How long do I have to wait?

The typical turnaround time for our Typewriter Keyboards is roughly 4-5 weeks from order to arrival for one of the “standard” models on the front-end website. If you would like a keyboard with a shorter delivery time, please check on Amazon.com for “Prime” shipping on select pre-made items.

The typical turnaround time for our Monitors is roughly 4 months from order to arrival. We generally consider every monitor order to be a custom order.

The typical turnaround time for our Typewriter Keycaps is approximately 2 weeks from order to arrival. Usually we can ship these items within 1 business day if they are in “US English” layout. Other languages and layouts can and most likely will take longer.

The turnaround time for any of our Wooden Cases is dependent on the current group buy. Whenever we do a production run of wooden cases we make a small batch of extras that we can send out within a few business days of being ordered. Once we run out of these extras we add orders to the production queue for the production run that we are currently doing.

We’re only human, though, and sometimes things happen which can delay an order, like a shop machine needing repairs or a part suddenly going out of stock or getting discontinued, causing us to scramble to find a replacement. Our products are made to order, and due to the high number of custom options we offer, we don’t often “build ahead”, so try to view your purchase more as an art commission, rather than a standard purchase of an item off a shelf.

What about custom commissions?

We are a small shop with limited bandwidth and high demand, so the STARTING QUOTE for the timeline on all CUSTOM work is 6 MONTHS. We are not a massive factory. We are a small handful of artists in a workshop and we build custom items unlike anything else in the world, so there is no blueprint or instruction sheet for what we do. Custom fabrication is an intensive process, both mentally and logistically, and takes time. Sometimes this time is spent waiting for other vendors to deliver outsourced parts, sometimes it is spent re-ordering materials 3 or 4 times until we find the perfect fit, and sometimes it is spent sticking the item on a shelf and staring at it blankly for a week or two, incubating on ideas until the perfect design or solution pops into our heads. If this seems timeline does not work for you, then please consider purchasing one of our more standardized items from off of the website. We still offer many different customization options on our standard models.

Can I get a keyboard for my Mac?

Yes, you can, but there are a couple of things you need to know. Our keyboards are multi-OS USB units and will technically work on anything with USB connectivity. Our keyboards come with a configurable dip switch at the bottom that has compatibility for Mac and Linux layouts. The user will have to, depending on the Mac OS version you are using, physically swap the “Operating System” keycaps and “Alt” keycaps or do so in Mac keyboard settings.

Our keyboards also do not have USB hubs in them like some Mac keyboards, so you will likely have to run your mouse cable down to the PC instead instead of plugging it directly into the keyboard.

Mac also only utilizes 1 out of the 3 standard PC keyboard lock functions, so the “Scroll Lock” and “Num Lock” indicators will never light up when used on a Mac operating system. Only “Caps Lock” will function normally.

For text input and average day-to-day use, our keyboards will work fine on a Mac, but there may be some other small adjustments Mac users would like. For instance a shortcut function might be located on F13 now instead of F14, etc. Third party software called Karabiner can map some of the native Mac hotkeys to the keyboard.

What languages are available?

We currently offer 10 languages in 104-key(ANSI) and 105-key(ISO) layouts. 105-key layouts will take slightly longer to build. The full list includes:












It should be noted that keyboard languages can be changed within your operating system (Windows and Mac) as well. So any 105-key keyboard can be used as any 105-key language within the operating system, with the labels of the keycaps themselves having the labels for the original language.

What do the keys feel/sound like?

Our keyboards use Cherry MX Blue mechanical switches by default. The mechanical keys give the keyboards a tactile “click” or “snap” to them, which lends itself nicely to the “typewriter” theme of the keys and provides a nice sense of touch-feedback. They are slightly louder than a membrane keyboard, but not obnoxiously so.

Can you tell me what “mechanical switch” actually means?

Most “soft-touch” style keyboards (like the one they give you for free when you buy a new PC) are called “membrane” keyboards, meaning that, underneath the keys are two thin plastic sheets, or “membranes”, that each have half a circuit printed on them with a conductive material. When you press a key down, the key squishes these two flimsy membranes together, which momentarily connects the two halves of the circuit. This design is effective and cheap but not very robust and is very vulnerable to dirt, dust, liquids, aging, and is not exactly supposed to last anyone more than a year or two. Datamancer Keyboards are “mechanical switch” (Cherry MX) designs, meaning there is a separate physical electronic switch on each key which provides a much more reliable connection and is rated to industrial specifications (something like “over 20 million” duty cycles, or key presses). Comparable retail keyboards are the Matias Tactile Pro and the Das Keyboard.

How are the ergonomics of the keyboards?

A number of our customers are writers and computer professionals who use their keyboards all day long with no complaints. Some say the typewriter keys take a little getting used to, but once they are used to them they can type at their regular speed with little to no distinguishable difference in typing accuracy.


Our keyboards generally do sit a little bit higher than a normal keyboard, so if you are very particular about your keyboard ergonomics you might want to use a wrist rest with the keyboard.

What’s the connection format?

All of our Keyboards are USB 2.0 native and USB 3.0 compatible.

Are the keyboards wireless?

Unfortunately not. Mechanical keyboards and wireless connectivity don’t mesh too well. While there are “Wireless Mechanical Keyboards”, it’s still relatively hard to find. Possibly in the future we will offer wireless as an option.

I have questions that are not answered here or I want to make a custom order. How can I contact you?

Click here to contact us. We respond to every email we receive within a few days. Responses can take longer when inquiry volume is high but rest assured we will respond. If we do not respond to you within a week of your inquiry, then something probably went wrong and we didn’t get the message, then you can try contacting us again.