Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
q2K BHP
Black History Portal
THE BHP WIRE —
HIDDEN TRUTHS
What's New!
Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Polish. (May 2026) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
A keycap is a small cover of plastic, metal, or other material placed over the keyswitch of a computer keyboard. Keycaps are often illustrated to indicate the key function or alphanumeric character they correspond to. Early keyboards were manufactured with the keyswitch and keycap integrated in one unit; keycaps separate from the switch were introduced to facilitate the production of different keyboard layouts.
Typical keycaps in the 1970s and 1980s were produced using two-shot molding, with the markings molded into each keycap in a different color of plastic. This eventually fell out of favor, as it was more expensive (particularly in tooling costs), and tended to produce keycaps more durable than the equipment on which they were mounted. Modern keycaps are usually labelled by stamping or laser engraving.[1] However, two-shot molding ("doubleshot") keycaps are still available today,[2] known for their feel[3] and general durability.
Keycaps can be bought in replacement sets for a keyboard. Notably, replacement sets are frequently sold for keyboards that use Cherry MX-style stems. Custom sets are bought and sold within the enthusiast communities, and artisan keycaps can be purchased individually.[4] Artisan keycaps are unique or produced in small batches, and can feature intricate designs; they are often made with malleable materials like resin or silicone.
Keycaps are sold in printed and unprinted varieties. The unprinted or blank variety is said to promote touch typing and help build muscle memory because the user is forced to rely on motion rather than visuals. However, within the modern mechanical keyboard community, unprinted caps are typically chosen for their visual appeal. There are many designs a user may choose: from anime, bi-color and video game-based to custom-made keycaps.[5]
The most common plastics used are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyoxymethylene (POM) (see the materials section). The top of most keycaps may be described as cylinder-shaped (curving to the sides as if a fat cylinder was resting on it), flat or spherical (curving to the top, bottom and sides as if a large sphere was resting on it). The modern preference is for cylinder-shaped keycaps rather than spherical ones, but laptop keys are often flat.
Keycaps materials vary among the brands and provide different feels, durability, damage resistance, and other properties.
| Material | Description |
|---|---|
| Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) | This is commonly used for keyboard casings and keys. It is a comparatively soft material compared to some modern plastics but is tough and resistant to breakage. Topre casings are made of ABS, and IBM Model Ms are as well. Filco and Das keys are made of ABS, as are most keys that ship with computer keyboards. It has a bit of a "slick" feeling. For example, Lego is made of ABS.[6] |
| Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) | PBT is a harder long-wearing material with a "sandier" feel and should not yellow as much as ABS over time. The downside is the brittle nature of PBT and expense, so most keyboard manufacturers do not use this for either keyboard cases or keys. Exceptions are some Cherry/Poker/Leopold keys and IBM/Unicomp keys.[7] |
| Polyoxymethylene (POM) | Better known by the brand name "Delrin", it is an abrasion-resistant, solvent-resistant and low-friction material. However, it is expensive and not common. Found use in older black Cherry G80 keycaps and the discontinued Nopoo Chocolate keyboards. Keycool used to use it with their keyboards but is now phasing it out.[8] Currently, Vortex is using POM as the lettering infill on their Backlit Doubleshot PBT/POM Keys.[9] Cherry MX key casings are made of POM Chemical Testing,[10] as are the stems Cherry Labeling on MY steB.[11] |
| Polycarbonate (PC) | Soft clear plastic. Used for translucent keys like this Signature Plastic keyset.[12][13] |
Printing of numbers, letters, and symbols on the keycaps is done using pad printing, laser etching, or dye sublimation.
