DSS Late Harvest is a custom keycap set in the DSS profile that combines a classic grey & white pairing with a muted, autumnal approach to vintage RGB mods. It consists of a large base kit that provides physical compatibility for a wide range of mainstream and exotic MX-compatible boards along with three child kits for additional color & language options.
DSS Late Harvest keycaps will be made with doubleshot ABS plastic and manufactured by Signature Plastics.
This keyset is my second custom keyset GB (Group Buy), following the success of KAT Napoleonic. Misono, who is currently in the midst of her own SA Magica GB, created all renders for DSS Late Harvest and designed the deskmat.
The Group Buy for DSS Late Harvest runs from April 12th to May 19th, 2021.
Quick Links
| This Site | https://nopunin10did.com/dss-late-harvest/ |
| Discord | NoPunIn10Key |
| Geekhack | Group Buy Thread |
Vendors
DSS Late Harvest preorders will be open from April 12th until May 19th. Shipping to customers is estimated for October 2021.
- United States – MKUltra
- Europe – mykeyboard.eu
- Canada – Ashkeebs
- UK – Protozoa Studio
- Singapore / SEA – HEX Keyboards
- Chile – Fancy Customs
- Ukraine – Funkeys
Pricing
| Kit | MOQ | MK Ultra (USD) | MyKeyboard (EUR) | Ashkeebs (CAD) | Protozoa (GBP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Kit | 250 | 135.00 | 136,00 | 174.00 | 118.00 |
| Grey Kit | 100 | 34.00 | 34,00 | 43.00 | 30.00 |
| Spätlese Kit (NorDe) | 25 | 19.00 | 19,00 | 24.00 | 17.00 |
| Novelties Kit | 100 | 9.00 | 9,00 | 12.00 | 8.00 |
| Deskmat | 50 | 22.00 | 22,00 | 29.00 | 20.00 |
| Kit | MOQ | HEX Keyboards (SGD) | Fancy Customs (CLP) | Funkeys (UAH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Kit | 250 | 190.00 | 110.000 | 4000 |
| Grey Kit | 100 | 50.00 | 30.000 | 1000 |
| Spätlese Kit (NorDe) | 25 | 30.00 | 20.000 | 600 |
| Novelties Kit | 100 | 17.00 | 10.000 | 300 |
| Deskmat | 50 | 30.00 | 24.990 | 800 |
Kits & Contents
DSS Late Harvest Base Kit Diagram (Up-to-date) 
DSS Late Harvest Base Kit Render by Misono (Outdated)
DSS Late Harvest is structured as a base kit with three optional child kits. Using a combination of both popular and agnostic modifier legends, the base kit provides wide physical compatibility with a large array of keyboard types, including:
- Full-size
- Tenkeyless
- 60/65/75%
- 1800s
- US ANSI & UK ISO alpha layouts
- Split / Alice
- Ortholinear (e.g. Planck & Preonic)
- 40% (e.g. Minivan & Cajal)
- Ergo (e.g. Ergodox, Boardwalk, & Sol)
Child Kits
Two child kits for Late Harvest focus on additional aesthetic options, and one provides wider localization support.
Grey Kit
The Grey Kit contains grey-colored versions of the accent-colored keys from base along with an additional R3 Stepped key with an agnostic legend.
Spätlese Kit (NorDe)
The Spätlese Kit provides “NorDe” support. It provides the additional legends used by the the German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, & Fareoese layouts.
Spätlese, which literally means “Late Harvest” in German, is a wine grown along the western rivers of Germany. Legend has it that this wine’s invention came about by accident. A courier carrying orders from the Bishop of Fulda to begin the harvest was delayed by 14 days; the grapes succumbed to “noble rot” before the late harvest and yielded an unexpectedly good wine (Spätlese on Wikipedia).
Novelties Kit
The Novelties Kit for Late Harvest is intentionally small and should be priced very competitively. The first novelty design is based on an image of Riesling grapes, a common grape used in Spätlese and other late harvest wines.
The other design is based on the Eurasian red squirrel. The red squirrel, or Eichhörnchen, is common throughout Germany, including the winemaking regions. It differs from North American squirrels in part because of its little tufts of hair that resemble horns.
