Round 5 and Round 6 kits for sale!

[Wodan]

Just keep on adding items. You can get your order number tattooed, it will stay the same. Like an account

[rominronin]

Are we there yet?

[SL89]

We're never there. This train never stops!

[7bit]

This is not true!


From time to time we stop in a railway station (pictured) and add or remove some carriages from the train.

[Sayso]

[zslane]

How can you not messs up a legend in Illustrator?
The key cap legendable area is 0.38"x0.38", so your file must contain some information about that, plus the legend must be in the appropriate size. How can you do this without using measures.

If you give that in whatever measure you think is right, SP might again scale it to fit on the key the way they think it is right.

When you deliver vector graphics (EPS or Illustrator) to SP, the graphics are in real-world sizes and coordinates. SP doesn't do any scaling because none is needed. A line which is 1.2 points in the file will cut a line 1.2 points wide on their machines. If the graphics you provide are the wrong size, they will request that you fix them yourself and resend them.

At least, that's what they did with me. They were concerned (convinced, even) that the F and T were too close together. But they didn't just try to "fix" the distances between F and T on their own. They asked me to fix it and send the graphics again. Of course, I just asked them to try it anyway, even if the experiment failed, and they consented. But they did nothing to the graphics I gave them except (basically) feed the vectors to their cutting machine's driver software and let it rip.

But they can't do that with SVG graphics. SVG files get rasterized according to implicit bounding boxes, a system which was designed for web browsers, not industrial cutting machines. The conversion to real-world values is fraught with error potential in ways that pure vector formats avoid all together.

[ischeinfeld]

I added SHIPTRACKED to my order, and I received an invoice including it, but it didn't show up in my last one. Should I just add it again?

[7bit]

Yes, please!

I had some little mis-fortune some days ago and I know someone ordered SHIPTRACKED. However, no other orders came in between backup and mis-fortune ...

[chanlol]

Alpha kit in HONEYB/TKL/CADET is gray or SPH?

[7bit]

Alpha kit in HONEYB/TKL/CADET is gray or SPH?

SPH-grey.

[mecano]

This is not true!


From time to time we stop in a railway station (pictured) and add or remove some carriages from the train.

This image is going to haunt me for a couple of days.

@zslane there are alternatives to illu$trator, freehand, inkscape and affinity designer are just a few. Do you have Adobe shares?

[zslane]

I speak of Illustrator for three reasons: it is an excellent package, it is what I use and know best, and it is what SP prefers.

[7bit]

Is it possible to generate illustrator files with commandline tools, so they can be generated by a script?


Here is the input file for an X:

Code: Select all

$VAR  L=  80
$VAR  T= 104
$MOVE (-L,-T)
$LINE ( L, T)
$MOVE ( L,-T)
$LINE (-L, T)

How does it look like in an illustrator input file?

[phinix]

SP status changed.

[7bit]

So, they produce now the rest of phase 1 ...

[Wodan]

So, they produce now the rest of phase 1 ...

Again

Next round GMK?

[eddible]

Ah, good to see Phase 2 move into production status though! They need to get these done so they can get cracking on my Jukebox ISO kit!

[SL89]

Good Morning DT, PayPal updates will be inbound later today.

[zslane]

Ah, good to see Phase 2 move into production status though! They need to get these done so they can get cracking on my Jukebox ISO kit!

I'm not sure what you mean by "move into production". Phase 2 is listed as "No completion date at this time."

[zslane]

Is it possible to generate illustrator files with commandline tools, so they can be generated by a script?


Here is the input file for an X:

Code: Select all

$VAR  L=  80
$VAR  T= 104
$MOVE (-L,-T)
$LINE ( L, T)
$MOVE ( L,-T)
$LINE (-L, T)

How does it look like in an illustrator input file?

What graphic file format is that supposed to be?

[7bit]

My own.


But the question was: How would the input look like in Illustrator?

