Latest Insights in the Evolving Digital World

Membrane Keyboards vs. Non-Membrane Keyboards

Unlike the overwhelming majority of computers today, many of the earliest personal computers available to consumers were equipped with membrane keyboards. What’s the difference between early PC keyboards and most keyboards today? There’s a very good chance that you’re looking at this text on a computer, so if you are, take a look at your keyboard. You’re likely to be looking at a long, rectangular plastic board embedded with around 100 keys, each of which has been printed with at least one letter, number or symbol. An important observation is that all of your keys are probably separate from each other. If you wanted to, you could

This is the defining difference between what you’re probably using and a membrane keyboard. With a membrane keyboard, there are no distinct keys. Instead, the electronic interface of switches and circuits is hidden beneath a single membrane layer. That layer is printed in strategic places with the same symbols as non-membrane keyboards. They work the same way and can accomplish the same tasks. Today, both varieties have their place in different contexts.

Non-membrane keyboards are better suited to personal computing than membrane keyboards. This is because personal computing keyboards are used for the typing of many characters, and the tactile response to typing on such keyboards can make it easier to control and detect typing mistakes. However, these keyboards are prone to accumulating dust, and they are vulnerable to spills, both of which can ruin the keyboard’s functionality eventually.

Membrane keyboards, because there is no opportunity for dust or spills to seep into the circuitry, are far less susceptible to those hazards than non-membrane switches. For that reason, they are useful in industrial control equipment contexts, where they may be exposed to hazardous industrial ingredients. They are also very well suited to use in outdoor control panels and in interface devices like remote controls. Both keyboard varieties have their advantages and disadvantages, and both varieties serve many important purposes.