DCX vs DCD vs DCL - Drop’s Keycap Profiles Explained
We’ve covered the basics of keycap profiles before—spherical/cylindrical, sculpted/uniform, etc. One thing that has come up more and more over the years as we’ve expanded our portfolio of offerings here at Drop is the distinction between some of our similar profiles. Specifically, what is the actual difference between DCX, DCD, and DCL? Cylindrical Profiles To recap the previous article on the topic, one of the most basic ways to separate various keycap profiles is by shape (cylindrical, spherical, or flat). DCX, DCD, and DCL are all cylindrical profiles. The most famous cylindrical profile is Cherry profile, as defined by the original manufacturer of the keycaps—Cherry. GMK now owns those tools, and as such, only they can technically claim to produce “Cherry” profile keycaps. Similar keycap profiles are often called Cherry profile colloquially, but are in actuality slightly different. For the sake of not splitting hairs, all of the cylindrical profiles discussed here are...
Apr 9, 2024
Staggered vs Ortholinear
What are Staggered and Ortholinear Layouts Before diving into the topic, a brief introduction is needed for those that might not know the terms. Staggered is a little easier to deduce from the word itself - keys are aligned vertically (going across a given row, the key to the left and right does not shift position up or down—in other words, the vertical rows are all in alignment) but are staggered horizontally (conversely, going up or down a given column, the keys above and below a key do shift position left or right). Ortholinear means that the keys are all aligned vertically as well as horizontally, most often in a perfect grid pattern. This is also sometimes referred to as a “matrix” layout, though this is less common in the keyboard hobby. There are also other types of staggering (uniform, symmetric, and columnar), but we won’t be covering those in this introductory article.
History of Staggered Layouts While not critical to understanding the difference between the two layout types, some history seems appropriate at this point. Feel free to skip below if you’d prefer. When typewriters were first developed, staggered layouts became a design necessity. Each key that the user pressed was connected to an arm (“typelever” or “keylever”) which was mechanically connected to the typebar. Pressing a given key causes the linkages to move such that the reversed character on the typebar is slammed into the ink-ribbon-covered paper, leaving that character inked onto the sheet.