Manual typewriters currently on the market

[vivalarevolución]

Anybody know any good manual typewriter currently on the market?  Something with good quality and good feel.  I bet there is a geekhack-like website out there for typewriters, but I'm too lazy to look right now.

[Parak]

Bah, manual. Get a selectric and see what keyboards should really feel like

[yasuo]

is linear clicky feel )

[eth0s]

Bah, manual. Get a selectric and see what keyboards should really feel like

The IBM Selectric was like a tank, literally.  It was huge, heavy, covered in 3" armor plating, loud, clanky, and cumbersome.  But it was an awesome typing machine.  Those Selectrics were built to last 50 years.  You needed to change the typer-ball unit periodically, and the typing ribbons of course, but otherwise they were nearly indestructible.   However, typing on them was not a particularly pleasurable experience.  The keyboard action was interesting because each keypress actuated the typing ball which made quite an impressive strike on the page.  It was loud and violent.  You felt the strike throughout the whole machine.  Even throughout your whole desk, if you had a kind of flimsy desk.

[Lanx]

is there a pc to selectric driver or something? basically i want to print from word and send to selectric or anything manual typeface? hell i'll even save to floppy and load it on a selectric (they take floppies right? i don't remember it's been 20 years)

[eth0s]

is there a pc to selectric driver or something? basically i want to print from word and send to selectric or anything manual typeface? hell i'll even save to floppy and load it on a selectric (they take floppies right? i don't remember it's been 20 years)

hmm, dunno if trolling.  Are you kidding?  Selectrics do not take floppies.  Or USB 3.0, or 2.0, or USB anything.  Or firewire.  Or bluetooth.  Not even greentooth.  They accessed memory from the BRAIN.  Yes, the human brain.  You needed to know wtf you were talking about back then.  You had to actually think, and know things.  It was a different world.  You formulated an idea, and then you typed it on the paper.  Kind of like what the cavemen did with pencil and paper. 

[Puddsy]

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/

[eth0s]

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/

zomg.  Now I've seen everything.  $800 to type on a typewriter.  HHKB Pro 2 Type-S is only $365, and it's a much better typing experience.

[Puddsy]

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/

zomg.  Now I've seen everything.  $800 to type on a typewriter.  HHKB Pro 2 Type-S is only $365, and it's a much better typing experience.

That's subjective

[vivalarevolución]

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/

I was going to post that.  Discovered that company while snooping around on the internet today.  You can get conversion kits that are considerable less dough than the finished product.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/usbtypewriter

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/collections/kits

[Lanx]

i guess the only way to get an "impact print" is to maybe go the dot matrix way.

i saw a project use strings to get the keys automated, but doesn't seem too realistic.

[vivalarevolución]

But really, nobody seems to have an info about typewriters currently on the market.  I wonder if any are even on the market any more. 

[Lanx]

i'm sure they're still around, need to use impact printers for the carbon printing, for places like outdated police stations.

[IvanIvanovich]

One of the TA/Cherry units I had actually had that capability to use it as a daisy wheel printer from a PC. There were also stand alone daisy wheel printers which it might be possible to find one late enough that it use something standard like a parallel interface for some hope of using it on a more modern PC.

[vivalarevolución]

So I went to the thrift store and got a Brother typewriter for <$10, it seems to have some missing internals because the ribbon does not move after each word is typed, among other issues.

I looked around, it seems some quality manual portable models with a decent price are the Hermes 3000 and the Olympia SM series.  Anything with German or Swiss design and engineering is good enough for me.  Something that includes a one key would be great for consistency's sake with a modern keyboard.

It's a bit of a shame that quality typewriters are no longer produced, but the good ones from back in the day were built to last for what seems like forever.  Kinda like Model M's and F's.

But great, the last thing I need is another time-consuming, expensive hobby like this one.

[vivalarevolución]

So I went to the thrift store and got a Brother typewriter for <$10, it seems to have some missing internals because the ribbon does not move after each word is typed, among other issues.

I looked around, it seems some quality manual portable models with a decent price are the Hermes 3000 and the Olympia SM series.  Anything with German or Swiss design and engineering is good enough for me.  Something that includes a one key would be great for consistency's sake with a modern keyboard.

It's a bit of a shame that quality typewriters are no longer produced, but the good ones from back in the day were built to last for what seems like forever.  Kinda like Model M's and F's.

But great, the last thing I need is another time-consuming, expensive hobby like typewriters.

[Puddsy]

So I went to the thrift store and got a Brother typewriter for <$10, it seems to have some missing internals because the ribbon does not move after each word is typed, among other issues.

I looked around, it seems some quality manual portable models with a decent price are the Hermes 3000 and the Olympia SM series.  Anything with German or Swiss design and engineering is good enough for me.  Something that includes a one key would be great for consistency's sake with a modern keyboard.

It's a bit of a shame that quality typewriters are no longer produced, but the good ones from back in the day were built to last for what seems like forever.  Kinda like Model M's and F's.

But great, the last thing I need is another time-consuming, expensive hobby like typewriters.

typewriters will eat your time like nothing else, that's why I'm waiting to get to mine after the school year.

If anyone wants a broken electra 12, lemme know.

[vivalarevolución]

So I went to the thrift store and got a Brother typewriter for <$10, it seems to have some missing internals because the ribbon does not move after each word is typed, among other issues.

I looked around, it seems some quality manual portable models with a decent price are the Hermes 3000 and the Olympia SM series.  Anything with German or Swiss design and engineering is good enough for me.  Something that includes a one key would be great for consistency's sake with a modern keyboard.

It's a bit of a shame that quality typewriters are no longer produced, but the good ones from back in the day were built to last for what seems like forever.  Kinda like Model M's and F's.

But great, the last thing I need is another time-consuming, expensive hobby like typewriters.

typewriters will eat your time like nothing else, that's why I'm waiting to get to mine after the school year.

If anyone wants a broken electra 12, lemme know.

Yea, not sure if I really want to dive into that habit.  Already enough bad habits sucking up my time and money.  And I do not know if I could hold myself back from accumulating loads and loads and typewriters.

[Puddsy]

they're heavy af, so be ready for $50 for 10-day shipping

[vivalarevolución]

So I picked up an old Smith-Corona Sterling from a guy on Craigslist this afternoon.  I have discovered that computers have allowed people to write too much, and that is a bad thing.

[Techno Trousers]

I have discovered that computers have allowed people to write too much, and that is a bad thing.

Ha ha, I'm sure the first guy who went back from typewriter to ballpoint pen said the same, and the guy who went back to fountain pen, then handmade quill and ink, all the way back to petroglyphs!

Enjoy the typewriter! I learned touch typing on one, but I love the backspace key too much to go back.

[vivalarevolución]

I have discovered that computers have allowed people to write too much, and that is a bad thing.

Ha ha, I'm sure the first guy who went back from typewriter to ballpoint pen said the same, and the guy who went back to fountain pen, then handmade quill and ink, all the way back to petroglyphs!

Enjoy the typewriter! I learned touch typing on one, but I love the backspace key too much to go back.

I think xkcd had a comic with all these quotes about how the most recent invention would ruin human communication--the telegraph, telephone, cell phone, personal computer, typewriter, etc., etc.

Next, I need a printer/scanner so I can upload my typewriter ramblings onto a blog.