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
"PROFILE AND MANUFACTURER Choosing a profile for the set essentially chooses the profile as well. Signature Plastics owns the SA, DSA, and..."
I believe one of the instances of the word "profile" in the first sentence of this excerpt (not to include the title, which I copied here only to help you find the locate the excerpt) should actually be "manufacturer". Not sure which one you were going for, but if you choose a manufacturer for a color they offer, then you are limited to that manufacturer's profile selection, and if you choose a profile, you have then chosen a manufacturer and their color palette.
I really enjoyed the article, BTW. I figured that creating a keyset was about this complicated, given the huge number of keyboards out there and all of the plastic/color/legend application types are available in different ways from different manufacturers. This does help to explain why designers of certain keysets have made the choices they have, and why a choice isn't always just about the pricetag.