Favorite type of printing?

[kardinal]

Hey everyone,

Just curious on what your preferences are for key caps! Do you prefer engraved caps, blank caps, or laser printed caps etc?
And why?

[precarious]

I picked up some old dyesub Cherry PBT keycaps from a typewriter a few months ago, I've had them on my daily driver since then.  Even new doubleshots feel "sticky" by comparison, although sometimes they're not too bad; I know my own hands / chemistry / whatever play into that ever so slightly, but the PBT keycaps have been consistently smooth and frictionless.  I'm almost a little concerned about finding another set before I wear these down.

Cherry font all the way 'cause that jank just looks nice, yo.

Oh yeah, and sharp corners.  Never know when you're going to need to pop off a few caps to shank a fool.

[fohat.digs]

Since I use old IBM gear almost exclusively, I consider dye-sub PBT to be the standard by which all else is measured.

Doubleshots look great, but I HATE slick keys.

[kardinal]

Yeah dyesubs look amazing... but they're pretty pricey.
As of right now, I'm deciding on a new set of key caps for my quickfire rapid (gray case).
I'm eyeing the kbc white printed PBT key cap set. But I don't know if I should get engraved or lasered.
Any opinions?
Or if you all have another set that you think would look nice with this keyboard, please recommend.

[TotalChaos]

Just curious on what your preferences are for key caps! Do you prefer engraved caps, blank caps, or laser printed caps etc?
And why?

I prefer not lasered because lasering makes a bumpy feel.
I prefer not engraved because engraving makes a bumpy feel.

If a key is going to be lasered it should be lasered on the front of the key where ur fingers do not have to feel it.

A key should be smooth and beautiful.  Not rough and bumpy.

I prefer only dyesub on top or front, or doubleshot on top or front for a smoooth feel.

[kardinal]

Sorry, I'm rather new to this. But could anyone care to explain which one is better ABS or PBT?
I know that WASD key caps are ABS. Which one do you all prefer?

[TwistedMentat]

Everything you need to know for getting started with mechanical keyboards can be found in this guide.  It's a concise, basic reference regarding keyboard terminology, the popular Cherry MX Key Switches, construction materials & printing methods for key caps, as well as lots of other juicy stuff!  Bookmark it... you'll likely be visiting it repeatedly in the future.

For more in-depth information, the Geekhack Wiki was once a great tome of data, but sadly, it was lost when the site got hacked.  Nowadays your best bet for keyboarding details is the Wiki over at DeskThority, which I've found quite helpful.  Prolly wanna bookmark that one, too.  There you'll find that other plastics can be used for key caps, but they are more rare.

It seems the general consensus among keyboard geeks is that dye-sublimated PBT caps are best.  The "thick" variety, imported from China, are expensive but favored for their hefty feel.  Double-shot PBT is nearly impossible to manufacture due to the expansion rates of the material at various temperatures, but Signature Plastics (and probably other companies) are working on it now.  ABS key caps are lighter in weight and tend to develop "shine" more quickly than other materials, but it is a more versatile plastic.  A good balance of cost vs. customization is to get a set of nice PBT key caps for the keys most commonly used for typing (the alphabet and punctuation), then decorate the rest of your board with novelty key caps made of ABS or other material.

[dorkvader]

Since I use old IBM gear almost exclusively, I consider dye-sub PBT to be the standard by which all else is measured.

Doubleshots look great, but I HATE slick keys.

Almost exactly the same for me, but I still haven't given up the ghost on cherry yet. Dyesub PBT all the way.

TwistedMentat, It seems to be a tossup between Doubleshot ABS and Dyesub PBT (as to the best). Some people believe that the legends on Doubleshot ABS are more crisp, and that PBT dyesubs are blurry. I think Dyesub PBTs are excellent, but the other point of view has merit.
Also, I believe Vortex is working on DS PBT, but like all Vortex's cool stuff, it appears to be vaporware.

[jeroplane]

TwistedMentat, It seems to be a tossup between Doubleshot ABS and Dyesub PBT (as to the best). Some people believe that the legends on Doubleshot ABS are more crisp, and that PBT dyesubs are blurry. I think Dyesub PBTs are excellent, but the other point of view has merit.

Yep this is me. For me, nothing beats doubleshot Cherry font legends. They're so clear and crisp.

However, while I don't own any thick PBT keys yet (but will have in a couple of days), I would be willing to sacrifice the clarity of doubleshots for the PBT texture and feel.

Of course the best combination would be doubleshot PBT, which we might hopefully see done on a larger scale sometime in the future. However the sad thing is it is almost a certainty that the holy grail - doubleshot Cherry legend thick PBT keys - will not be produced anytime within the next couple of years (unless GMK somehow surprises us, which I highly doubt).

[bardomudo]

ABS pad printing 

[BlindRAGE606]

Blanks, makes the shine less noticeable.

[dorkvader]

TwistedMentat, It seems to be a tossup between Doubleshot ABS and Dyesub PBT (as to the best). Some people believe that the legends on Doubleshot ABS are more crisp, and that PBT dyesubs are blurry. I think Dyesub PBTs are excellent, but the other point of view has merit.

Yep this is me. For me, nothing beats doubleshot Cherry font legends. They're so clear and crisp.

However, while I don't own any thick PBT keys yet (but will have in a couple of days), I would be willing to sacrifice the clarity of doubleshots for the PBT texture and feel.

Of course the best combination would be doubleshot PBT, which we might hopefully see done on a larger scale sometime in the future. However the sad thing is it is almost a certainty that the holy grail - doubleshot Cherry legend thick PBT keys - will not be produced anytime within the next couple of years (unless GMK somehow surprises us, which I highly doubt).

I've had some thick PBT for a while (Remember the FMA GB?) and I was indeed impressed.

Blanks, makes the shine less noticeable.

I've found that it's more material that determines visibility of shine than printing. For example, Blank PBT or POM would take ages to shine up and is therefore preferable.

ABS pad printing 

So you don't feel bad about replacing them?

[The_Beast]

When I first started, engraved thin PBT, then SP double shots, now I'm really digging cherry double shots. But I do have two sets of thick PBTs coming soon, so we'll see if I still like cherry DS after I get them ^___^

[TheQsanity]

That one they use in the black on red. It looks really nice.

Type of plastic? Heavy pbt, and I missed out on that blue on white gb!!! Ugh.

ABS texture is nice. Shine is okay too, I'd just have to wash it a little.

Profile matters a lot certain boards feel better with certain profiles.

[darksakul]

I prefer Double Shots with Dye Sub a distant second, laser would b3 my 3rd choice.
Pad Printing is the devil, I rather do stickers than Pad printing.

[bardomudo]

So you don't feel bad about replacing them?

I was just kidding. That being said, though, the pad printing on my PBT Oni keys are not that bad to be honest. And it doesn't seem it will wear off soon.

I will take dyesub every day on PBT, but I don't take things too seriously and right now I'm even using them since they look so great.