Junana is not an one-size-fits-all thing.
Making PBT keycaps requires injection molding. The technology is for mass (usually several millions) production. The molds are quite expensive. By producing millions of pieces from a set of molds, the price per piece becomes quite cheap. So we live among billions of one-size-fits-all things which are produced by injection molding.
In most cases, it makes us happy enough. In some cases, not. I was not happy enough with one-size-fits-all thing in this case.
The objectives of Junana:
- 17 mm pitch
- low profile
- dye sublimation printable on all sides (except bottom) with reasonable price
These objectives have a price. Not only money, but also the feeling of touch and look. Honestly speaking, Junana keycap is filmsy. Low profile unavoidably results low stiffness. Sink mark is visible. It comes from thin top.
I will explain why these objectives worth the price.
17 mm pitch
Narrow pitched keycap is also good for common 19 mm pitch keyboards. The figure below shows a common case when you are making ergonomic-looking keyboards:
The center-to-center distance is 19 mm, but the keycaps interfere with each other.
Of course 17 mm pitch keyboards are also good. 19 mm pitch comes from the age of non-electric typewriters. In the age, professional typists should hit keys with adequate and even force. 19 mm pitch is good for such pianist-like manipulation. Many studies suggest a bit narrower pitch is better in current situation. Moreover, 17 mm pitch reduces the occupying space 20%!
Other cons of 17 mm pitch:
It looks sparse on 19 mm keyboards. On 17 mm:
On 19 mm:
Low profile
Smaller, lower, cheaper... They are good things as far as they don't cost much.
Low profile switches are available on the market. Kailh Choc V1 / V2, Gateron Low Profile, etc. But I didn't have white blank PBT keycaps to fit with them!
Many low profile switches have manufacturer's own mating system. Such system lacks an ecosystem which is large enough to pay the initial cost of injection molding. But Kailh Choc V2 and Gateron Low Profile have Cherry MX stem, so the keycaps fittable with them are also fittable with Cherry MX compatible keycaps. This is the choice of Junana.
(BTW I didn't check Cherry MX Low Profile yet)
Other cons of low profile:
It is irrelevant on Cherry MX compatible switches, and they are the majority of the market now.
Dye sublimation printable on all sides (except bottom) with reasonable price
I have ran DecentKeyboards for years. Again and again I asked white legends on colored keycap. You may not be interested in such thing, but I know the value.
With usual way (double shot), it requires 20,000 USD as initial cost. 3D dye sublimation can print on all sides, so it can make white legends on colored keycap. But the price per piece is 10 USD at least (if the keycap is common thing and the misalignment tolerance is under 0.5 mm).
Junana is carefully designed to achieve the objective.
Junana's height is low. This is partly because the low profile switches, and partly for the objective. Higher profile requires higher running cost.
The price of achievement is not limited to money. The feel of use can be a sacrifice. Junana has long skirt on the front side. This is for the feel of use. The figure below is a cross section of a keyboard with Junana:
When your finger moves from near to far (from left to right in the figure), sometimes your fingertip rubs the front side of keycap. I tested many 3D-printed prototypes and found the phenomenon. Without the skirt, the fingertip rubs the edge of a keycap and it is uncomfortable. If the keyboard is flat, it may be not a serious problem. But my P2PPCB is for 3D-shaped keyboards!
Moreover, the skirt is good to show front side color or legend, instead of showing switches. I am a maker of keycaps, not switches:-)
Other cons:
Front side printing is not very accurate. Look at the photos below:
It is the balance of accurary and running cost. If you are willing to pay much, I can do much better.
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