Backlit Keypad, also called backlit keyboard, which make the best of keypad materials characteristics and combimed with LED in aim to make good backlight-effects switch products.
Backlit Keypad is made of silicone rubber, plastic, metal etc. This mainly talking about silicone rubber backlit keypad.
Backlit Keypad mainly take full advantage of translucent or transparent silicone materials, some silicone backlit keypad also make use of laser etched, screen print, spray coated, PU coating etc, in order to up back light effects.
Following is some types of silicone rubber backlit keypad
1. Laser Etched Backlit Keypad
Laser etched backlit keypad which need color spray coating process after finished basic silicone keyads, and then do laser etching process to get back lighting effects. After finished laser engraving, most silicone keypad also need PU coating or surface smooth treatment ( matte smooth processing) to protect spraying coated layer and legends.
Actully, color spraying coating and PU coating which is key to laser etched backlit keypad quality and price
Too thin color spraying coating is easy to cause light leak.
Too thick color spraying coating will cause that result keypads sizes is too big to suit products assembly
PU coated process which can't rework, will cause keypad price is high. Notes: The legends color should have a high contrast with the spray coating color
Like following case: The legends color is translucent, and the spray coated color is gray.
2. Translucent Silicone Backlit Keypad
1. )Translucent Silicone Backlit Keypad take full advantage of silicone original materials which is translucent or transparent. Different silicone is different transparency. Generally, more better silicone materials, the color is more transparent. The original color of liquid silicone is almost transparent.
That have two different translucent backlight Silicone Keypad:
One is more transparent: The one make cover tool to protect the translucent parts and then do two layers sprayer coating.
The other is less transparent, which choose mixed color process way.
First one is more expensive.
2. )Silk Screen Printing Backlit Keypad,
Backlit keypad, generally, need spray painted before do font or symbol printing on the surface, and the do PU coating process to protect the legends. However, Silk Screen Printing Backlight Keypad, which needn't do spray coating process. For better backlight legends effects, sometimes, also needn't do PU coating or UV+PU coating, just choose more transparent silicone materials to produce is ok.