[khongthenhuvay]

My own.


But the question was: How would the input look like in Illustrator?

I don't understand much about what is the "input" you need. But AI file based on EPS format which based on PostScript language. Is that the "input" you need?

[7bit]

My own.


But the question was: How would the input look like in Illustrator?

I don't understand much about what is the "input" you need. But AI file based on EPS format which based on PostScript language. Is that the "input" you need?

I've already tried PS and EPS files, and both have been rejected by SP. SVG works now, since I've found out what they want.

The point is that I need to generate the files automatically and I need to be able to easily enter the data to create the legends.

But if Illustrator is so great, how to make an X in Illustrator?

[eddible]

Ah, good to see Phase 2 move into production status though! They need to get these done so they can get cracking on my Jukebox ISO kit!

I'm not sure what you mean by "move into production". Phase 2 is listed as "No completion date at this time."

Yeah, but it is still listed as "In Production". Sure they don't know when they'll finish but it's good they're making a start.

[zslane]

Only Phase 1 is in production (the violet and cream keys, according to 7bit). Phase 2 is currently in limbo while 7bit attempts to acquire the funds necessary to pay SP for it.

[zslane]

But if Illustrator is so great, how to make an X in Illustrator?

Illustrator is a tool for graphic artists. Its interface and tools are designed for artists who draw things with their hands (using a mouse or pen tablet), rather than with code. To make an X you use the Line tool and drag out two crossing lines, using the grid and snapping modes to guarantee perfect alignment.

However, if using basic line and shape tools is too far outside your comfort zone, you can script Illustrator to procedurally generate shapes. You have a choice of three scripting languages, one which is Windows-specific (VBScript), one which is Mac-specific (ActionScript), and one which is platform independent (JavaScript). All the Adobe applications share the same basic DOM, so learning how to script for one goes a long way towards learning how to script them all.

Any way you look at it, though, you'd have to learn something new to make use of Illustrator.

[khongthenhuvay]

My own.


But the question was: How would the input look like in Illustrator?

I don't understand much about what is the "input" you need. But AI file based on EPS format which based on PostScript language. Is that the "input" you need?

I've already tried PS and EPS files, and both have been rejected by SP. SVG works now, since I've found out what they want.

The point is that I need to generate the files automatically and I need to be able to easily enter the data to create the legends.

But if Illustrator is so great, how to make an X in Illustrator?

Adobe has ExtendScript (based on Javascript) that can manipulate AI files. It can create layers, shapes, vectors, save to AI file, etc...

But I think you should implement an ExtendScript which open all your EPS files then save them as AI files. It's because IMHO ExtendScript isn't as mature as EPS and you already have auto generated EPS files.

[7bit]

The EPS graphics origined from TeXdraw, that is quite some time ago. No, I would love to generate AI files, except I don't know how.

Also: We should never forget that SP is fine with SVG files, except if they do it wrong and I don''t believe that they could not fuck up AI files the same way.

[zslane]

We're all human. We make mistakes. However, there are ways to minimize opportunities for mistakes to occur. Sending SVG files is not one of them, IMO. Sending AI files is.

I should qualify that: AI files which only contain vector elements. Placing raster graphics into an AI file, while certainly within the program's capabilities, defeats the whole point of sending vector descriptions of keycap legends.

[7bit]

Again: SP can mess up SVGs and AI files. But some secret magic prevents them from doing so with AI files.


Also: They did not mess up SVG files which came at 72dpi, so as long as I keep sending them the correct scale, they will work the same as AI files would, except that at my end I have the complete workflow under control, from the inputfiles (kit layout and glyphs) until the mockup graphics, order list and SVGs for creation of the legend tools.

Also: I don't want to recreate all of the legends I already did. This was quite some work to make 365 files.


This discussion is quite pointless, BTW, because I'm in the free software world and a tool such as Adobe Illustrator does not fit well into my environment.