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When choosing the perfect keycap set, an important customization option to consider is the keycap profile you intend on using. This article aims to answer the question “What is the purpose of sculpted keycap sets?” and “Which keycap profile should I purchase?”. Hopefully it will serve as a good go-to keycap profile guide for anyone looking to customize their keyboard!

A keycap profile describes the shape of the keycaps on a given row of a keyboard. The main ideas behind “sculpted” keycap sets are ergonomics and aesthetics. As with all aspects with customizing your mechanical keyboard, the “best” keycap profile for you is subjective and depends on your personal preference. Hopefully with this overview, you will be able to decide on which keycap sets to try out. Personally, I have found that the sculpted keycap sets to be easier to type on since it is easier to feel where your fingers are on the board if the heights vary. At the same time, non-sculpted uniform keycap profiles such as Signature Plastics’ DSA (here’s the popular keyset DSA Granite currently on sale!) provide a very neat and minimal aesthetic that I also like the look of.

Before we go straight in to the details on specific keycap profiles, I want to go over a couple main points of comparison. Please use this table to skip around if you need to:

Uniform/Flat vs. Sculpted Profiles

Here is a quick comparison of a uniform/flat vs a sculpted keycap profile:

Signature Plastics DCS Profile (Similar to OEM)

Signature Plastics DSA Profile

As you can see, the difference between a flat profile and common profile is drastic and does have a noticeable impact on how you type. Besides sculpted and non-sculpted, keycaps profiles are further categorized into “high profile” vs. “medium profile” describing the height of the keycaps. While the above two profiles are examples of sculpted vs. uniform, they are both medium profile.

High vs. Medium Profiles

Here is an example of high vs medium profile keycap sets (both sculpted):

Signature Plastics SA Profile

Signature Plastics DCS Profile

High profile keycaps are simply taller than medium profile. In terms of practicality, a lot of fellow keebnerds agree that SA and other high profiles are difficult to type on and definitely take some getting used to. Even though the profile may be a bit more difficult to type on, the SA profile provides a vintage look and unique sound with each keystroke that are responsible for its die-hard fans.

There are also low profile keycap sets however in the custom mechanical keyboard hobby, they are a lot less common. These would be the “chiclet” type keys similar to what you would see on a laptop.

Spherical vs Cylindrical Profiles

Spherical or Cylindrical describes the actual shape of the top of the keycap where your fingers, claws, toes, whatevers, come in contact with the keycap. Although they have an impact on how the keycaps feel, they are typically less of a deciding factor as the other aspects of the keyset. The main difference between the two types are the “cutout” on the top of the keycap. This can be seen in the comparison below. Although the photos show the keycaps from a side-view, you can see that there is a curve in all directions in the SA profile while the DCS profile is flat. If you rotated the DCS keycap 90 degrees, you would see the curve going only in one direction.

Signature Plastics SA Profile

Signature Plastics DCS Profile’

Wow… So lots of confusing acronyms so far: SA, DCS, DSA, OEM, WHAT IS THIS STOP IT PLS.

Nothing to worry about. For the most part, what the acronyms stand for is actually irrelevant but they are always used to describe the keycap profile. From here, I’ll go over each profile and cover the following:

Who produces it?

What are the key features?

What are some that I can buy now?

History, comments, et cetera.

Variations

Cherry / OEM / GMK / DCS

Made by: Signature Plastics, GMK, JTK, various other manufacturers.

Key features: Most common keycap profile. Considered the standard. Comes with most retail mechanical keyboards you can buy.

Sets that you can buy now:

DCS ($75+):You can get these from Signature Plastics directly.

DCS Midnight . Base set with Alphas Only at $45.00 and Modifiers at $30.00. Nice mint-chocolate looking colorway the lauded quality of Signature Plastics.

