Eli5 – how do they print images onto custom keyboards? I’m not talking about the hand-painted key caps, but the full mechanical keyboard decals like on goblintechkeys

Question

Eli5 – how do they print images onto custom keyboards? I’m not talking about the hand-painted key caps, but the full mechanical keyboard decals like on goblintechkeys

In: 3

Answer 1

Normally, they’re hydro-dipped. Also called water-transfer printing, it’s essentially the process of printing an image onto a water-soluable film, then placing the film onto the surface of the water in a heated tank, then a solution is sprayed onto the film to disolve the water but leave the printed image. Then you *very* carefully dip the item you’re “painting” into the solution, being careful not to cause any waves. When you pull the item (in this case a keyboard) out, the printed image is now adhered to it instead of floating on the water.

There’s a *lot* more involved in this process, but that’s the ELI5 version.