Keycaps from WASD

[mougrim]

I heard you can order custom keycaps set from WASD. But I can't find if they will be dye-sublimated or just pad-printed. Anyone knows which is it?

[danielucf]

I heard you can order custom keycaps set from WASD. But I can't find if they will be dye-sublimated or just pad-printed. Anyone knows which is it?

Lasered and engraved are the options I believe, and then they are "UV coated ABS keycaps for extremely durable legends and resistance to keycap wear."

[Megaweapon]

It looks like they are solely UV printed now:

http://support.wasdkeyboards.com/customer/portal/articles/1385384-uv-printing

"Laser etching and engraving is no longer available."

[mougrim]

Thank you. Hell, it seems only Unicomp can make due-sublimated keycaps for a decent price - but only for BS keyboards.

[BlueBär]

Matt3o is currently planning to do a dyesub GB, maybe that is something for you. Or are you looking for something custom?

[mougrim]

Matt3o is currently planning to do a dyesub GB, maybe that is something for you. Or are you looking for something custom?

Well, I need nice dyesub set in cyrillic layout for MX switches. Not now, but soon. 

[BlueBär]

Well, I need nice dyesub set in cyrillic layout for MX switches. Not now, but soon.

Afaik there was some interest in cyrillic second layer legends, not sure if he will offer that kit though, another option might be one of Imsto's dyesubs set, there was one with black ANSI legends and red cyrillic legends.

[mougrim]

Well, I need nice dyesub set in cyrillic layout for MX switches. Not now, but soon.

Afaik there was some interest in cyrillic second layer legends, not sure if he will offer that kit though, another option might be one of Imsto's dyesubs set, there was one with black ANSI legends and red cyrillic legends.

Thank you! I'll look into this. And it seems even if Imsto store doesn't have this set anymore, it still has some nice novel keycaps

[Bakgrund]

I heard you can order custom keycaps set from WASD. But I can't find if they will be dye-sublimated or just pad-printed. Anyone knows which is it?

Lasered and engraved are the options I believe, and then they are "UV coated ABS keycaps for extremely durable legends and resistance to keycap wear."

Is that just marketing or does it actually make them last longer?

[mougrim]

I heard you can order custom keycaps set from WASD. But I can't find if they will be dye-sublimated or just pad-printed. Anyone knows which is it?

Lasered and engraved are the options I believe, and then they are "UV coated ABS keycaps for extremely durable legends and resistance to keycap wear."

Is that just marketing or does it actually make them last longer?

Well, it's better than just pad printed. But not so well as dye-sublimated. or doubleshot.

[RESPRiT]

I heard you can order custom keycaps set from WASD. But I can't find if they will be dye-sublimated or just pad-printed. Anyone knows which is it?

Lasered and engraved are the options I believe, and then they are "UV coated ABS keycaps for extremely durable legends and resistance to keycap wear."

Is that just marketing or does it actually make them last longer?

It's better, but to be honest WASD's original options were pretty crummy to begin with. Given this, it's mostly marketing.

[tricheboars]

WASD caps are super crummy.  They allow for some awesome customization but you pay for it in quality. Thin crummy abs caps that should never be used by someone who knows better.

[ericdrum]

My WASD keycaps wore out insanely quick. I was pretty disappointed with them.

[eddie]

My WASD keycaps wore out insanely quick. I was pretty disappointed with them.

Did you buy the old ones or the new ones?

[mougrim]

My WASD keycaps wore out insanely quick. I was pretty disappointed with them.

Did you buy ones or the new ones?

WUT? I think he bought new ones.

[RESPRiT]

My WASD keycaps wore out insanely quick. I was pretty disappointed with them.

Did you buy ones or the new ones?

WUT? I think he bought new ones.

He means to ask if they were the UV printed ones, as opposed to the old printing methods.

[eddie]

My WASD keycaps wore out insanely quick. I was pretty disappointed with them.

Did you buy ones or the new ones?

WUT? I think he bought new ones.

He means to ask if they were the UV printed ones, as opposed to the old printing methods.

Yeah this, I made a huge typo...   

[geniekid]

My WASD keycaps wore out insanely quick. I was pretty disappointed with them.

I'm not sure what "insanely quick" means but I've had UV printed caps from WASD on my main work driver for over 2 months now and they're in pristine shape.  If they start to show shine I will update this post (if I can still find it).