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Pad printing | This is the cheapest and most common method. It involves transferring ink from an etched plate onto the surface of the keycap using a silicone pad. It is typically UV treated to provide durability against abrasion and discoloration. With keycaps this method is typically limited to a single colour typically being white or black. |
| Dye sublimation | Dye sublimation has become more popular in recent years due to improvements in manufacturing processes. It involves melting a layer of ink into the surface of a keycap using heat and pressure. For keycaps, dye-sublimation is only viable with PBT plastic, as its porous surface allows the ink to penetrate. The main advantage of this method is the flexibility in design as manufacturers can print detailed, full-color graphics directly onto the keycap surface. This contrasts with double-shot injection, which requires custom and expensive tooling for each legend and is typically limited to two colors per key.[14] As a result, many brands are adopting dye-sublimation.[citation needed] Historically, this method was expensive and only done by a few companies such as Topre, ZF Electronics (Cherry), and Unicomp. |
| Laser etching | A strong laser is used to print characters onto keycaps.[1] |
| Double shot | The most expensive and durable process: each outer keycap has its legend physically moulded into it, and the legend is then created by injecting a different piece of plastic into the keycap from the inside. This means that there is no chance of the legend ever fading or getting removed, even as the keycap wears down. |
As its name suggests, the easiest way to compare key profiles is to look at them from the side. The keyboard profile refers to the profile shapes of each row of keycaps. With different profiles, keys can vary in size, shape, and thickness. When (most) modern key sets vary in profile from row to row, this is called a sculpted profile.[15][16] [17]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
A keycap is a small cover of plastic, metal, or other material placed over the keyswitch of a computer keyboard. Keycaps are often illustrated to indicate the key function or alphanumeric character they correspond to. Early keyboards were manufactured with the keyswitch and keycap integrated in one unit; keycaps separate from the switch were introduced to facilitate the production of different keyboard layouts.
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual, or functional arrangement of key switches, legends, or key mapping (respectively) of a keyboard. Layouts are used on computer keyboards, for virtual keyboards (including mobile phones or other touchscreens), or other typographic input devices. Standard layouts vary depending on their intended writing system, language, and use case. Some hobbyists and designers create alternative layouts to better suit individual preferences or to extend functionality. Layouts can be described in several ways depending on form or function. A physical layout is the positioning of physical keys on a keyboard. The arrangement of keycap legends, such as markings or labels, is described as a visual layout. Keyboard mapping represents a functional layout, or the association of keys with their action when pressed. This is configured in software or firmware, and determines the action upon one or multiple key presses, regardless of key appearance. Modern computer keyboards are designed to send a scancode to the operating system (OS) when a key is pressed or released. This code reports only the key's row and column, not the specific character engraved on that key. The OS converts the scancode into a specific binary character code using a "scancode to character" conversion table, called the keyboard mapping table. This means that a physical keyboard may be dynamically mapped to any layout without switching hardware components—merely by changing the software that interprets the keystrokes. Often, a user can change keyboard mapping in system settings. In addition, software may be available to modify or extend keyboard functionality. Thus the symbol shown on the physical key-top need not be the same as appears on the screen or goes into a document being typed. Most modern USB and wireless keyboards are plug-and-play, and communicate their (default) visual layout to the OS when connected. Some keyboards have firmware which can configure layouts, as well as customize lighting and other functions.
The Model F was a series of computer keyboards produced mainly from 1981–1985 and in reduced volume until 1994 by IBM and later Lexmark. Its mechanical-key design consisted of a buckling spring over a capacitive PCB, similar to the later Model M keyboard that used a membrane in place of the PCB. The Model F first appeared with the IBM System/23 Datamaster all-in-one computer. It is best known as part of the IBM Personal Computer in 1981 with some keycap label differences, and its subsequent release with the IBM Personal Computer/AT, where it was reconfigured with the AT protocol and some layout revisions. After the introduction of the Model M keyboard, production was ramped down and eventually limited to replacement units for existing installations. The capacitive design is widely considered superior to that of the later membrane design used on the Model M. It has a lighter actuation force of about 600 mN, a crisper feel, and louder feedback. It also has a higher MTBF of over 100 million keypresses, and full n-key rollover. These advantages were sacrificed in the Model M in order to lower manufacturing costs.
Unicode 18.0 specifies a total of 3,972 emoji using 1,447 characters spread across 24 blocks, of which 26 are Regional indicator symbols that combine in pairs to form flag emoji, and twelve (⟨#⟩, ⟨*⟩ and ⟨0⟩–⟨9⟩) are base characters for keycap emoji sequences. 45 code points in the Dingbats block are considered emoji. All of the code points in the Emoticons block are considered emoji. 92 code points in the Miscellaneous Symbols block are considered emoji. 652 code points in the Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block are considered emoji. 242 code points in the Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs block are considered emoji. All of the code points in the Symbols and Pictographs Extended-A block are considered emoji. 107 code points in the Transport and Map Symbols block are considered emoji.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