*Note that the DCS profile is Signature Plastics’ version of Cherry profile keycaps and are slightly shorter in height as depicted here: GMK ($100+): Original Cherry keycap tooling. GMK Keysets are considered boutique (super duper premium) and are of the utmost quality in the mechanical keyboard hobby. They are manufactured in Germany and are known for their texture, thickness, and durability. I will go much deeper into GMK in future articles. The best place to purchase GMK keysets without waiting for a group buy is quality and as such, the price will be steep. You can expect to spend between $100 up to $300 for a GMK Keycap set. . GMK Keysets are considered boutique (super duper premium) and are of the utmost quality in the mechanical keyboard hobby. They are manufactured in Germany and are known for their texture, thickness, and durability. I will godeeper into GMK in future articles. The best place to purchase GMK keysets without waiting for a group buy is Originative . Just know that with GMK keycaps, you are buyingand as such,You can expect to spend between $100$300 for a GMK Keycap set.

Shop Drop + Redsuns GMK Red Samurai Keycap Set

Fun Fact: “GMK” stands for “Güntner, Meinhardt, and Kredler.” which are the names of the founders of the manufacturer.

JTK ($65+): China based manufacturer. Among the other “OEM” keycap manufacturers, JTK keycaps are generally higher quality and use thicker plastic molds to mimic the sound and feel of GMK. The only place JTK is really lacking is in the consistency of the legends on each keycaps. Although it isn’t immediately noticeable, some letters may come out thinner or thicker than others and there is a possibility that the alignment is slightly off on these sets. Still, if you won’t be putting your mechanical keyboard under a magnifying glass to compare each key’s legends, it might not make a huge difference. You can also purchase JTK keycaps ready-to-ship at Originative.

Other OEM / Chinese Manufactured sets (sub-$50): Since Cherry profile keycaps are considered the standard not only in the hobby but also in the tech industry for mechanical keyboards, you will be able to find a lot of affordable/cheaper alternatives on Amazon. YMDK being a prominent name on Amazon for lower end keycap sets, is a popular choice for those new to the custom mechanical keyboard hobby. They have plenty of sets available on Amazon under $50 for you to try out.Here are some OEM Profile keycaps available NOW on Amazon! Please click on the image (affiliate links) for more details:

SA Profile

Made by: Signature Plastics (Original), Maxkey, ONECAP

Key features: High profile, Sculpted, Spherical (Thank you u/japanitrat for pointing that out!). They may also be sold as all Row 3 meaning it is a uniform profile such as the SA Ice Cap set sold by Signature Plastics.

Set’s you can buy now:

Directly from Signature Plastics at

MAXKEY ($99+):

now at $139.99 at Kono Store. Pictured: MaxKey SA Clam Depths availableat Kono Store.

Maxkey, although not the original manufacturer of SA still produces decent quality SA profile keycaps. What Maxkey has over Signature Plastics however, is that they have more colorways available sold through various resellers. I personally would still purchase direct from the original manufacturers since you can ensure you get quality and the pricing is about the same anyway.

Signature Plastics because they provide quality that simply can not be replicated. I would highly recommend that you purchase the sets produced by the original manufactures such asbecause they provide quality that simply can not be replicated.

Update 04/16/20:

Signature Plastics. I have found that DROP (formerly Massdrop) is now listing some of their collaboration SA Keysets on Amazon! These are produced by the original manufacturer

Also available on Amazon are keycaps that are not manufactured by Signature Plastics. You’ll see brands like YMDK and OneCap on Amazon. and while these will not have the quality you would see in the original manufacturer’s keycap sets, they will still last you a very long time. You may find that these keycap sets are typically cheaper and have a wider availability of colorways (Article: Colorways ) that were previously only available through group buys in limited quantities.

Here are some SA Profile Keycaps you can currently buy on Amazon. Please click the image for pricing and more information (affiliate links):

(The first two are community favorites! They were made as a collaboration with Massdrop x MiTo and are produced by Signature Plastics.)



Fun Fact: “SA” actually stands for “Spherical All (rows)” describing the top of the keycap being a concave spherical shape.

