Help finding perfect Arabic/English layout!
- Ace
- §
- Location: TX, USA
- Main mouse: Magic Mouse/Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Membrane Buckling Spring
- DT Pro Member: -
Now looking for a layout template for the Cherry G81-3000SAA. Is it somewhere in the database?
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Etsy making superb keycaps over at the less-than-confidently named website “DecentKeyboards”. I’ve recently grown rather fond of his English/Japanese set. Craving something more unique yet still, I asked if he could make an Arabic version of a similar style. As I expected, the answer was no (unless I could dictate word-for-word how I wanted it to turn out, which is what I'm now trying to do). I've recently purchased an SSK with a bright green underlay, and thought that the particular colors used on the Japo-English caps would work well, with some contrasting and popping out and the rest matching. Essentially, I want an Arabic layout that will fit onto the canvas Etsy has already set-up.
Now, there's a part of me that's not sure whether I should be going ahead with this at all. I'm sure the caps will be fine (I'd be impressed if anyone here knew any place that made BS caps superior to Etsy's. Seriously though. If there's a place, tell me). It's more the Arabic part that worries me. If you closely examine the pictures of the Japo-English set, you'll notice that crafting the eastern script took skill. The maker would need to know Calligraphy. And as someone who'd been surrounded by the skill for a great while, I assure you: He does.
That's were the problem comes in. You've all heard, I'm sure, of Islamic calligraphy? It takes a bit of skill..........
Now I know that writing a character is no where near as difficult, but I have this fear that the Persian script may not look quite so grand if someone inexperienced attempted to write it. Of course, it can easily be argued that the opposite is true. That Etsy's pervious experience will help him in writing down the characters. Let me know if you feel this will be a problem, or if I'm just being paranoid.
I plan on using this board a lot. For everything from typing to gaming to actually using the Persian characters. Do you think the board (SSK) and caps will be able to keep up?
Last concern: If I'm paying someone to create a custom keycap set that hasn't ever been made before, should I use an existing set as a template?
For the sake of organization, allow me to recap:
1. Help me find an Arabic/English layout that matches the style of Japo-English set. (Black English characters, green Arabic ones, and a few red Arabic ones).
2. Should I be worried about Etsy being able to create these caps, or no?
3. Will the caps and board withstand constant (and in some cases abusive) use?
4. Should I base my custom set off of an existing one, or try to come up with an entirely new style?
5. How does that SSK with the underlay look? (Yes, I just threw this one in).
6. What do you think of this project overall?
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Etsy making superb keycaps over at the less-than-confidently named website “DecentKeyboards”. I’ve recently grown rather fond of his English/Japanese set. Craving something more unique yet still, I asked if he could make an Arabic version of a similar style. As I expected, the answer was no (unless I could dictate word-for-word how I wanted it to turn out, which is what I'm now trying to do). I've recently purchased an SSK with a bright green underlay, and thought that the particular colors used on the Japo-English caps would work well, with some contrasting and popping out and the rest matching. Essentially, I want an Arabic layout that will fit onto the canvas Etsy has already set-up.
Now, there's a part of me that's not sure whether I should be going ahead with this at all. I'm sure the caps will be fine (I'd be impressed if anyone here knew any place that made BS caps superior to Etsy's. Seriously though. If there's a place, tell me). It's more the Arabic part that worries me. If you closely examine the pictures of the Japo-English set, you'll notice that crafting the eastern script took skill. The maker would need to know Calligraphy. And as someone who'd been surrounded by the skill for a great while, I assure you: He does.
That's were the problem comes in. You've all heard, I'm sure, of Islamic calligraphy? It takes a bit of skill..........
Now I know that writing a character is no where near as difficult, but I have this fear that the Persian script may not look quite so grand if someone inexperienced attempted to write it. Of course, it can easily be argued that the opposite is true. That Etsy's pervious experience will help him in writing down the characters. Let me know if you feel this will be a problem, or if I'm just being paranoid.
I plan on using this board a lot. For everything from typing to gaming to actually using the Persian characters. Do you think the board (SSK) and caps will be able to keep up?
Last concern: If I'm paying someone to create a custom keycap set that hasn't ever been made before, should I use an existing set as a template?