[Vibex]

I did a review of WASD keycaps on my website a few days back if anyone wants to check it out. Link
I just started doing reviews, so it's not the greatest, but hey, it's better then nothing.

[BlueBär]

I did a review of WASD keycaps on my website a few days back if anyone wants to check it out. Link
I just started doing reviews, so it's not the greatest, but hey, it's better then nothing.

Just read your review, here's a few things:

They try to offer the maximum amount of customization without having to spend several hundred dollars on a Korean board.

I don't see the point of comparing WASD to Korean customs. The only thing WASD offers in comparison to other manufacturers are the customizable keycaps - why not compare WASD with them?
Why compare it to something fully customizable that does usually not come with switches and caps, while with WASD you can only customize switches and caps? It's a bit of a bad comparison.

No matter how high quality and beautiful an ABS key is, it can never compare to a PBT (Polybutylene terephthalate) keycap. But if you are okay using a slightly inferior plastic and trading it for a magnificent amount of customization then WASD Keycaps are for you.

You call ABS inferior and say that it is lower quality - but you don't say why. You might want to expand on that a bit.

Oh and I think in late November they only did lasered ones, could be wrong here though.

Sorry if that sounded too criticising

[Vibex]

I did a review of WASD keycaps on my website a few days back if anyone wants to check it out. Link
I just started doing reviews, so it's not the greatest, but hey, it's better then nothing.

Just read your review, here's a few things:

They try to offer the maximum amount of customization without having to spend several hundred dollars on a Korean board.

I don't see the point of comparing WASD to Korean customs. The only thing WASD offers in comparison to other manufacturers are the customizable keycaps - why not compare WASD with them?
Why compare it to something fully customizable that does usually not come with switches and caps, while with WASD you can only customize switches and caps? It's a bit of a bad comparison.

No matter how high quality and beautiful an ABS key is, it can never compare to a PBT (Polybutylene terephthalate) keycap. But if you are okay using a slightly inferior plastic and trading it for a magnificent amount of customization then WASD Keycaps are for you.

You call ABS inferior and say that it is lower quality - but you don't say why. You might want to expand on that a bit.

Oh and I think in late November they only did lasered ones, could be wrong here though.

Sorry if that sounded too criticising

No, please do criticize. I only just started reviewing things so I'm undoubtedly going to be ****ty at first. Criticism (as long as it constructive like your) is the best thing for me.
I was pretty sure that the caps were UV printed, but if you can find somewhere that says they weren't or can tell me a good way to test it myself, let me know.

[BlueBär]

I was pretty sure that the caps were UV printed, but if you can find somewhere that says they weren't or can tell me a good way to test it myself, let me know.

You can try holding them close to the light, if the legend itself or the area around the legend doesn't reflect more or seems more glossy than the rest of the keycap, it should be lasered. It's not an absolute test though.
Did you have the option to engrave them? If yes then they are lasered.

[Vibex]

I was pretty sure that the caps were UV printed, but if you can find somewhere that says they weren't or can tell me a good way to test it myself, let me know.

You can try holding them close to the light, if the legend itself or the area around the legend doesn't reflect more or seems more glossy than the rest of the keycap, it should be lasered. It's not an absolute test though.
Did you have the option to engrave them? If yes then they are lasered.

Yeah I had the option to engrave them. Thanks for letting me know.

[regack]

No, please do criticize.

I might also suggest a good addition to your review would be to return to it after you've had the caps around for a while, and file a followup report for any thoughts or feelings you have after using them for a while.

[Vibex]

No, please do criticize.

I might also suggest a good addition to your review would be to return to it after you've had the caps around for a while, and file a followup report for any thoughts or feelings you have after using them for a while.

I've already used them for a few months, but if they ever do start to wear or anything else surprising occurs I definitely will.
But if anyone else has criticism for me please PM me. I don't want to takeover this thread.

[ericdrum]

I was using the old etched ones. I noticed that they have the new printed ones that have a new coating that claims to aid in the amount they wear. So yeah, my experience does not apply to the new printed ones.

[IvanIvanovich]

If you want black on black US/RU set you can still order in my groupbuy. I've done all white and white/beige sets with black and red or dark grey and orange US/RU in the past, and with cyan and magenta US/UA. You might be able to find someone willing to sell one of those by making a WTB in the classifieds. I will be starting a new groupbuy again on white sets in the near future. If you want something specific in regard to typeface, colors, etc please feel free to share ideas in the interest check.

