multiple colors/printing methods/manufacturers and so on. But I'd try to keep it as simple as possible, eg: 90% of the caps are double-shot? Go for it and work the exception in the description.

picture is fine by me. I've been extremely selective with pictures, but just because I wanted a fancy start. More "human" pictures are welcome.

Daniel Beardsmore · 15 Jul 2014, 00:39

I could probably shift the dirt out of the engraved keycaps; it served a purpose leaving it there for that photo (which is on the wiki and has been for a year) — you can see that engraved caps collect dirt while double-shots remain pristine.

The legends are split between the two printing methods:

: Necam 96.jpg (876.66 KiB) Viewed 16740 times

(Old photo I took last June when I got it. It's a horrible keyboard — the keys are stiff and have a nasty echoing clang. The insides though are as good as the day it was made.)

DanielT · 15 Jul 2014, 09:10

Made some photos with the custom bag and the Hellboy

Spoiler:

Soon I will have a very interesting novelty cap to show

matt3o · 15 Jul 2014, 09:21

just out of curiosity... the keycap is not licensed, right?

DanielT · 15 Jul 2014, 10:07

Well.... I don't think so. I have my doubts that Mike Mignola or Dark Horse Publishing even know about this ever being produced.

gioele · 15 Jul 2014, 10:19

About contributing: could you please specify under which licence the content is? In case user submissions are going to be accepted as well, could the so called CC-Wiki (CC-BY-SA) be used?

matt3o · 15 Jul 2014, 10:20

This is the license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

I will add a note about it in today's update. (I might strip NC actually to make it more compatible with other projects)

noobie94 · 15 Jul 2014, 10:25

What´s the purpose of this site? To make people jelly who don´t have them?

Good luck!

and thanks for the effort and the information!

gioele · 15 Jul 2014, 10:25

matt3o wrote: ↑I might strip NC actually to make it more compatible with other projects)

Yes please: NC means that the text and images cannot be shared or copied from and to Wikipedia.

Madhias · 15 Jul 2014, 10:37

DanielT wrote: ↑Made some photos with the custom bag and the Hellboy
Spoiler:
Hellboy_2.JPG

Hellboy_1.JPG
Soon I will have a very interesting novelty cap to show

I have also made some pictures when i received mine. Especially to see the back. The caps don't really look like artisan caps, more like made by industry.

matt3o · 15 Jul 2014, 10:56

gioele wrote: ↑
matt3o wrote: ↑I might strip NC actually to make it more compatible with other projects)
Yes please: NC means that the text and images cannot be shared or copied from and to Wikipedia.

yep, right.

madhias wrote: ↑
DanielT wrote: ↑Made some photos with the custom bag and the Hellboy
Spoiler:
Hellboy_2.JPG

Hellboy_1.JPG
Soon I will have a very interesting novelty cap to show
I have also made some pictures when i received mine. Especially to see the back. The caps don't really look like artisan caps, more like made by industry.

I want that picture!

bigger res pleaaaase