Keycap Materials

ABS

One of the two most common materials for keycaps, ABS boasts vibrant colors and sharp legends. The legends are usually double shot, which means that two different pieces of plastic were put together to assemble a single keycap. This means that the legend will never wear. However, ABS has its downsides. The most obvious downside is that they are usually less durable: ABS keycaps tend to develop shine, which means that the keycap will begin to shine with use. The double-shot process is also quite expensive; doubleshot abs keycaps from GMK and Signature Plastics can reach over a hundred dollars per set. Then there are the cheap ABS keycaps; cheap ABS keycaps are brittle, shine quickly, and can have its legends wear quite quickly. Overall, under the $100 range, PBT keycaps rule supreme.

PBT

The other most common material is PBT. While it usually has less colors, it is quite durable and does not develop shine over time. The legends are usually dye sublimated; the dye is sublimated into the keycap, which also means that the legends will never fade. The limitations of this process is that it can not produce a dark black color. Doubleshot PBT keycaps do exist, but they usually use some mixture of ABS and PBT which means that they have the downsides of both of those materials. PBT keycaps are prone to warping; warped PBT keycaps can affect the keyboard's sound, introducing unwanted noise like stabilizer rattle. Even cheap PBT keycaps usually use the dye-sublimation process; PBT keycaps are the way to go when buying keycaps that are under $100. Warped keycaps can be fixed with a bit of force and warm water.

Keycap profiles

Profiles

Keycap profiles are the way a keycap is shaped. Some profiles are flat, some profiles are angled. The most common profile is the OEM profile, which closely mimics the Cherry profile but is slightly taller. Cherry profile keycaps are also quite common, being manufactured by companies such as Leopold and GMK. Cherry profile keycaps can have an interference issue with the switch on row 3 if the switches are north facing; it is good to always check whether keycaps will not have interference before buying Cherry profile keycaps. Other notable keycap profiles include SA, which is a very tall keycap profile, as well as DSA, which is a flat, uniform profile.

Rows

Within the same profile, keycaps can look different depending on which row it is on. However, some keycaps will not differ from row by row; these are called uniform keycaps. Uniform profiles include DSA, XDA, and F10.