Is there any solid data about the typeface that Cherry Corp uses for lettering on their keycaps? Is it their custom design, or readily-available, if obscure?

Some of the lasered ones are Helvetica.

The rounded bubbly font on the doubleshots, dye subs, and certain lasered ones appears to be custom. I tried to get a match before, but it's definitely custom - though if you mix VAG Rounded Bold and Helvetica Rounded Bold, you can get something close.

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/adobe/vag- ... ed-bold-2/ (R's don't match Cherry Corp, C's and a's don't match either)
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/h ... nded-bold/ (G's don't match Cherry Corp, neither do t's)

Cherry uses a six pointed *, which is seen on VAG Rounded but not on Helvetica Rounded Bold.

Basically, try mixing the two.

Until when they used this font?

So, our members in Germany never tried to ask Cherry Corp directly about the font?

Font looks vaguely Germanic to me.

Especially on the uber rare Red Cherry Corp doubleshot ESC key.


Makes for a nice fridge magnet too.

I have a copy somewhere of the Cherry font. Its in some obscure custom format (seems mac related) that I have never been able to open or convert. I am sadly not allowed to share the font either. The official(?) name for it contains something like "Plotter B". I guess it was indeed a custom made font, probably in 1985, which is when I saw the font being used for the first time.

Sure beats that ugly ass Signature Plastics font. Makes Arial look good.

Topre's remain my favorite Red Esc key. Cherry's is kinda orangey.

Yeah, they seemed to have used a different plastic for the Esc one. The older RGB ones are a much darker red, similar to Topre. They are still nice and rare.

Though not as rare as the obscure F11 and F12!

I tend to go for one colored key per keyboard.

The Red ESC key pulls the room together.

OT, but it would be cool to make a minimize key, a maximize key, and a red close key and then put it in the PrintScreen - ScrollLock - Pause/Break cluster.