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gak1234
57
Mar 25, 2018
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PSA: This is what POM/PBT shine-through legends look like when the LEDs are positioned opposite the legends. This is my keyboard with the LEDs at full brightness. The top row barely lets any light through at all.
If your keyboard LEDs aren't directly behind the legends, you'll be disappointed with PBT lighting results.
Mar 25, 2018
Kioshi
81
May 13, 2018
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gak1234I feel like I'm still not getting what you mean. I've seen you repost repeatedly abo this. What keyboard exactly are you saying works or doesn't work wi these keykaps? Like I have a corsair k95 platinum. Obviously the light shines through the lettering on top. If this drops again I'd possibly pick up the black ones. Are saying that my led will not light the lettering? It's hard to tell because me your pic looks like your keys are not all placed on right. Like one pic they are facing you and in another a few keys are upside down. Why ? Am I missing something?
May 13, 2018
gak1234
57
May 13, 2018
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KioshiYes, you're missing EVERYTHING. Summary: Light cannot shine through solid plastic.
The pictures I have been posting are of a "Das Keyboard Prime 13". Picture #1:
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The top row of keys (F1-F12, etc) have the LEDs on the front (aka 'side') of the switches. The rest of the LEDs on all the other switches are on the "rear" (which is how almost all backlit keyboards are set up). The red LED is on the front/side of the switch, so it WILL shine through a side-lit keycap.
Picture #2
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Now you see the same keyboard, zoomed out a bit, with all the keycaps on. See how the red and green LEDs, which are on the front/side of the switches, light up the F6 and F7 keys just fine? The only reason F6 and F7 are lighting up is BECAUSE I put them on upside down - to illustrate the difference between keycaps with LEDs directly behind the lettering (F6 and F7) versus keycaps whose LEDs are NOT directly behind the lettering (F5 and F8). See how the F5 and F8 keys do NOT light up well? The F5 and F8 keys do not light up because the LEDs are on the SIDE (as shown by the red LED in picture #1). The light is trying to shine through solid black plastic on the F5 and F8 keys. And see how the white 7,8,9 keys light up just fine? That is because those white LEDs are directly behind the numbers.
Picture #3 - Maybe if I circle the position of the LEDs it will make sense:
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F5, F6, F7 and F8 all have the LEDs on the 'side' of the key switches. Only F6 and F7 light up, because I turned them upside down so the LEDs are directly underneath the lettering. I turned F6 and F7 upside down to approximate the look of side-printed keycaps being discussed in this thread. The LEDs underneath F5 and F8 are trying to shine through solid black plastic.
So to answer your question "Are saying that my led will not light the lettering?" YES. I am saying that your Corsair K95 LEDs will NOT light up the lettering on side-lit keycaps, because the LEDs on your keyboard are not on the 'side' of the switches, they are on the 'rear'. If you buy side-lit keycaps and put them on a REAR-lit keyboard, then your whole keyboard will look like the F5 and F8 keys of my keyboard.
May 13, 2018
Kioshi
81
May 13, 2018
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gak1234My god, I feel so dumb lol. Thank you. I seriously did not get it by just looking at upside down keys lol. But it's crystal clear now. In my defense, I'm sleepy. But I'm glad you went through the trouble to explain this. I would've been pissed if I found out the hard way. I'd really like to replace my key caps with all black with better font on the front, not tops of the keyboard. It's just a nicer cleaner look. Now I just have to figure out where to find them. Thanks again for the detailed explanation. Maybe I'll grab the ones that are somewhat transparent from somewhere.
May 13, 2018
gak1234
57
May 13, 2018
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KioshiGlad I potentially saved you some $ and disappointment. It's why I made all these posts in the first place :)
May 13, 2018
Kioshi
81
May 13, 2018
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gak1234Yea you are definitely appreciated for that. Thanks again. Now off to find some key caps that actually work for me
May 13, 2018
fujiiface
7
Dec 1, 2018
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Kioshi
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I got these from banggood.com and they look pretty good. But, Razer being Razer, the spacebar, function, and menu keys have to stay the same. These are ABS transparent keycaps with front facing lengends....also took ~1 month to get from China to Los Angeles. Here's a link if you're interested. https://www.banggood.com/104-Key-OEM-Profile-Side-Printed-Translucent-Top-All-Light-transmitting-ABS-Keycaps-p-1160289.html?rmmds=myorder&ID=49326&cur_warehouse=CN
Dec 1, 2018
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