Filco Printing

[Manyak]

Quick question: What kind of printing is used for Filco's lettering?

[Manyak]

Super duper sauce? lol

Thanks!

[takasta]

I always thought it was laser etching, cause the letters on the boards don't seem to fade, the keys itself seem to be smoothed out.

[talis]

Its likely just pad printing or something similar.

I always thought it was laser etching, cause the letters on the boards don't seem to fade, the keys itself seem to be smoothed out.

The only way to get white text on a black key using laser etching is if you mold the key either out of two layers of plastic, or out of white plastic then paint it black before etching away to the white underneath.

You can get black text on a white key using laser etching a lot easier.

[skyian]

Most of the filco keycap printing is silk printing which is a very common used printing way. To avoid fading of the letters, Filco put another "COATING" on the top of the keycap. Hence the touch of the keycap is more smooth than other company's keycap.

However, there're some of the Filco keyboards are made with laser keycap, for example, as far as I could remember, Filco Bluetooth keyboard(made by Datatcomp) and the newly released Filco white 104 keys keyboard, US Layout are both made with laser keycap.

[lowpoly]

The only way to get white text on a black key using laser etching is if you mold the key either out of two layers of plastic, or out of white plastic then paint it black before etching away to the white underneath.

Black Cherry POM keycaps are different. It looks as if space for the symbol is lasered away and the remaining cavity (?) is filled with white plastic.

[itlnstln]

Black Cherry POM keycaps are different. It looks as if space for the symbol is lasered away and the remaining cavity (?) is filled with white plastic.

While not the prettiest looking keycaps, I like the Cherry POM keycaps.  They are very durable, but the text on the legends looks blurry xusing their process (at lest on my 'board).

[lowpoly]

Mine are not blurry. But the white plastic seems to be more solid in the middle of a line. And a little bit transparent at the edges.

We might be talking about the same thing.

[itlnstln]

Mine are not blurry. But the white plastic seems to be more solid in the middle of a line. And a little bit transparent at the edges.
 
We might be talking about the same thing.

"Blurry" was probably not the best description.  Yours is much more precise.  "Soft" is probably a better description.

[talis]

Black Cherry POM keycaps are different. It looks as if space for the symbol is lasered away and the remaining cavity (?) is filled with white plastic.

They could possibly laser sinter white plastic as well (apply a thin layer of white plastic powder, then melt it with a laser).