Key Glossary
Aliexpress: aliexpress.com is an export-e-commerce website operated by Alibaba of China designed to export items out of China in an export-friendly format, with descriptions in many languages. Many keyboard related items are available on Aliexpress including cheaper Chinese keyboards, keysets, and so on. Many of the orders can be shipped free to almost any country in the world.
Alpha kit: a key set that contains the “alphas”, or the alphabet and the top row of numbers, but not modifiers or any other keys.
Artisan key: a keycap made by an artist as an art piece, using pop culture or historical icons as inspirations. They are limited run and extremely desirable for collectors that most are sold via lottery system, and can be very costly in the aftermarket. Most are cast with resin from feature elaborate paintwork and can be quite delicate, but there are aluminum ones too.
ABS plastic: Acrylonitrile butadiene styrine. Keycaps generally are made from this cheap and light plastic, as they are easier to manufacture, but they are not as wear-resistant as PBT and POM plastic.
Adaptive Alpha kit: alternate row profile alpha keys for row-accurate sculpted profile Colemak or Dvorak layouts
Backlit key: Key that allows light from an LED to pass through the cap to highlight the legend. Can be made via laser etch or double-shot process.
Banggood.com: an independent "shop stuff in China" website, one of the first to export Obins Anne Pro, sells keytesters, keysets, and other accessories.
Blank: keycap with no legend. Popularized by DAS keyboard for professional typists.
Base kit: a minimal key set enough to cover a 60% keyboard or larger (depends on individual kit)
Big Ass Enter: a extra large "mirrored-L" enter key, very rare, and no longer made. Finding keys to fit this may be nearly impossible except finding special kits in China.
Cherry profile: a key profile about 25% lower than the popular OEM profile, used by original Cherry keyboards, popular among keyboard enthusiasts.
Colemak: Designed by Shai Coleman, Colemak layout optimized for the most frequent letters to be under the strongest fingers. Colemak is supported by some keyboards, but finding keyset for them can be difficult.
Colorway: a particular color combination and key layout for a particular theme. Popular colorways includes "Miami", "Pulse", "1976", and so on.
Community Kit: a partial key set containing novelty keys featuring the logos of keyboard enthusiast communities that helped produce the keyset
Cylindrical keytop: the top of the key are slightly cylindrical, to help the finger center on the key.
DC Kit: Extra keys to accommodate Dvorak and/or Colemak layouts, including alternate homing keys
Doubleshot: a process where a keycap is made with two different colors of plastic by using two different molds and fused together. Can be made backlit by using translucent plastic as one of the two colors. This type of legends cannot be worn off, unlike pad printing or laser etch / infill, but cost more to make.
Dual printed: describe a keycap with both top-printed legend and front-printed legend. Some commercial keyboards that have a lot of secondary functions often have both to help users remember the extra functions on the keys.
Dvorak: a keyboard layout invented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak and Dr. William Dealey, claimed to require less finger motion and reduce errors. Due to different layout, very few keysets can support Dvorak
Dye-sublimation: often abbreviated "dye-sub", a heat treatment process that permanently dyes legends past the surface into the plastic of a keycap. However, it can only add dark pigment into light-colored plastic, usually PBT, not the reverse (light color on dark plastic).
DCS profile: a relatively low profile
DSA profile: Similar to SA profile, but approximately half the height (and shorter than OEM profile). Uses a spherical dip in the top, started by Signature Plastics, now cloned by Chinese makers
Ergodox kit: a subset of keys specifically to accommodate the open-source Ergodox keyboard.
Exotic kit: a subset of very rare key sizes used on the rarest keyboards, such as KBT Race 3, Filco Minila, and so on.
Front printed: keycaps legend on the front side of the cap (facing the user). Purely front-printed caps look blank at first.
Gearbest: a "buy stuff from China" website similar to Banggood.com, has quite a few mechanical keyboard items among a ton of other stuff.
Geekhack: often abbreviated GH, Geekhack.org is a website and forum for keyboard enthusiasts, and has a community. Many artisan keys are announced here.
GMK: German keyboard and keyset maker, have the original Cherry profile key molds, makes excellent ABS double-shot keys, but only takes large group orders.
Homing keys: On QWERTY layout, the keys F and J have little marks on them, could be a dot, a bar, and so on, you can feel with your fingers. They are there so the touch typists can “home in” on those keys by touch alone. Alternate layouts such as DVORAK or COLEMAK would require different homing keys.
International kit: a set of non-alpha keys to accommodate different symbols needed in subsets.
ISO Enter: a 7-shaped Enter, instead of a bar-shaped center like ANSI keyset.
