MaxKeyboard verse WASDKeyboards Custom Keycaps

[speaktobrett]

Hi guys,

I am sorry if this has been posted before...

I am very keen to get a customized set of keycaps, and was wondering if I could get feedback in regards to which company you guys would go through?
I've read reviews on here that WASD Keycaps were not great quality, but they have since improved. But I can't seem to find much in regards to Max Keycaps.

Any feedback would be great! Cheers

[scwoopz]

From what I've heard they both kinda suck and are of similar poor quality.

I would only buy them if I needed something completely custom, and even then I might pay the premium to have my caps custom dye subbed.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[zslane]

WASD keycaps are very thin ABS keycaps with pad printed legends UV-baked with a protective coating. Their only virtue is that you can easily and cheaply create a set using your own legend graphics. However, their color selection is extremely limited.

I'm not familiar with Max Keyboard keycaps (I'm assuming those are different from MaxKeys which now sells SA family keycaps).

[speaktobrett]

WASD keycaps are very thin ABS keycaps with pad printed legends UV-baked with a protective coating. Their only virtue is that you can easily and cheaply create a set using your own legend graphics. However, their color selection is extremely limited.

I'm not familiar with Max Keyboard keycaps (I'm assuming those are different from MaxKeys which now sells SA family keycaps).

OK thank you.

Excuse my ignorance, but do thin keycaps effect the overall feel when typing, or the durability?
My understanding with WASDKeyboards is that you can use any CMYK colour, as long as you upload a template.

MaxKeyboard is the other company that provides a similar service -
http://www.maxkeyboard.com/ansi-layout-custom-color-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html

[zslane]

The thickness makes a significant difference to the sound and feel (and overall durability/quality) of keycaps, yes. So too does the kind of plastic used. ABS is the most common, but PBT has quite the devoted following in and around the mech keyboard community.

As for custom graphics for WASD keysets, yes your graphics can use any RGB/CMYK color want, but the keycap plastic itself is limited to a small selection of colors.

[Justins7]

I've had a set of custom Wasd keycaps for a year (along with a new keyboard from the same company) — and I think they're great for what they are. I created my own design in Adobe Illustrator and uploaded it. Their customer service is great. And as far as the keycaps there are no signs of wear at all. My only gripe is that some keys were not printed exactly in the center, but that's minor.

As far as them being "thin": I didn't have much experience with keycaps at the time, so you wouldn't know that these are "thin" if you didn't have others to compare it to. I've had no luck in the last year finding any affordable/available "thicker" Cherry keycap alternatives from the likes of Signature Plastics, so I am content with what I have for now. I did just discover Maxkeys groupbuys, so I am now waiting for these from ZFrontier and Keyclack.

[zslane]

Well, SP's cylindrical family, DCS, is not that thick. It is somewhere in between WASD's super thin caps and GMK's super thick caps. I guess you could say DCS is medium thickness? Also, they are not quite as tall as OEM or Cherry profile keycaps.

What SP is really known for nowadays is their spherical keycap families: SA and DSA, both of which are thicker than DCS, but still not as thick as GMK. But then again, GMK doesn't make spherical keycaps nor do they offer the same ability to provide custom legends like SP does, so there's a trade-off there. I've found that the folks who have a real thing for GMK's thickness have learned to live with the lack of custom legends.

If you want high-quality, thick cylindrical keycaps then hold out for a GMK set; if you want high-quality, thick spherical keycaps then hold out for an SA set (or jump on the amazing /dev/tty keycap set that just went up for sale on MassDrop today).

[speaktobrett]

Well, SP's cylindrical family, DCS, is not that thick. It is somewhere in between WASD's super thin caps and GMK's super thick caps. I guess you could say DCS is medium thickness? Also, they are not quite as tall as OEM or Cherry profile keycaps.

What SP is really known for nowadays is their spherical keycap families: SA and DSA, both of which are thicker than DCS, but still not as thick as GMK. But then again, GMK doesn't make spherical keycaps nor do they offer the same ability to provide custom legends like SP does, so there's a trade-off there. I've found that the folks who have a real thing for GMK's thickness have learned to live with the lack of custom legends.

If you want high-quality, thick cylindrical keycaps then hold out for a GMK set; if you want high-quality, thick spherical keycaps then hold out for an SA set (or jump on the amazing /dev/tty keycap set that just went up for sale on MassDrop today).

Thank you mate.

I just purchased a set of GMK's from r/mechmarket