Keyboards have become our most frequently touched and commonly used input devices. The keyboard structure has experienced the development process of mechanical type, plastic film type, capacitive type, and conductive rubber type, and the printing method of characters on the keyboard has also made great progress.
Most keypads need some form of marking to identify the functions of each key. You have a number of different choices when it comes to key creation, each with their own unique benefits.
Laser etching
At present, the most popular method for mechanical keyboard keycap characters is laser etching. Most non-backlit keyboard keycaps on the market are made using this technology. The engraved characters can penetrate 0.2mm below the surface of the keycap. It has the advantages of low cost, easy processing, long-lasting wear resistance, and no characters will be lost after long-term use. By adding ingredients to the plastic, the material can present fonts of opposite tones after laser ablation, which finally allows the laser etching process to be applied to black and white keyboards.
screen printing
The principle of screen printing is to cover the keycaps with a special screen, in which the characters are hollowed out, and then use ink to scrape across the screen, so that the writing can be printed on the keycaps. Although the cost of screen printing is also very low, compared with the laser etching process, the keycap life is much shorter, and it is more common on lower-cost membrane keyboards. In order to improve the service life of screen printed characters, screen printing and UV coating processes are often used together.
Two-color injection molding process
Two-color injection keycaps are made of two different colors of plastic materials. The character part of the keycap is first made (backlit keyboards usually use translucent materials), and then the complete keycap shape is injected outside.
Roc Keypad is specialized in custom silicone keyboards at competitive prices. Our silicone keypads are widely used in test instruments, chip and pin equipment, hospital call alarms, fire alarm panels and many other electronic control systems.