For the sake of organization, allow me to recap:
1. Help me find an Arabic/English layout that matches the style of Japo-English set. (Black English characters, green Arabic ones, and a few red Arabic ones).
2. Should I be worried about Etsy being able to create these caps, or no?
3. Will the caps and board withstand constant (and in some cases abusive) use?
4. Should I base my custom set off of an existing one, or try to come up with an entirely new style?
5. How does that SSK with the underlay look? (Yes, I just threw this one in).
6. What do you think of this project overall?
Last edited by Ace on 19 Apr 2015, 22:59, edited 3 times in total.
- Nuum
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: KBD8X Mk I (60g Clears), Phantom (Nixdorf Blacks)
- Main mouse: Corsair M65 PRO RGB
- Favorite switch: 60g MX Clears/Brown Alps/Buckling spring
- DT Pro Member: 0084
Etsy is just the platform BTW, like Ebay/Amazon Marketplace but for hand-made stuff, the seller is DecentKeyboards.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
Yeah, timezones definitely affect DT with our Europe-heavy membership. Being 8 hours west of my usual place, the forum feels quite different. No late night action!
Anyway you're not selling a Realforce, what do you expect?
Anyway you're not selling a Realforce, what do you expect?
- XMIT
- [ XMIT ]
- Location: Austin, TX area
- Main keyboard: XMIT Hall Effect
- Main mouse: CST L-Trac Trackball
- Favorite switch: XMIT 60g Tactile Hall Effect
- DT Pro Member: 0093
I wonder how much dye-sublimation tooling costs? That would solve so many of my keycap problems and create a host of new problems...
- photekq
- Cherry Picker
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Various Cherry Corp keyboards
- Main mouse: Razer Deathadder (1st gen)
- Favorite switch: Nixdorf 'Soft Touch' MX Black (55g springs)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
It's not green/red but I think Cherry G81-3000SAA is the prettiest set of Arabic keycaps. Dyesub thick PBT too! Only the best.
It's a shame they're incredibly, incredibly rare.
It's a shame they're incredibly, incredibly rare.
-
- Location: USA
- Main keyboard: KBC Poker MX Red
- Main mouse: Logitech MX Revolution
- Favorite switch: MX Red
- DT Pro Member: -
Not the colorscheme you are looking for, but IBM did apparently make Arabic so you could hunt one of them down instead... or I suppose maybe if you can find some high res enough photos for the maker to copy it from?
Or, I don't see why you can't simply supply them with a font file you like and they use that for dyesub. There should be no need to hand draw them really, just convert the font characters to vector or whatever they need for their process.
While dyesub printers aren't necessarily expensive in general, like some of the smaller professional grade units for photo/poster printing, textiles, and etc are pretty 'affordable' in the $2K-5Kish range... it's the type that can print on thick arbitrary shaped objects of varying materials where the price jumps way up into the $20K+ range.
Or, I don't see why you can't simply supply them with a font file you like and they use that for dyesub. There should be no need to hand draw them really, just convert the font characters to vector or whatever they need for their process.
While dyesub printers aren't necessarily expensive in general, like some of the smaller professional grade units for photo/poster printing, textiles, and etc are pretty 'affordable' in the $2K-5Kish range... it's the type that can print on thick arbitrary shaped objects of varying materials where the price jumps way up into the $20K+ range.
Last edited by IvanIvanovich on 16 Apr 2015, 20:57, edited 1 time in total.
- Ace
- §
- Location: TX, USA
- Main mouse: Magic Mouse/Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Membrane Buckling Spring
- DT Pro Member: -
Those are................amongst the most beautiful caps I've ever seen. But they are Cherry sets, and extremely rare ones that that, so no IBM action.
I've gotten some more specific instructions to design a layout for the seller to follow. I'll post those templates when I get home. But I know I need a font for him to follow. If anyone has any suggestions for a suitable Arabic font, please do tell. I'll make sure to search my massive font collection today. But knowing myself, I'd probably select one that's pretty and too brail/thick for keycaps.
EDIT: IBM's original set is just.................bland. It lacks............life. But it may be due to the photographer's lighting.........hmmmm.
