Custom Keycaps Buying Guide: Side Printed & Shine Through Keycaps Explained

by JohnSmith

Why Custom Keycaps Are Worth the Investment

Your keyboard is the tool you touch more than anything else in your workspace — yet most people leave it with the stock keycaps it shipped with. Custom keycaps change that. Whether you're chasing a specific aesthetic, improving tactile feedback, or building a board that's genuinely yours, the keycap market has matured to the point where quality, variety, and value have never been better.

This guide breaks down the three most searched categories — custom keycaps, side printed keycaps, and shine through keycaps — so you can make an informed decision before you buy.

custom keycaps, side printed keycaps, and shine through keycaps

What Are Custom Keycaps?

Custom keycaps are replacement key covers manufactured to non-standard specifications: unique colorways, custom legends (the characters printed on each key), specialty profiles, or limited-run designs that never appear on retail keyboards. They're produced in small batches through group buys or sold as in-stock sets by specialty vendors.

The keycap profile — the shape and height of each row — has a significant impact on typing feel. Common profiles include Cherry, OEM, SA, DSA, and MOA. According to the Redit Post, profile choice affects both the angle of your wrists and the sound signature of your build, making it one of the most consequential decisions in a custom keyboard build.

Side Printed Keycaps: Clean Tops, Hidden Legends

Side printed keycaps move the legends from the top face of the keycap to the front-facing side. The result is a completely blank top surface — a minimalist look that's become popular in high-end builds — while still giving you a reference point for legends when you glance down at the board.

Who Are Side Printed Keycaps For?

  • Touch typists who don't need to look at legends but want them available as a backup
  • Aesthetic-focused builders who want a clean, uncluttered top surface
  • Photographers and streamers whose keyboards appear on camera — blank tops photograph better

Printing Methods Matter

Side printed keycaps are most commonly produced via dye-sublimation or pad printing. Dye-sublimation infuses dye directly into the PBT plastic, making legends that cannot wear off — a critical advantage for side legends that receive less direct abrasion than top-printed keys but still need to last. Pad printing is cheaper but prone to fading over time.

custom keycaps, side printed keycaps, and shine through keycaps

Shine Through Keycaps: Built for RGB

Shine through keycaps are designed with translucent or transparent legends — and sometimes fully transparent bodies — so that per-key RGB lighting passes through cleanly. On a standard opaque keycap, RGB light bleeds around the edges of legends and looks muddy. Shine through keycaps solve this by making the legend itself the light source.

Material Considerations

Most shine through keycaps are made from ABS plastic because ABS can be injection-molded with clear legends more easily than PBT. The tradeoff: ABS develops shine (surface gloss from skin oils) faster than PBT. If RGB lighting is your priority, this is an acceptable compromise. If you prefer a matte texture that ages well, look for the newer generation of PBT shine through keycaps, which use a two-shot or laser-etched process to achieve translucency without sacrificing texture.

Switch Compatibility

Shine through keycaps work best with switches that have transparent or translucent housings — such as Gateron G Pro 3.0, Akko CS series, or Kailh Box switches — which allow light to travel upward through the switch body into the keycap. The Switch and Click RGB switch guide provides a detailed breakdown of which switch housings maximize light diffusion for shine through builds.

Custom Keycaps vs. Stock: A Direct Comparison

Feature Stock Keycaps Custom Keycaps
Material Usually ABS PBT, ABS, or POM — your choice
Legend durability Pad printed, fades in 6–18 months Dye-sub or double-shot, lasts years
Profile options OEM only Cherry, SA, DSA, MOA, and more
Colorways Black or white Unlimited
RGB compatibility Limited Shine through options available

Before purchasing, confirm three things:

  1. Layout compatibility — Does the set include keys for your layout (65%, TKL, full-size)? Non-standard bottom rows on 60% and 65% boards often require compatibility kits.
  2. Profile preference — If you're switching from OEM, a sculpted profile like Cherry or MOA will feel different. Order a tester set if possible before committing to a full set.
  3. Printing method — For longevity, prioritize dye-sublimation on PBT. For RGB builds, verify the keycap is rated as shine through and check switch housing compatibility.

How to Choose the Right Custom Keycaps

Final Thoughts

Custom keycaps — whether side printed for a minimalist look or shine through for a vivid RGB build — represent one of the highest-impact upgrades you can make to a mechanical keyboard. The difference in feel, sound, and appearance is immediate and lasting. With dye-sublimation printing now widely available at accessible price points, there's no reason to settle for stock.

Browse our full range of custom keycaps, side printed keycaps, and shine through keycaps to find the set that fits your build.

Back to Gimsun Custom Keyboard Keycaps

FAQs

Dye-sublimation permanently bonds dye into the plastic at a molecular level — the legend is not a surface coating, so it cannot peel, chip, or wear off under normal use. Sets with dye-sublimated legends on PBT plastic are routinely used for 5–10+ years without visible legend degradation. This makes dye-sub the preferred printing method for any keycap set intended for daily use.

Most custom keycap sets use a standard MX stem mount, which is compatible with Cherry MX, Gateron, Kailh, Akko, and most clone switches. The more important compatibility question is layout: full-size (100%), TKL (80%), 75%, 65%, and 60% boards each require different key counts and, in some cases, non-standard key sizes on the bottom row. Always check the set's compatibility kit options before purchasing if you're on a non-standard layout.

Shine through keycaps require a keyboard with per-key RGB or at minimum single-color backlighting positioned under each switch. They also perform best with switches that have clear or translucent top housings, which allow light to travel upward into the keycap legend. On keyboards with south-facing PCBs and opaque switch housings, the RGB effect will be noticeably dimmer.

Most custom keycaps are made from either PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) or ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic. PBT is denser, more resistant to shine from skin oils, and holds dye-sublimated legends indefinitely. ABS is smoother, easier to mold in complex shapes, and is the standard material for shine through keycaps due to its translucency. A smaller number of premium sets use POM (polyoxymethylene) for a unique slick texture and deep sound profile.

Not significantly. Side printed keycaps still have visible legends — they're just on the front face of the key rather than the top. When seated at a normal typing position, you can read them by glancing slightly downward. Most users adapt within a few days. That said, if you rely heavily on looking directly down at your keys while typing, a top-printed set will have a shorter adjustment period.