KAT Profile

There is also a new variant based on the SA profile known as the KAT profile. KAT keycaps are basically a shorter, smoother version of SA profile keycaps recently sold out by our friends at Kono Store ( KAT Alphas Product Page ). Here is a quick comparison of the profile:

*UPDATE 04/27/2020: Special thanks to dvorcal (Geekhack) for sharing these updated pictures including Row Numbers! (Discord: dvorcol#5071)

SA-P Profile

Made by: Signature Plastics!

Key features: A variation of Signature Plastics’ original SA profile keycaps, the new SA-P profile keysets are made with new PBT, which is a different type of plastic than the ones used in SA. These keycaps are slightly thicker and have a nice textured finish to them.

Sets that you can buy now: The SA-P Profile’s debut with their “Industrial” colorway was overwhelmingly successful and is currently out of stock. Signature Plastics recently came out with another colorway however called the SA-P Snow Cap Keyset currently available at $95.00. Beautiful and clean plain white colorway with the awesome feel of the new SA-P profile! The SA-P Profile’s debut with their “Industrial” colorway was overwhelmingly successful and is currently out of stock. Signature Plastics recently came out with another colorway however called theBeautiful and clean plain white colorway with the awesome feel of the new SA-P profile!

MT3 Profile by Matt3o

How could The Keeblog write a guide on keycap profiles and not mention MT3? I’ve said it once before and I will stand by it always: MT3 profile is my all time favorite keycap profile to type on. Previously featured on What’s On My Desk? Ep. 2, the /dev/tty keycap set with triumph mods are the only constant in my ever changing home setup. When I get a new board, the first thing I do is tear off these keycaps and transfer them. Ok. Enough fanboy-ing.

Made by: Matt3o

Key Features: As Matt3o notes on his “NOT a Signature Plastic SA Clone”. It is a different beast entirely. The surface is matte and textured, dye-sublimated legends are stark in contrast with the keycap color, and the premium look of the high profile is nothing short of elegant. The surface shape does not exactly feel spherical like the SA profile but more of an oblique feeling shape that is satisfying to the touch. As Matt3o notes on his MT3 About Page , this keycap profile isIt is a different beast entirely. The surface is matte and textured, dye-sublimated legends are stark in contrast with the keycap color, and the premium look of the high profile is nothing short of elegant. The surface shape does not exactly feel spherical like the SA profile but more of an oblique feeling shape that is satisfying to the touch.

Sets that you can buy now: Matt3o mentions on the about page that the set is exclusively sold through Drop (formerly Massdrop). Surprisingly, this is currently in stock and ready-to-ship on Amazon. You can find itstarting at great price for the quality you get and the work put into this design. Matt3o mentions on the about page that the set is exclusively sold through Drop (formerly Massdrop). Surprisingly, this is currently in stock andon Amazon. You can find itstarting at $90.00 for the original /dev/tty set for 65% keyboards . Given that the MT3 is considered a premium set in the hobby, $90.00 is aprice for the quality you get and the work put into this design.

Click on the following images for more pricing and more options (affiliate links):

Matt3o is also currently in the works of completing some awesome colorways for the profile and recently had a successful groupbuy through Drop.com for the Godspeed colorway. I actually snagged the novelty kit for myself and use it on my macropad:

MG High-profile by Melgeek





Made by: Melgeek.com

Key features: Look at it! It’s beautiful. The MG High-profile is Melgeek’s own rendition of a high-keycap profile. It features a beautifully sculpted profile with ABS doubleshot legends meaning you don’t need to worry about your legends wearing off over time. This profile also comes in two exclusive colorways. You can get more details at Melgeek’s MG Ember Product Page.

