# why are keyboard legends (letters, numbers, and other signs) are printed on the keys' corners? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999 "2010-11-17T18:10:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mekaeel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@mekaeel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mekaeel)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/1 "2010-11-17T18:10:27Z")
why don’t they print them on the keys’ center? I remember reading something about it few yrs ago but I forgot the answer completely and I couldn’t find anything when I googled it now. is it to make space for foreign language letters? or maybe so letters can be visible when pressed? … anyone? ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/2 "2010-11-17T18:12:04Z")
So they don’t wear off? ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/3 "2010-11-17T18:20:31Z")
Or two make room for a secondary charcter that may or may not be there. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/4 "2010-11-17T18:22:27Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > So they don’t wear off? GRRRRR! I had a MS Natural Elite keyboard for about ten years. Wonderful, graceful curve, very comfortable angles. I write/edit for a living, so you can imagine how important a keyboard is to me. Ah, what a 'board! Then it shuffled off this magnetic coil. ☹ I bought a new version, almost identical except for some bell and whistle keys and it’s black. The old one was traditional beige. The old one’s key markings stayed on till the bitter end. This one? GRRRRRR! After just a couple years, almost every key on the left has worn off. It’s like a Hotblack Desoto keyboard. Nice to look at, if you don’t want any pesky light reflecting off. It’s not really a problem typing, but hitting single keys can be a pain. Touch-typing is one thing, hunting for the ‘D’ key during a game is another. GRRR!!! At least with beige I could have Sharpied letters on. What shows up on black keys? Besides fingerprints? GRRR!!!111oneone!! ETA: Also, older keypads (typewriters?) were angled steeper, weren’t they? Perhaps printing the characters on the side helped with visibility. Also, GRRRR! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/5 "2010-11-17T18:43:30Z")
They sell decals you can replace them with. It didn’t occur to me until a library patron complained that people who hunt and peck don’t know what the letters are when they’re worn off - we had to get the decals. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/6 "2010-11-17T18:47:20Z")
Thanks. I have ugly white printed cuttouts (ugly because I can’t cut small squares very well) that _kind_ of do the job. But they fall off. Worse, they tend to cover up the nubbin on the home keys. GRRRR!!! But then again, maybe context-specific decals are better. Know any search terms I should use? ETA: Duh. Google:[replacement keyboard letter decals](http://www.google.com/search?q=replacement+keyboard+letter+decals+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) First hit: [Alphanumeric Replacement Keyboard Stickers for highest use keys](http://www.thekeyboardcompany.com/Detail.bok?no=37) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/7 "2010-11-17T18:47:52Z")
If you want a keyboard who’s keys will never wear away, look for one with “[double-shot](http://www.fentek-ind.com/keys.htm)” keys. The text is molded in. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/8 "2010-11-17T18:53:37Z")
**Rhythmdvl** , I take it you have already disposed of your old keyboard, because the solution that immediately occurs to me is to pull the key caps off the old keyboard and put them on the new keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/9 "2010-11-17T18:55:14Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > **Rhythmdvl** , I take it you have already disposed of your old keyboard, because the solution that immediately occurs to me is to pull the key caps off the old keyboard and put them on the new keyboard. [Guinness commercial]Brilliant![/Gc] ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/10 "2010-11-17T18:58:34Z")
My newest keyboard (Logitech) has them in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/11 "2010-11-17T20:20:46Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > My newest keyboard (Logitech) has them in the middle. As does my Mac’s aluminum keyboard. Almost two years old and no sign of wearing off either, though a close inspection would seem to indicate that the letters are at least slightly embossed, rather than simply silkscreened onto the keys. I’ve been eyeballing this [3rd-party keyboard](http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Matias/FK302/), which has laser-etched keys. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/12 "2010-11-17T20:29:57Z")
I use a Saitek backlit keyboard and the letters are in the middle of the keys for presentation’s sake. The interesting/annoying thing about it is that, to get the backlighting effect, rather than printing the letters directly on the keys it uses knockout text; the key plastic is translucent, and everything BUT the letter shape is coated in black. The result of this is that use hasn’t worn the letter down, but instead has worn the surrounding coating away, so the letters are actually getting bigger and brighter instead of smaller and harder to see. It’s still making them harder to read, though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/13 "2010-11-18T06:30:53Z")
My Apple aluminum keyboard and also my MacBook keyboard both have centered characters. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/14 "2010-11-18T09:24:40Z")
Hurry up with affordable LED keyboards, that’s what I say. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/15 "2010-11-18T13:09:59Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > At least with beige I could have Sharpied letters on. They do make white Sharpies. Go to your office supply store. Or google “white sharpie” or “white marker pen”. I got one a few years ago, and I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/16 "2010-11-18T21:16:09Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > Or two make room for a secondary charcter that may or may not be there. Looking at my keyboard, I see that most letters are in the the upper left, numbers have their equivalent punctuation on the upper left with the number on the lower left, the the $ 4 key has a Euro sign on the lower right. Could another advantage be that when you type normally you can still see some of the letter on the key your finger is on? ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-keyboard-legends-letters-numbers-and-other-signs-are-printed-on-the-keys-corners/560999/17 "2010-11-19T14:32:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Looking at my keyboard, I see that most letters are in the the upper left, numbers have their equivalent punctuation on the upper left with the number on the lower left, the the $ 4 key has a Euro sign on the lower right. > Could another advantage be that when you type normally you can still see some of the letter on the key your finger is on? Having seen my fair share of keyboards with Russian letters applied as a decal, I’d say it’s to be able to put a decal on and still have space for both letters.