I've gotten some more specific instructions to design a layout for the seller to follow. I'll post those templates when I get home. But I know I need a font for him to follow. If anyone has any suggestions for a suitable Arabic font, please do tell. I'll make sure to search my massive font collection today. But knowing myself, I'd probably select one that's pretty and too brail/thick for keycaps.
EDIT: IBM's original set is just.................bland. It lacks............life. But it may be due to the photographer's lighting.........hmmmm.
Last edited by Ace on 16 Apr 2015, 20:57, edited 1 time in total.
- photekq
- Cherry Picker
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Various Cherry Corp keyboards
- Main mouse: Razer Deathadder (1st gen)
- Favorite switch: Nixdorf 'Soft Touch' MX Black (55g springs)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
I read your entire OP and yet I managed to miss every mention of IBM, then proceeded to assume it was Cherry you wanted.. Silly meAce wrote: ↑Those are................amongst the most beautiful caps I've ever seen. But they are Cherry sets, and extremely rare ones that that, so no IBM action.
- Ace
- §
- Location: TX, USA
- Main mouse: Magic Mouse/Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Membrane Buckling Spring
- DT Pro Member: -
That's cool. (That's teenager talk for "that's okay")
At least I have a great set available for future gaming dedicated boards (which practically need raw linear lightness). Assuming I can find a set, of course.
At least I have a great set available for future gaming dedicated boards (which practically need raw linear lightness). Assuming I can find a set, of course.
- Ace
- §
- Location: TX, USA
- Main mouse: Magic Mouse/Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Membrane Buckling Spring
- DT Pro Member: -
You're the biggest Cherry enthusiast around here. Do you, by chance, have a template of the caps? With a little bit of modification, I could set it equal to that of an SSK.photekq wrote: ↑I think Cherry G81-3000SAA is the prettiest set of Arabic keycaps.
EDIT: I'll post some SSK templates (both filled and empty) when I get home.
- photekq
- Cherry Picker
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Various Cherry Corp keyboards
- Main mouse: Razer Deathadder (1st gen)
- Favorite switch: Nixdorf 'Soft Touch' MX Black (55g springs)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
I do not, sorry. I've never owned a SAA, unfortunately.
- HzFaq
- Location: Windsor, UK
- Main keyboard: Phantom
- Main mouse: CST L-Trac
- Favorite switch: MX Clears
- DT Pro Member: -
This was what I was referring too, turns out my memory was a bit off...
http://deskthority.net/ebay-de-f68/cher ... y%20arabic
http://deskthority.net/ebay-de-f68/cher ... y%20arabic
- kbdfr
- The Tiproman
- Location: Berlin, Germany
- Main keyboard: Tipro MID-QM-128A + two Tipro matrix modules
- Main mouse: Contour Rollermouse Pro
- Favorite switch: Cherry black
- DT Pro Member: 0010
Perhaps you could try reproducing one of these (in Italy):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221173290038
It should be possible to find an Italian proxy who could send you just the caps.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221173290038
It should be possible to find an Italian proxy who could send you just the caps.
- Ace
- §
- Location: TX, USA
- Main mouse: Magic Mouse/Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Membrane Buckling Spring
- DT Pro Member: -
More effort than it's worth. Besides that, I doubt I'd be successful in replicating the caps on my own. I'd have to send them to the seller, and that would be an extra fee on this already pricey commission.kbdfr wrote: ↑Perhaps you could try reproducing one of these (in Italy):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221173290038
- photekq
- Cherry Picker
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Various Cherry Corp keyboards
- Main mouse: Razer Deathadder (1st gen)
- Favorite switch: Nixdorf 'Soft Touch' MX Black (55g springs)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
It's Cherry font. You won't find it anywhere but on the SAA keycapsAce wrote: ↑Have majority of needed info. Desperately looking for the Arabic font used on the Cherry G81-3000SAA
- Ace
- §
- Location: TX, USA
- Main mouse: Magic Mouse/Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Membrane Buckling Spring
- DT Pro Member: -
Damn...........................................................................................................................
So................................any suggestions for replacement fonts?
So................................any suggestions for replacement fonts?