# Six Ways to Customize Keycaps, From Dye-Sub to DIY

> Source: https://allwinchina.org/six-ways-customize-keycaps-video-guide/
> Site: AllwinChina — China Keyboard Manufacturing Supply Chain Insights | AllwinKey
> Published: 2026-11-10 | Category: Keycaps

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Custom keycaps sound simple until the first set arrives and a legend is hidden by the stem, a color looks flatter than the preview, or a favorite layout needs a key that the set does not include. A Dygma Lab video offers a useful hands-on comparison of six ways to personalize a keyboard. Its strongest lesson is that the right method depends on what you need to customize.

 ![Mechanical keyboard keycap set arranged against a gray background](https://allwinchina.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/approved-keycap-set-gray-background-20261110.webp) AI-assisted editorial image based on an Allwin Factory keycap set; not a video frame.

## Six routes, different compromises

**Laser-etched ABS** gives you a way to specify legends and icons without committing to a complex new keycap mold. In the video, the tester likes the precision but notices shadows beneath some symbols after installing the caps. Placement matters: a stem can block light even when a digital preview looks clean.

**Cherry-profile dye-sub PBT** adds color choices as well as custom legends. The tested set covers the creator’s unusual layout, but the reviewer finds the colors and print less crisp than hoped. **KAM-profile dye-sub PBT**, from another supplier, is judged more favorably for texture, stronger color and sharper legends. Those are observations about these particular samples, not a universal ranking of suppliers or profiles.

**Resin-printed caps with UV legends** can solve unusual shapes and thumb-key layouts that standard sets miss. The video shows that flexibility comes with trade-offs: the reviewer finds some edges sharp and notes that UV ink sits on the surface, unlike dye-sublimated color. Another route is to **UV-print legends on ready-made blank PBT caps**, keeping the feel of an established base set while changing the layout.

The sixth method is deliberately low-tech: **blank caps and an acrylic marker**. It is not a permanent factory finish, but the video points out an advantage for people still experimenting with layouts. The marks can be removed and redrawn.

## What to check before ordering

Start with compatibility: the full key-size list, profile, stem type and any nonstandard thumb or function keys. Then ask for a proof showing legend position relative to the stem, not just a flat artwork file. If backlighting matters, test an installed sample in realistic lighting. Finally, judge color, texture, wall thickness and sound on the actual keyboard rather than from a product render.

Dygma Lab sells keyboard products and discusses some of its own options in the video, so treat the comparisons as one maker’s hands-on experience rather than independent laboratory testing. The six approaches are still a clear map of the choices available to anyone planning a personal layout or a small custom run.

## Source

[Dygma Lab, “We tested 6 ways to get custom keycaps”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXXd3fHEPnc) (video; reviewed against the available English transcript).

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Canonical: https://allwinchina.org/six-ways-customize-keycaps-video-guide/