[mougrim]

Thank you! I think I'll wait a little - black set won't be very practical for be - even if it so badass looking.

There are groupbuy from Matt3o for Signature Plactic set - and, as I understood, maybe yours for the white set in the future - so I'll have a choice.

[fuzzybaffy]

I've had a set of WASD caps for a couple of weeks now, and honestly, they're not as bad as some people make them out to be. The ABS plastic itself doesn't seem all that bad, compared to, let's say, stock Filco caps. Maybe a tiny bit softer, but I'm not really sure. The thickness seems to be around the same as well - I would be open to someone disagreeing on that point, but I'd also have to say any differences would be microscopic. 

I do have the newer UV-printed ones, and since I've had them for such a relatively short period of time, I can't really say whether they will hold up or not. Still, it's a decent amount of customization, which is important to a lot of people (for me, personally, I needed a set with hangul characters that were OEM profile, which Imsto's Korean caps weren't), so to a lot of people the keys seem worth it. They seem worth it to me, at least.

Also, let's consider that a full 104 set of regular, non-dye-sub PBT's go for $40-50. This tells me the high price of $100 dye-sub PBT sets are that expensive because of the dye-subbing, not necessarily because of the plastic itself. So... yea, I'll agree PBTs are nicer, but I don't think they're THAT much nicer. I can definitely live with just ABS caps - in fact, I almost prefer ABS, but let's not go there.

[epzy]

After using Cherry dyesubs, Realforce dyesubs, Cherry doubleshots, SP doubleshots, Ducky engraved thick & thin PBT, Banggood PBT and POM, Filco, QFR, QFTK, Ducky Mini, Blackwidow 2013 Elite ABS, Poker 2 PBT, I can definitely say with confidence that I think WASD keycaps are THAT bad. At least in my opinion. I just find them unappealing. Nothing against ABS in general as I find SP's, Ducky's and Cherry's ABS very nice, but not WASD's, Filco's & Razer's.

[fuzzybaffy]

I'm speaking as someone who has Imsto's PBT dye-subs, and Realforce PBT dye-subs. To each their own, I guess.

[epzy]

Can't really compare PBT to ABS, though.

[fuzzybaffy]

Sure you can. It is true that PBT and ABS are different, but they are interchangeable items, so it is absolutely within the realm of possibility for someone to prefer one over the other. I have a set of Imsto PBT-dye-subs sitting in the bag, because I prefer having OEM-profile caps (from WASD).

Again, I agree that PBT is generally nicer, but I'm willing to forgo PBT, and go with ABS, in order to go with OEM-profile. The difference in quality between PBT and ABS is so little (for me at least) that I hold key profiles in higher regard. In other words, the ABS on WASD keycaps aren't so bad that it forces me to stay away from them; they are absolutely use-able (to me).

[epzy]

Yes, you can compare keycaps in general, but when you are comparing a specific type of plastic, you should compare it to its peers, i.e. Cherry ABS doubleshots, SP doubleshots and Filco/Ducky/Razer/CM Storm/Other OEM's ABS.

I just don't think comparing ABS to PBT is fair since you are comparing them in terms of feel; and when you compare two different types of plastics, that comparison between PBT and ABS becomes pretty irrelevant.

[fuzzybaffy]

Do whatever you want.

[RESPRiT]

Yeah, I mean, sure, WASD is fine against stock Filco caps... but stock Filco caps are also pretty bad.

[epzy]

Again, I agree that PBT is generally nicer, but I'm willing to forgo PBT, and go with ABS, in order to go with OEM-profile. The difference in quality between PBT and ABS is so little (for me at least) that I hold key profiles in higher regard. In other words, the ABS on WASD keycaps aren't so bad that it forces me to stay away from them; they are absolutely use-able (to me).

I guess you don't care about yellowing, shining and legends fading then. That's why PBT is regarded as superior because they don't have those problems like ABS does. Doubleshot ABS keycaps are acceptable, though, since the legends won't fade away, but they will still start to shine as opposed to PBT which doesn't shine or get yellowed.