Sets you can buy now: Melgeek’s product page is currently purely informational and there is no stock that is ready to ship by a retailer. As always, you may be able to find it aftermarket on r/mechmarket or the Mechmarket Discord group but take into account that with a retail price of $159.99 which means that aftermarket prices are expected to be much higher. There was recently a successful groupbuy on Melgeek’s product page is currently purely informational and there is no stock that is ready to ship by a retailer. As always, you may be able to find it aftermarket on r/mechmarket or the Mechmarket Discord group but take into account that with a retail price ofwhich means that aftermarket prices are expected to be. There was recently a successful groupbuy on Drop.com (formerly Massdrop) which means that Melgeek will most likely launch future groupbuys through Drop. You can find the drop page here

super unique Polycarbonate case + bluetooth)for sale which includes this beautiful keycap set. I will post an updated link but you will be able to purchase the full set, keycaps and board together I actually spoke to Melgeek and found that they will soon be putting more of their Mojo60 keyboard (unique Polycarbonate case +for sale which. I will post an updated link but you will be able to purchase the full set, keycaps and board together here

DSS Profile

Manufactured by: Signature Plastics

Key features: Yet another awesome Signature Plastics! This a newer keycap profile re-introduced just this year (originally from the 80’s) that takes everything people love about their DSA profile and delivering it an awesome sculpted profile optimized for touch typing. One of those features that were carried over is the textured feel of DSA keycaps which is clearly visible in the photo above. This is sculpted profile gives a sleek look to your keyboard and is slightly shorter than SA profile and closer to OEM / Cherry profile keycap in terms of height.

Sets that you can buy now: There are currently only two options available that you can purchase directly from Signature Plastics

$110 for a full set. Buy here! DSS Dolch (pictured above) starting at

NEW DSS Tecla starting at $100 for a full set. Buy here! DSS Tecla starting at

MDA Profile by Melgeek

Made by: Melgeek

Key features: MDA profile keycap sets are easily identifiable by the sculptured profile. From a side profile, you can see a very clear and uniform concaveness as the design is meant to look sleek. Individual keycaps for this profile have a very wide and flat surface. MDA profile keycaps typically have dye-sublimated legends and are made of PBT plastic and have a smooth feel to them.

Just like the MG profile, this thoughtfully designed keycap profile is produced and owned by Melgeek. That being said, please visit their store first if you are interested in trying one of these sets out! Plenty of options available and a lot of alternatives for modifiers come with the kit so you can be sure that it will be compatible with most layouts.

Sets that you can buy now:

You can get the MDA Big Bone Base Kit from Melgeek starting at $60.00 along with some other neat colorways available through Melgeek,

UPDATE 12/05: I recently visited their site and found another awesome set. Very sleek white colorway with Japanese legends. You can check it out here.

XDA Profile

Made by: Various manufacturers (generic)

Key features: Uniform across different rows. Flat, medium height keycap profile that typically produced with PBT and dye-sublimated legends. XDA profile keysets usually feature unique legend fonts and have a special surface shape that is more like a rounded square than the usual spherical vs cylindrical concavity. It has a textured feel and a slightly flatter surface.

Sets that you can buy now: There are occasionally groupbuys on ready-to-ship between $40 and $90. There are occasionally groupbuys on Drop.com and other websites for special colorways of XDA profile keycaps however since they are a more generic profile, meaning they are more likely to me mass produced, you can find these readily available at a reasonable price. You can expect to find full sets

Please visit KBDFans.com and consider their selection of XDA keycaps if you are interested! They were kind enough to allow me to use their images here.

Here are some XDA Profile Keycap sets available NOW on Amazon! Please click any image (affiliate links) below for more details:

DSA Profile

Made by: Signature Plastics, YMDK

Key features: Yet another classic by Signature Plastics! DSA is the go-to uniform profile in the hobby. It may also be produced by some Chinese manufacturers and brands like YMDK on Amazon for cheap but if you are looking for guaranteed quality I would recommend buying direct from Signature Plastics since they are the original creator and manufacturer of DSA profile keycaps. With DSA profile, you can expect pleasantly textured surfaces, slightly shorter profile for a flatter look, and either double shot OR dye-sublimated keycaps.

Sets that you can buy now:

Here are some DSA options available NOW for purchase on Amazon! Please click the images (affiliate links) for more info:

As always, big thanks to all you fellow keebros and keebnerds for tuning in! You can leave a comment below, reach out to me directly, or just say hi on the form below!

Also huge thanks to Matt3o and Melgeek for allowing me to use their images in this post <3

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