ISO Kit: a partial keyset containing additional keys to accommodate ISO keyboards when combined with base kit
Key profile: the shape of the keycap that sits above the stem. This is the portion of the keycap that you directly press with your finger.
Key set: also known as a “key kit”, a full or partial set of replacement keys.
Keytester: a frame where several switches can be installed, so you can test each one to get a feeling on which one is better for you. Keytester can vary from 6 to many more keys.
Laser-engraved: same as laser-etched
Laser-etched: a process where a laser burns off the top black layer of the key’s plastic revealing the legend. Then a coating is applied to preserve the finish. This can produce backlit keys. Resulting key is not very durable as the rest of plastic can rub off.
Laser infill: process where a key is laser-etched, then the gap infilled with white plastic and refused with a laser to provide a better contrast of the legend, then a coating is applied. The key is not backlit compatible, but the readability of the key is improved.
Laser printed: alternate name for “laser infill”
Legends: symbols and texts on the keycap via any method
Maxkeys: a Chinese keymaker, who now produce SA and DCS keys
Max Keyboards: Maxkeyboards.com in Fremont, California, sells ABS, PBT, and custom made keys as well as keysets. Max is also the only who that can make custom backlit novelty keys
mechmarket: short for reddit.com/r/mechmarket, the buy/sell/trade subreddit regarding mechanical keyboards and keys, including keysets, artisan keys, and so on.
Modifier key: A key that does nothing by itself, but can modify other keys. SHIFT key, for example, will modify alpha key to produce capital letters.
Modifier kit: a key set of all modifier keys, as well as some edge cases like CAPSLOCK, TAB, and BACKSPACE. Usually, you need Alpha kit + Modifier kit to equal a “base kit”.
Modifier extension kit: a partial key set containing odd-sized modifiers to accommodate alternate layouts, such as swapping CTRL and CAPSLOCK, LED windowed keys, 1U modifier keys, and so on.
NODEUK kit: a partial keyset that's NORDIC and UK kit together
Nordic kit: a partial keyset to accommodate Nordic languages, often require base kit and ISO kit. Sometimes combined with UK kit and becomes NODEUK kit.
Novelty key: one key or multiple keys with a unique design on it, often a symbol of pop culture.
Numpad kit: a partial keyset to support the numpad portion of the keyboard, or a separate numpad
OEM profile: The standard keycap profile for most keyboard, cylindrical top, sculpted rows.
Pad printing: a process of adding legends to a keycap via a silicone pad "printed". Legends are susceptible to wear, even if a protective coating has been applied.
PBT plastic: Polybutylene terephthalate. A more expensive, durable plastic, generally considered as more premium than ABS, being a lot resistant to rubbing, but harder to make.
Planck kit: a partial keyset to accommodate the ortho-linear keyboard such as the Planck from OLKB
PMK: common abbreviation for "Pimpmykeyboard.com", see Signature Plastics
POM plastic: Polyoxymethylene. Rarely found in keycaps, POM plastic is even more durable than PBT, but expensive.
Qwerty: a layout for Latin-script alphabets, it is named after the first six letters of the top left letter row of the keyboard. Most keyboards in the world use this layout, though some argue it is not the most efficient. There are variations for European languages such as QWERTZ and AZERTY.
/r/mk : abbreviation of the subreddit reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards
Row: which of the rows does the key profile belong to (see Sculpted). Generally, bottom row (space bar) is R1, then count upward, as R1, R2, R3, and R4. Function row can be another R4 or an even higher R5.
SA profile: A tall keycap profile with a spherical top and either uniform (all R3) or sculpted rows.
Sculpted: refers to a curved multi-row profile (different rows have different sloped keys to form a curve), as opposed to a “flat” or “uniform” profile
Side-print: alternate name for “front-print”
Signature Plastics: a US keyset maker, runs retail website "pimpmykeyboard.com"
SP: see "Signature Plastics"
Spherical keytop: the top of the key have a concave "dip", also see "cylindrical", which is more popular
Standard bottom row: A standard bottom row would have 7 keys (2 X CTRL, 2 X ALT, 1 FN, 1 WIN, and 1 Menu) each of 1.25U, and a 6.25U space bar.
Taihao: Taihao International, a keyset and keyboard maker in Taiwan, famous for making economical ABS and PBT doubleshot keysets
Taobao: Chinese equivalent of eBay, but more about retail than auctions. There are a lot of keyboard related merchants in China that sells some customized products not available outside.
TKL kit: similar to “base kit”, this contains enough keys to cover an ANSI 87-key TKL keyboard.
U: short for unit, or width of a standard letter keycap. Key sizes are measured in terms of “U”. For example, the BACKSPACE is usually 2U, and the TAB key is 1.5U. The key sizes can vary depending on exact layout, which adds complexity to keyset compatibility.