[fuzzybaffy]

Again, I agree that PBT is generally nicer, but I'm willing to forgo PBT, and go with ABS, in order to go with OEM-profile. The difference in quality between PBT and ABS is so little (for me at least) that I hold key profiles in higher regard. In other words, the ABS on WASD keycaps aren't so bad that it forces me to stay away from them; they are absolutely use-able (to me).

I guess you don't care about yellowing, shining and legends fading then. That's why PBT is regarded as superior because they don't have those problems like ABS does. Doubleshot ABS keycaps are acceptable, though, since the legends won't fade away, but they will still start to shine as opposed to PBT which doesn't shine or get yellowed.

That's true. I've only had these for just a couple of weeks, so I don't know how well they will hold up. I did mention that in my first post regarding the key-caps, though.

I'd like to point out, though, you just made a comparison of ABS to PBT caps. So people can't make comparisons when they prefer ABS, but when you want to talk about how much better PBT's are, such comparisons are allowed? Not that I have a problem with making comparisons; I'm just pointing out your hypocrisy.

[mougrim]

Of course PBT keycaps are better, but they sadly lack variety. Oh, I have nice PBT set on my Unicomp board - sublimated printed and all that. I hope it's lasts forever.

But if you owner of backlighted board, sadly, almost all you'll get are ABS keycaps.

[epzy]

Again, I agree that PBT is generally nicer, but I'm willing to forgo PBT, and go with ABS, in order to go with OEM-profile. The difference in quality between PBT and ABS is so little (for me at least) that I hold key profiles in higher regard. In other words, the ABS on WASD keycaps aren't so bad that it forces me to stay away from them; they are absolutely use-able (to me).

I guess you don't care about yellowing, shining and legends fading then. That's why PBT is regarded as superior because they don't have those problems like ABS does. Doubleshot ABS keycaps are acceptable, though, since the legends won't fade away, but they will still start to shine as opposed to PBT which doesn't shine or get yellowed.

That's true. I've only had these for just a couple of weeks, so I don't know how well they will hold up. I did mention that in my first post regarding the key-caps, though.

I'd like to point out, though, you just made a comparison of ABS to PBT caps. So people can't make comparisons when they prefer ABS, but when you want to talk about how much better PBT's are, such comparisons are allowed? Not that I have a problem with making comparisons; I'm just pointing out your hypocrisy.

Dude, you said the quality from ABS to PBT is not big (to you at least), so I simply said why PBT are in fact, of higher quality. Don't be stupid. I also said comparing keycaps in general is fine, but not comparing different plastic types in terms of feel.

[fuzzybaffy]

Again, I agree that PBT is generally nicer, but I'm willing to forgo PBT, and go with ABS, in order to go with OEM-profile. The difference in quality between PBT and ABS is so little (for me at least) that I hold key profiles in higher regard. In other words, the ABS on WASD keycaps aren't so bad that it forces me to stay away from them; they are absolutely use-able (to me).

I guess you don't care about yellowing, shining and legends fading then. That's why PBT is regarded as superior because they don't have those problems like ABS does. Doubleshot ABS keycaps are acceptable, though, since the legends won't fade away, but they will still start to shine as opposed to PBT which doesn't shine or get yellowed.

That's true. I've only had these for just a couple of weeks, so I don't know how well they will hold up. I did mention that in my first post regarding the key-caps, though.

I'd like to point out, though, you just made a comparison of ABS to PBT caps. So people can't make comparisons when they prefer ABS, but when you want to talk about how much better PBT's are, such comparisons are allowed? Not that I have a problem with making comparisons; I'm just pointing out your hypocrisy.

Dude, you said the quality from ABS to PBT is not big (to you at least), so I simply said why PBT are in fact, of higher quality. Don't be stupid. I also said comparing keycaps in general is fine, but not comparing different plastic types in terms of feel.

Right. So you're saying it's ok to compare PBT to ABS in terms of quality, but I can't make the same comparison with regards to feel. How is that fair? You're just cherry-picking what people can or can't compare to fit whatever argument you want.

You can like whatever you want. It's you jumping on my bones just because I said I'm fine with WASD ABS caps. That's YOUR problem.

[RESPRiT]

Again, I agree that PBT is generally nicer, but I'm willing to forgo PBT, and go with ABS, in order to go with OEM-profile. The difference in quality between PBT and ABS is so little (for me at least) that I hold key profiles in higher regard. In other words, the ABS on WASD keycaps aren't so bad that it forces me to stay away from them; they are absolutely use-able (to me).

