This is something you should look at before buying a keyboard and have never done

Maybe you never noticed the plastic keys where each letter is silkscreened. There are two aspects we need to know about this element: the material of manufacture and the design. We are going to focus on the design, specifically on its shape, which is something very important, more than you can imagine.

Know the height and shape of keys for mechanical switches

If you have a mechanical keyboard and you look at it in profile, you will surely see that all mechanical switch covers are not the same.

For each of the rows, we can find a height and And angle of the different keycaps. If we go top to bottom and look at the keyboard from the side, we can clearly see the differences. We see how a convex effect can be seen on keyboards.

Let’s assign the function key row (Fx) and numeric keys to R4. The row of QWERTY keys, we will call it R3 and ASDF R2. Finally, the lines ZXCV and where are the Cntrl, Windows, Alt and other keys, such as R1. Point out that the space key usually have a concave or flat designis the only exception.

Exist variation at the height of the keys or keychain according to maker. We must also take into account that it varies a lot depending on whether we are talking about full profile solutions or compact versions. those who have greater height Those are the onwhich we could say are the norm.

we have a version slightly I eat more smalljust like the MDA. The keys OEM are more simple in form and they are a bit more compact. Cherry has official keycaps produced by them that have a really compact designapproximately 30-50% “smaller” than OEM, depending on row. XDA is a version lower that the MDA and the DSA it is also a version more compact that the HER.

Now you got something else to focus on

You may have looked at the switches, the format or the connectors to date, quite simply. We imagine that after this explanation you will add another element to look at. And, as you can see, there are different types of keys on the market.

When we buy online, it can be difficult to distinguish between different types of keys. Usually, in many cases, there are photographs that allow you to see more or less the type of keys used by the lines. You can also choose to search by keyboard name and check product reviews.

Note that some keyboard manufacturers may choose to create their own keys. This is unusual, as it is a relatively complex and expensive process. It’s not just the time of design and refinement so that it meets certain criteria, it is also necessary to buy the molds. And it is that specific molds are needed that the manufacturer must pay and, in addition, they are per key.

Many keyboard manufacturers looking for something “custom” choose to buy from a specialist manufacturer. American manufacturer Signature Plastics, also known as SP, is generally the most popular. Not only does it manufacture for third parties, but it also has a wide variety of keycaps in different heights and patented shapes.

We hope this was helpful in choosing your next keyboard.

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