XDA profile: a new profile created in China, less sloped sides than DSA.
Alpha kit: a key set that contains the “alphas”, or the alphabet and the top row of numbers, but not modifiers or any other keys.
Artisan key: a keycap made by an artist as an art piece, using pop culture or historical icons as inspirations. They are limited run and extremely desirable for collectors that most are sold via lottery system, and can be very costly in the aftermarket. Most are cast with resin from feature elaborate paintwork and can be quite delicate, but there are aluminum ones too.
ABS plastic: Acrylonitrile butadiene styrine. Keycaps generally are made from this cheap and light plastic, as they are easier to manufacture, but they are not as wear-resistant as PBT and POM plastic.
Adaptive Alpha kit: alternate row profile alpha keys for row-accurate sculpted profile Colemak or Dvorak layouts
Backlit key: Key that allows light from an LED to pass through the cap to highlight the legend. Can be made via laser etch or double-shot process.
Banggood.com: an independent "shop stuff in China" website, one of the first to export Obins Anne Pro, sells keytesters, keysets, and other accessories.
Blank: keycap with no legend. Popularized by DAS keyboard for professional typists.
Base kit: a minimal key set enough to cover a 60% keyboard or larger (depends on individual kit)
Big Ass Enter: a extra large "mirrored-L" enter key, very rare, and no longer made. Finding keys to fit this may be nearly impossible except finding special kits in China.
Cherry profile: a key profile about 25% lower than the popular OEM profile, used by original Cherry keyboards, popular among keyboard enthusiasts.
Colemak: Designed by Shai Coleman, Colemak layout optimized for the most frequent letters to be under the strongest fingers. Colemak is supported by some keyboards, but finding keyset for them can be difficult.
Colorway: a particular color combination and key layout for a particular theme. Popular colorways includes "Miami", "Pulse", "1976", and so on.
Community Kit: a partial key set containing novelty keys featuring the logos of keyboard enthusiast communities that helped produce the keyset
Cylindrical keytop: the top of the key are slightly cylindrical, to help the finger center on the key.
DC Kit: Extra keys to accommodate Dvorak and/or Colemak layouts, including alternate homing keys
Doubleshot: a process where a keycap is made with two different colors of plastic by using two different molds and fused together. Can be made backlit by using translucent plastic as one of the two colors. This type of legends cannot be worn off, unlike pad printing or laser etch / infill, but cost more to make.
Dual printed: describe a keycap with both top-printed legend and front-printed legend. Some commercial keyboards that have a lot of secondary functions often have both to help users remember the extra functions on the keys.
Dvorak: a keyboard layout invented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak and Dr. William Dealey, claimed to require less finger motion and reduce errors. Due to different layout, very few keysets can support Dvorak
Dye-sublimation: often abbreviated "dye-sub", a heat treatment process that permanently dyes legends past the surface into the plastic of a keycap. However, it can only add dark pigment into light-colored plastic, usually PBT, not the reverse (light color on dark plastic).
DCS profile: a relatively low profile
DSA profile: Similar to SA profile, but approximately half the height (and shorter than OEM profile). Uses a spherical dip in the top, started by Signature Plastics, now cloned by Chinese makers
Ergodox kit: a subset of keys specifically to accommodate the open-source Ergodox keyboard.
Exotic kit: a subset of very rare key sizes used on the rarest keyboards, such as KBT Race 3, Filco Minila, and so on.
Front printed: keycaps legend on the front side of the cap (facing the user). Purely front-printed caps look blank at first.
Gearbest: a "buy stuff from China" website similar to Banggood.com, has quite a few mechanical keyboard items among a ton of other stuff.
Geekhack: often abbreviated GH, Geekhack.org is a website and forum for keyboard enthusiasts, and has a community. Many artisan keys are announced here.
GMK: German keyboard and keyset maker, have the original Cherry profile key molds, makes excellent ABS double-shot keys, but only takes large group orders.
Homing keys: On QWERTY layout, the keys F and J have little marks on them, could be a dot, a bar, and so on, you can feel with your fingers. They are there so the touch typists can “home in” on those keys by touch alone. Alternate layouts such as DVORAK or COLEMAK would require different homing keys.
International kit: a set of non-alpha keys to accommodate different symbols needed in subsets.
ISO Enter: a 7-shaped Enter, instead of a bar-shaped center like ANSI keyset.
ISO Kit: a partial keyset containing additional keys to accommodate ISO keyboards when combined with base kit
Key profile: the shape of the keycap that sits above the stem. This is the portion of the keycap that you directly press with your finger.
