deskthority

Hi

Will receive at least 20 keyboards (mostly cherry) in a few days (or 2 weeks).

How can I identify if its doubleshot/PBT/ABS/dye-sub/laser etched..?

Flip upside down. Read label.

Double-shot keycaps are easy to distinguish, they have more than one color of plastic under the keycap. Dye-subs can be mistaken for pad printing, but generally you can tell by the blurry edges. Laser etched legends are also quite easy to tell, they tend to have much lower contrast than double-shots or dye-subs. Typically, you'll expect to find double-shot keycaps to come in ABS, and in rare cases, PBT. And if the keycaps are yellowed, they're definitely not PBT, most likely ABS. But do keep in mind that PBT can get shiny and worn down like ABS.

With even a moderately strong magnifying glass, you can see the raised print of pad printing.

Also under magnification, laser printing literally melts the top-most layer of plastic and will change the surface texture.

Put a drop of acetone on something like a toothpick and swirl it on the underside of a key cap. If it etches the surface, it is ABS. If the surface is impervious, it is PBT.