When talking about the craftsmanship of mechanical keyboard keycaps, which craftsmanship comes to your mind first? The keycap craftsmanship determines the appearance, durability, and feel of the keycaps. In our usual life, the common mechanical keyboard keycap crafts are: Laser Etching, Double-Shot Molding, Dye-Sublimation, Pad Printing, UV Coating, Sticker or Decal, 5 Sided Dye-Sublimation, Spray Painting, and so on. Dye-Sublimation, Spray Painting, and so on. Three of the most sought-after processes that we will focus on are Double-Shot Molding, Dye-Sublimation and 5 Sided Dye-Sublimation.
Double-Shot Molding
Double-Shot Molding is a process whereby two different colors of plastic are molded by injecting them into a mold at the same time. The shell of the keycap and the character are two separate plastic layers, and the character portion penetrates the entire keycap and does not wear out.
Features:
· Highly durable: characters will not wear out or fade with use.
· Variety of colors: Keycaps can be made with a wide range of colors.
· Good feel: dichroic molded keycaps usually have a uniform texture and smooth surface.
Dye-Sublimation
Dye-Sublimation is a dyeing process, in short, it is through the high temperature will be the ink color, pattern (character) sublimation sublimation to the inside of the keycap, so as to achieve the keycap dyeing, are generally used for PBT keycaps, because the PBT material itself is light-colored, and has the characteristics of high temperature resistance. Five-sided heat sublimation is, in addition to the top surface of the keycap (must be printed on the side of the characters), but also on the four sides of the heat sublimation dyeing.
“Dye-Sublimation” as the name suggests, is a very vivid summary of the process and characteristics of the technology, it is the use of heat sublimation ink at high temperatures after the dye sublimation characteristics of the ink sublimation into the material, so as to achieve the pattern of the printing. So in a sense, PBT is the most suitable for heat sublimation keycap material.
Features:
· Durable: patterns or characters will not fade because the dye is incorporated into the plastic body.
· Color Depth: Usually only used for darker colors, as lighter colors do not show up clearly on PBT easily.
· Smooth surface: The Dye-Sublimation process makes the keycap surface smoother and more comfortable to the touch
5 Sided Dye-Sublimation
Dye-Sublimation can also be subdivided into two different types: single-sided and five-sided. As the name suggests, the former refers to printing on the front side of the keycap, while the latter prints on all five sides of the keycap (including the four side elevations). 5 Sided Dye-Sublimation difficulty, cost, defective rate is much higher than single-sided dye-sublimation, so the cost of 5 Sided Dye-Sublimation is quite high, so most of the affordable dye-sublimation keycaps usually take the main key area single-sided dye-sublimation, part of the key 5 sided dye-sublimation options, of course, the whole 5 sided dye-sublimation of the keycap is not absent, just relatively few.
Features:
· Highly personalizable: Ability to implement intricate patterns or text designs on each side of the keycap.
· Excellent visual effect: suitable for keycap designs that need to display rich patterns or details.
· Higher cost: Due to the complexity of the process, the production cost is also relatively high.
The vast majority of colorful PBT keycaps on the market today are made by pigment dyeing, plus some specific retro color matching on the indeed very charming, five-sided heat sublimation PBT material is then quite a bit of a breakthrough in its own material to bring about the limit, that is to say that opens up the window to a new world is not an exaggeration.
These three keycap process, more recommended five-side heat sublimation keycaps, because of its feel and shape and is outstanding, customizable patterns, and rich and durable, bright colors, can enhance the desktop aesthetics.
Take a look at our popular RS7 series magnetic switch e-sports keyboard. Designed with the original lP "Rainbow" as the themeadopting the Cherry profile. Fully utilizing 5 Sided Dye-Sub Process, providingdelicate touch, long-lasting comfort, and wear-resistant properties.
ATK68, Crafted with premium OEM-profile PBT Shine-through Keycaps (Partial 5 Sided Dye-Sub) for a refined touch andexceptional durability against oils. Translucent characters complementedby integrated RGB lighting effects, perfect for crafting your ultimategaming desktop.