While these designs technically meet Signature Plastics’ official specifications for legends, both novelty designs are likely to be tweaked prior to production.
Obtaining Further Spacebars
The kitting for Late Harvest does not currently offer a distinct spacebar kit for alternative spacebar sizes. Signature Plastics does not currently manufacture convex spacebars in the DSS profile that are typically used in split and nonstandard keyboards. Because of the uniform nature of DSA and its structural similarity to DSS, concave DSA blanks are provided in the base kit as a reasonable alternative for several common sizes.
If you require other sizes of bars, please refer to Signature Plastics’ own Pimpmykeyboard storefront, where a wider range of DSA blanks and DSA spacebars are regularly available.
Updated Renders
Please remember that the color standards, not the renders, will be used as the primary basis for colormatching. As for legend sizing, please refer to photographs of SP’s DSS Dolch keyset to see how the alphas and mod text look on actual DSS keys.
D60 Lite
D60 Lite by KbdFans. Renders by Bregoli.
Nemui
Nemui in red-brown by Bachoo. Renders by iinko.
Maja
Maja by KbdFans. Renders by Bregoli.
Boston 120
Boston 120 by Pylon. Renders by iinko.
“Harvest Moon”
“Swiss” keyboard, Lunar edition. Board design & render by Bregoli.
Concept Art
In addition to the three-dimensional renders (below), I have begun putting together some nonphotorealistic art that shows off DSS Late Harvest. Please note that these are not realistic renders. As with the renders, the legends will not match these exactly. You can see real-world photographs of DSS text legends on DSS Dolch, for example.
Original Renders
Please remember that the color standards, not the renders, will be used as the primary basis for colormatching. As for legend sizing, please refer to photographs of SP’s DSS Dolch keyset to see how the alphas and mod text look on actual DSS keys.
M65A
M65A in rose gold by Rama Works. Renders by Misono.
MOLLY
MOLLY (M0llY) by BlindAssassin111 & TheKeyCompany. Renders by Misono.
Sol 3
Sol 3 by RGBKB. The group buy for Sol 3 starts May 1st! Renders by Misono.
Prime_E
Prime_E PCB by Prime Keyboards. Custom case by Misono. Renders by Misono.
SP-111
SP-111 split full-size keyboard by BlindAssassin111 and TheKeyCompany. Renders by Misono.
Karina
A pair of Karina keyboards, as designed by Misono. Renders by Misono.
Klippe S / Boardwalk
Mekanisk Klippe S case with Boardwalk PCB by Shensmobile & MK Ultra. Renders by Misono.
Ribbon
Ribbon keyboard by Misono (upcoming project). Renders by Misono.
Deskmat
DSS Late Harvest Deskmat, design & render by Misono
This 900x400x4mm autumn-themed deskmat was designed by Misono and features the Late Harvest accent colors on a neutral background. Render by Misono.
Color Standards
DSS Late Harvest Color Standards. Grey and white will be Signature Plastics’ stock colors GSZ and WA. The red, olive, and blue colors will be matched to RAL 8015, RAL 090 30 20, and RAL 260 30 20.
Colors shown in keyboard renders and diagrams should not be treated as accurate representations of final keycap colors. Manufacturer samples of the three custom colors will be checked against physical color decks of the RAL standards above. Be aware that some variation is always possible, and these colors are not guaranteed to be exact.
Comparison to DSS Honeywell
DSS Late Harvest has drawn some comparisons to Honeywell for the use of grey, white, and red. DSS Honeywell is an implementation of the classic Honeywell color scheme in DSS profile. It was produced by Prime Keyboards, and it consisted of a comprehensive kit for a variety of 40% keyboards.
Below is a comparison of the two colorways’ specs.
About DSS
DSS is a keycap profile created by the company that would become Signature Plastics. It was designed in the mid-80s to meet the DIN standards (Deutsches Institut für Normung). While DSS was not initially very popular, it became the basis of the successful uniform DSA profile (Source).