Key set: also known as a “key kit”, a full or partial set of replacement keys.
Keytester: a frame where several switches can be installed, so you can test each one to get a feeling on which one is better for you. Keytester can vary from 6 to many more keys.
Laser-engraved: same as laser-etched
Laser-etched: a process where a laser burns off the top black layer of the key’s plastic revealing the legend. Then a coating is applied to preserve the finish. This can produce backlit keys. Resulting key is not very durable as the rest of plastic can rub off.
Laser infill: process where a key is laser-etched, then the gap infilled with white plastic and refused with a laser to provide a better contrast of the legend, then a coating is applied. The key is not backlit compatible, but the readability of the key is improved.
Laser printed: alternate name for “laser infill”
Legends: symbols and texts on the keycap via any method
Maxkeys: a Chinese keymaker, who now produce SA and DCS keys
Max Keyboards: Maxkeyboards.com in Fremont, California, sells ABS, PBT, and custom made keys as well as keysets. Max is also the only who that can make custom backlit novelty keys
mechmarket: short for reddit.com/r/mechmarket, the buy/sell/trade subreddit regarding mechanical keyboards and keys, including keysets, artisan keys, and so on.
Modifier key: A key that does nothing by itself, but can modify other keys. SHIFT key, for example, will modify alpha key to produce capital letters.
Modifier kit: a key set of all modifier keys, as well as some edge cases like CAPSLOCK, TAB, and BACKSPACE. Usually, you need Alpha kit + Modifier kit to equal a “base kit”.
Modifier extension kit: a partial key set containing odd-sized modifiers to accommodate alternate layouts, such as swapping CTRL and CAPSLOCK, LED windowed keys, 1U modifier keys, and so on.
NODEUK kit: a partial keyset that's NORDIC and UK kit together
Nordic kit: a partial keyset to accommodate Nordic languages, often require base kit and ISO kit. Sometimes combined with UK kit and becomes NODEUK kit.
Novelty key: one key or multiple keys with a unique design on it, often a symbol of pop culture.
Numpad kit: a partial keyset to support the numpad portion of the keyboard, or a separate numpad
OEM profile: The standard keycap profile for most keyboard, cylindrical top, sculpted rows.
Pad printing: a process of adding legends to a keycap via a silicone pad "printed". Legends are susceptible to wear, even if a protective coating has been applied.
PBT plastic: Polybutylene terephthalate. A more expensive, durable plastic, generally considered as more premium than ABS, being a lot resistant to rubbing, but harder to make.
Planck kit: a partial keyset to accommodate the ortho-linear keyboard such as the Planck from OLKB
PMK: common abbreviation for "Pimpmykeyboard.com", see Signature Plastics
POM plastic: Polyoxymethylene. Rarely found in keycaps, POM plastic is even more durable than PBT, but expensive.
Qwerty: a layout for Latin-script alphabets, it is named after the first six letters of the top left letter row of the keyboard. Most keyboards in the world use this layout, though some argue it is not the most efficient. There are variations for European languages such as QWERTZ and AZERTY.
/r/mk : abbreviation of the subreddit reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards
Row: which of the rows does the key profile belong to (see Sculpted). Generally, bottom row (space bar) is R1, then count upward, as R1, R2, R3, and R4. Function row can be another R4 or an even higher R5.
SA profile: A tall keycap profile with a spherical top and either uniform (all R3) or sculpted rows.
Sculpted: refers to a curved multi-row profile (different rows have different sloped keys to form a curve), as opposed to a “flat” or “uniform” profile
Side-print: alternate name for “front-print”
Signature Plastics: a US keyset maker, runs retail website "pimpmykeyboard.com"
SP: see "Signature Plastics"
Spherical keytop: the top of the key have a concave "dip", also see "cylindrical", which is more popular
Standard bottom row: A standard bottom row would have 7 keys (2 X CTRL, 2 X ALT, 1 FN, 1 WIN, and 1 Menu) each of 1.25U, and a 6.25U space bar.
Taihao: Taihao International, a keyset and keyboard maker in Taiwan, famous for making economical ABS and PBT doubleshot keysets
Taobao: Chinese equivalent of eBay, but more about retail than auctions. There are a lot of keyboard related merchants in China that sells some customized products not available outside.
TKL kit: similar to “base kit”, this contains enough keys to cover an ANSI 87-key TKL keyboard.
U: short for unit, or width of a standard letter keycap. Key sizes are measured in terms of “U”. For example, the BACKSPACE is usually 2U, and the TAB key is 1.5U. The key sizes can vary depending on exact layout, which adds complexity to keyset compatibility.
XDA profile: a new profile created in China, less sloped sides than DSA.
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