Learn More About SPK
About SPK
Signature Plastics Keyboards (SPK), a Signature Plastics LLC company, is a small, family-owned business located in beautiful Custer, WA, about 120 miles north of Seattle.
For more than 40 years, Signature Plastics has been a leading producer of keycaps and other plastic computer components. Today we produce everything from aircraft control keyboards, to commercial telephone buttons, to - you guessed it - mechanical keyboard keycaps.
The company is led by father-daughter team Bob and Melissa (yes - the same Melissa who responds to all of your emails!). Together, they partner with mechanical keyboard lovers all over the globe to make your dream keyboards a reality. In fact, we’ve created some of the keyboard community’s most popular keysets, including Granite, 1976, Jukebox, Deep Space, Carbon, Pulse, Dolch, and many others.
Check out this video by Ryan Norbauer for a behind-the-scenes look at our facility:
What makes our keycaps better?
For one, we specialize in two-shot (double-shot) insert molded custom keycaps. This process involves molding two materials together, making for a highly-durable keycap that can withstand a significant amount of use, making them perfect for gaming.
We also specialize in sublimation printing, a process that forces dyes into the plastic, allowing legend graphics to last much longer than other types of surface printing.
You can also choose from a variety of profile families, including SA, DSA, DCS, G20 and the most recent retro favorite DSS.
Our keycaps are molded primarily in two types of plastic, PBT and ABS:
- PBT allows for sublimation printing which is a perfect process for printing multiple colors on a keycap and also printing intricate graphic designs that can’t be double-shot molded. However, the sublimation process is restricted to printing dark colors on lighter keys.
- ABS is used primarily for double-shot molding.
The double-shot process involves molding two colors together, resulting in a highly durable, nearly permanent graphic.
And to make sure you get the best click for your clack, our team inspects 100% of the keys to ensure they meet all our quality standards.
In short, our keys are incredibly high quality and last a really, really long time.
A brief history
Signature Plastics began in 1975 as Comptec Inc. In 2000, Comptec was purchased by Bob Guenser and a business partner. In 2003, Melissa Petersen (Bob's daughter) joined the team and today, the two of them share the company's ownership.
Since the company’s inception, the focus has been on growing the commercial side of the business, dealing with various input devise manufacturers, keyboard designers and resellers, and a variety of companies that utilize mechanical switches in their product designs. However, several years ago, we jumped into the world of consumer products, allowing us to work directly with the end user of mechanical keyboard devices.
We are constantly surprised at the level of interest in keycaps and are excited to see all the creative new ideas coming from the keyboard enthusiast community!