I guess you don't care about yellowing, shining and legends fading then. That's why PBT is regarded as superior because they don't have those problems like ABS does. Doubleshot ABS keycaps are acceptable, though, since the legends won't fade away, but they will still start to shine as opposed to PBT which doesn't shine or get yellowed.

That's true. I've only had these for just a couple of weeks, so I don't know how well they will hold up. I did mention that in my first post regarding the key-caps, though.

I'd like to point out, though, you just made a comparison of ABS to PBT caps. So people can't make comparisons when they prefer ABS, but when you want to talk about how much better PBT's are, such comparisons are allowed? Not that I have a problem with making comparisons; I'm just pointing out your hypocrisy.

Dude, you said the quality from ABS to PBT is not big (to you at least), so I simply said why PBT are in fact, of higher quality. Don't be stupid. I also said comparing keycaps in general is fine, but not comparing different plastic types in terms of feel.

Right. So you're saying it's ok to compare PBT to ABS in terms of quality, but I can't make the same comparison with regards to feel. How is that fair? You're just cherry-picking what people can or can't compare to fit whatever argument you want.

You can like whatever you want. It's you jumping on my bones just because I said I prefer ABS caps. That's YOUR problem.

Hahaha, you're the one putting words in epzy's mouth LOL, we understand it's your personal preference, epzy is just point out why, from a material quality point of view, PBT is in fact a superior material. You're the one choosing to take it as a personal attack on what feeling you prefer 

[fuzzybaffy]

Are you sure about that? Epzy seemingly can't let go of the fact that I just like my set of WASD caps. I even told him, straightforwardly, "Do whatever you want", and he kept continuing. He also threw an insult, saying "Don't be stupid". And I'm the one taking things too personally?

[epzy]

What RESPRiT said.



I put the "" smiley behind it so it wouldn't seem like a personal attack, but more joke-ish instead, guess you didn't catch on to it. It's fine that you like your WASD keycaps, it doesn't matter to me. Different blokes, different strokes. I still think you should compare ABS vs ABS and PBT vs PBT in terms of feel, but you can still compare the quality of ABS vs PBT in terms of quality i.e. shining/yellowing/legends fading etc. That's just my take on it.

[boost]

ok, settle down. Let's keep this thread clean.

[Razor Lotus]

shots fired

[geniekid]

I also suspect there was a significant improvement in quality when WASD moved from laser etching to UV coating/printing that has something to do with the varying opinions here of their caps.  Their website says "The protective coating is harder than most plastics including ABS, PBT, and POM", which I think is something that should be independently tested. 

I can only offer my own experience, which is that my 4 month old UV coated caps are still in perfect condition with no shine.  As far as their *feel* goes, I find they are superior to stock caps as well as various novelty caps I've bought (PBTs, but very thin - I'm guessing they were sourced from SP).

[QuadGMoto]

I'm well aware of the superior durability of PBT caps over ABS caps, so I tended to lean towards PBT as superior overall.

However.

I recently upgraded to a TECK plus Leopold numeric keypad from a MS Natural. The TECK uses ABS and the Leopold uses PBT. Both of them are plate mounted Cherry blue switches with WASD red o-rings on them, so it's easy to compare them.

Oddly, the Leopold PBS keycaps feel cheaper than the TECK ABS, which is not what I expected. For the most part, the sound I get from the keys on the TECK is primarily the click of the blues. The keycaps themselves are fairly quiet. But on the keypad, the caps add their own 'ping' sound to the mix which I find unpleasant and "cheap" feeling.

To make sure it really is the key caps, I took one of each off (with the same profile) and did a quick drop test on my desk. The PBT cap definitely has more of a 'ping' to it than the ABS does. I attribute that to the extra hardness of PBT.

I also have some WASD samples here that I applied the same test to. The black WASD ABS sounded much like the TECK caps when dropped on the desk. Interestingly, the color of the cap seems to have some effect on the hardness, with some of the other colors sounding more like the PBS cap.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some thicker PBS caps soon so I can compare them too.

For now, I have to say that overall, I prefer the overall experience of the ABS caps to the PBS caps, which is quite a surprise to me.