DSS keycaps have spherical top surfaces nearly identical to those of DSA. However, as seen in the images above, the heights and angles of the top surfaces vary by row. The overall pattern of these heights and angles resemble Cherry profile, though in practice DSS feels quite different.
DSS Late Harvest will use an R3 bottom row, which matches the overall angle and height of the convex spacebars and is not as sharply angled as R4.
DSS keycaps are only available in ABS plastic. DSS tends to be more noticeably textured than other keycap profiles. The somewhat rougher feel of the caps may not be a common preference, but personally I find that texture quite enjoyable. The unique feel and sculpt of DSS make it one of my favorite keycap profiles, and I am excited about the possibility of more DSS group buys on the horizon.
Rendering DSS via KeyV2
One of the reasons that DSS custom sets have been so sparse is that until recently, there wasn’t a way to render them in a reasonable fashion. The original DSS moulds had been created long enough ago that Signature Plastics haven’t been able to provide digital models and geometry for the profile. However, in the past year, DSS rendering has become possible using KeyV2.
KeyV2 is an open source project that uses OpenSCAD to generate keycap STEP files parametrically. As part of a collaboration with github user colegleason, I assisted with porting the Signature Plastics’ specifications for the DSS profile to KeyV2, and I used the tool to produce 3D models for most of the sizes of keycaps available for the profile.
Misono has been one of the first 3D artists to create renders using these often-difficult-to-work-with models. They are the best digital models of the DSS profile currently available, but it is important to note that they are still approximations. Likewise, the legends shown in renders are based on common text mods and alphas for DSA / DSS as manufactured by Signature Plastics, but they too contain several inaccuracies. For better examples of how DSS legends and keys look in reality, please check out the product listings DSS Dolch and DSS Tecla (note that Dolch uses a different bottom row than Late Harvest).
Update 02 May 2021: DSS Render Improvements!
As a result of some amazing work by ImperfectLink, we now have much better DSS models in Keyboard Render Kit for Blender. I have contracted with other render artists to make some fresh, new renders for Late Harvest. I am very excited with the results!
About RGB Mods
Modern custom keysets tend to follow a few common patterns in regard to which keys are colored in which way. Alpha keys have one colorway, modifier keys have yet another, while other keys receive optional accents. Accent keys tend to include Escape and Enter keys by default, with accented spacebars and arrow keys provided as further options. There are other common patterns that break these conventions (particularly with regard to gradients), but the paradigm of accented Escape & Enter holds strong and is likely to continue.
DSS Late Harvest came about as part of an experiment to try and follow an alternate accent paradigm. It was based in part on the concept of “RGB mods,” whereby the Shift, Control, and Alt keys are all color-coded. Per Originative Company, which sells several variations on RGB mods in Cherry profile, this accent scheme was introduced by the Desko BMLO series of keyboards.
Starting with the BMLO series in the late 1980’s, Desko produced vivid red-, green-, and blue-colored modifier keys in order to help airline employees learn to use their computer systems. Since then, RGB keysets have become one of the most popular and sought-after items for modern keyboard enthusiasts.
Product Description for Desko Blank RGBY addon. Originative Company. Last accessed: 26 Jan 2021.
https://www.originativeco.com/products/pbt-blank-rgby
There have been other custom keysets that take a new spin on the concept of RGB mods, sometimes adding color to the Windows/Super/Command keys as well. For example, GMK Prepress (designed by HungHingDaiLo) provided an optional Tradition Kit containing custom-legend Shift, Control, and Alt keys (with custom legends) in yellow, magenta, and cyan.
DSS Late Harvest follows the original Desko RGB paradigm but with more muted, autumnal tones: red-brown for the Control keys, dark blue for the Alt keys, and olive for the Shift keys. Additionally, one olive-colored Function key is provided to keep this color scheme intact on HHKB-style boards.
Links & Contact
The best way to get in touch with me is via my Discord server (linked below). Please feel free to ask questions and provide suggestions there or on the linked Geekhack thread.
| Main Site | https://nopunin10did.com/dss-late-harvest/ |
| Discord | NoPunIn10Key |
| Geekhack | Group Buy Thread |
| u/DiplomacyPunIn10Did |
NoPunIn10Did 