What is a Keycap?

The keycap is the part of the keyboard you press down with your finger.

Every key, from the escape key to the spacebar, has a key cap (or should!).

They come in a variety of materials, but are most commonly made of plastic. 

Keycap Profile / Row Profile

Keycaps have a shape to them, called the Profile, when viewed from the side. This is sometimes referred to as the "sculpt" of the cap.

Profiles are generally listed as a prefix to the keycap set. For example, Cherry Profile, SA Profile, KAT profile.

Sometimes the prefix is the manufacturer, like GMK who is known for a specific profile (Cherry in this case).

Different profiles may have different shapes per "row" of the keyboard.

For example Row 1, (shortened to R1, normally the Esc row) will generally have a sharper "scoop" from top to bottom.

While R3, Enter row, might be mostly flat when viewed from the side. This is to give the keys smoother angles while typing.

It is important when checking compatibility for keycap sets on a compact or non-standard layout to make sure your row profiles are being covered properly.

Often compact boards will put 1u keys in R3 and R4 that have no comparable keys from a standard keycap set. 

You can use Novelties or blanks for keys that don't have an equivalent for that row, so you can have the right profile and they still "feel" correct while typing.

Alternatively, you can use a keycap with the proper label, and just deal with a slightly different keycap shape.

Some keycap sets are a uniform profile (like SA Granite). This means the whole keycap set is the same profile, and thus you can easily swap keys to any location without mixing up the row profiles.

Materials: ABS vs PBT

ABS plastic and PBT plastic are the two most common materials for keycaps.

ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) is a durable plastic, used commonly in toy plastics and helmets. It can have very vibrant colors and is resistant to impacts and corrosive chemicals.

The downside to ABS is that it 'shines' easily over time.

Within a few months of heavy use, you may notice that matte ABS tends to develop shiny wear points, commonly seen on laptop keyboards.

The upside for manufacturers is that specific colors are easier to achieve and it is simple to mold.

PBT plastic (Polybutylene Terephthalate) is a very stable material under high temperatures and strain.

PBT resists shine unlike ABS, and maintains its surface over long periods.

The downside is that it can be more complicated to produce for manufacturers, and thus can have a higher price.

Ideally you want to favor PBT plastic over ABS, however many manufacturers may only produce in one type of plastic.

Your choices may be limited if you want a specific manufacturer or colorway.

Legend Types

There are 4 common ways for legends (the labels on the keycaps) to be produced. These are Doubleshot, Dye-sub, Laser, and Pad print.

TL;DR

Doubleshot or dye-sub are desirable over laser or pad printed (laser and pad printing wear off over time, doubleshot and dye-sub don't). Doubleshot is the most desirable, but is the most restrictive in what can be printed. Dye-sub can be very detailed, but has trouble achieving specific colors, especially light on dark.

Doubleshot is two separate pieces of plastic that are molded together, one for the outer keycap and one for the legend itself.

Doubleshot is desirable because the legend can never wear down, as the plastic itself is molded into the shape of the label.

A downside of Doubleshot is that it can generally only be 2 colors per cap, as more colors (doing tripleshot) makes the process very expensive.

Doubleshot is generally identifiable by the underside of the cap having two types of plastic present, one for the legend and one for the outer cap.

Dye-sub requires a chemical process which stains the surface of the keycap plastic.

Dye-sub does not wear off, as the surface itself has been stained.

There is also reverse dye-sub which is a more complicated process, allowing light colored legends to be printed on dark colored caps (which is not possible with standard dye-sub processes).

Dye-sub can print very complex images with multiple colors and can be used to print on the sides of a cap along with the top.

The downside of dye-sub is that often it cannot print lines as crisp as doubleshot and has trouble achieving specific colors as it is dyeing colored plastic into another color.

Dye-sub is identifiable due to the surface being stained with the color and not creating any extra surface material.

Laser is a process where the surface of the cap is painted and then the legend is lasered off by a machine, exposing the underlying plastic surface (normally transparent).

Laser cap legends can wear out over time, as the outer layer can flake from long term use.

You can identify laser legends because the underside will be all one type of plastic.

You can normally see the edge of where the outside print ends on the underside and it will generally be an uneven layer.

Pad printed legends are printed onto the keycap itself. Pad printing can wear over time, as long term use will wear off the print on the caps.

You can generally identify pad printing because you can feel the legend raised slightly from the surface of the keycap.

Keycap compatibility 

In general, keycaps relating to mechanical keyboards are all compatible with the same "Cherry MX" stem.

This is shaped like a plus ( + ) which you can see under each keycap. Keycaps receive the switch stem, which when aligned, fits on with a firm press.

Keycaps are held to switches in a press-fit and can be removed just by carefully pulling up off of the switch, ideally with a keycap puller to reduce the chance of damage.

There are two aspects of keycaps to keep in mind for compatibility with your board, Size and Profile.

Sizes

Keycaps come in sizes denoted by their length compared to a single key. The "A" key (or any letter) is 1 unit length long, known as 1u.

The standard Backspace key is 2 keys long, 2u. The Left Shift key is 2.25u. The Tab key is 1.5u. Etc.

Check your board for any unique keycap lengths, as to make sure keycap sets can fit your board properly. In compact boards, this is most commonly Right Shift and bottom row modifiers like Ctrl and Alt.

How do you change the keycaps on your keyboard? 

To remove your keycaps easily and safely, you need a keycap puller. This egg-beater shaped device will help you pull off your keycaps in no time.

To remove a keycap, either press the metal arms of the keycap puller down onto your keycap or spread them gently with your fingers, until they slip over the edges of the keycap and hug it from below.

Now simply pull up on the keycap puller until the keycap pops out.

You may need to apply a little force, but don’t worry, it’s very difficult to damage your keycaps or keyboard in this way. 

If you’re removing an entire set of keycaps, save yourself some trouble in the future by laying them all out in rows.

This makes it easier to remember where to place them back on your keyboard. 

To put a keycap back into your keyboard, simply fit it onto the switch stem and press down. You may need to apply a little force!

What is an artisan keycap? 

An artisan keycap is a fun and imaginative way to spruce up your keyboard.

They’re specially designed by an artist, designer, or craftsperson, and are often made of premium materials, like copper and acrylic.

Because of this, they’re usually more expensive than normal keycaps.

Artisan keycaps come in all shapes and sizes. They can feature imaginative designs, like our Om Artisan keycaps. 

They can be shaped like a character, animal, or object, like our tiny x Discord Wumpus Artisan Keycap. 

They can be made of a premium material, like our Discord Metal Artisan Keycap.