1 of 1- JoeV
- Touch Typist
Offline - Registered: 11-4-2015
- Posts: 152
Typing Paper
Hi folks,
I'm interested if any of you have collected and used typing paper, the kind from decades ago that were made for typewriters.
I have a small collection, one pack of Velvatone erasable bond paper, the other Mead Management Series typing paper, from 1988. Of the two, I really like the Mead, it has a slight off-white color, is thin, feels somewhat like newsprint paper but is smoother, like it has some sizing in it.
Most of us use printer paper in our typewriters, but I've found a remarkable difference between the way printer paper takes ink and true typing paper. With many of my machines, even with a fresh ribbon printer paper doesn't take a very dark imprint, while this Mead paper does.
I'm guessing the difference has to due with typewriter ribbon ink and whether the paper's surface is engineered for it; like with lithography, oil and water don't mix. I suspect inkjet paper isn't engineered to be compatible with typewriter ink.
I'm thinking about exploring the paper offerings at my local art supply store. I suspect I can find a similar kind of paper used to take multimedia materials, that I can trim down to standard letter size. I'll keep this thread updated with my progress.
In the mean time, I'd like to hear about your typing paper collection.
~Joe
- malole
- Inactive Account
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- From: East Anglia, UK
- Registered: 02-6-2014
- Posts: 330
Re: Typing Paper
I'm using an off-white/ivory art paper for my typewriter drawings, which is designed to be used both for drawing and ink-jet printing. It's acid free Fabriano 120gsm, and has a slightly grainy texture to take graphite and charcoal. It's good for watercolour too, being acid free. I hadn't really thought about whether it would give me a darker impression, so now I will have to compare! I also use some archive quality ph neutral paper for regular text typing, which is a slightly darker ivory, 80 gsm and definitely nicer quality than ordinary printer paper, and does seem to have a nicer type print impression, though I am not sure if it is darker.
I found some vintage typing paper last week for a reasonable price on ebay, my first lot, so quite keen for it to arrive. But also wonder what effect time has on the typing quality of the vintage paper if the paper was not designed for longevity.
- Uwe
- Moderator
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,408
Re: Typing Paper
I type thousands of pages a year and mostly use premium multi-use paper with very satisfactory results. For letters to friends I typically will use onionskin paper which is slightly translucent but still provides a nice imprint that is easily read.
To answer your question, I do use vintage paper on occassion, stuff that I've found in the cases of machines that I've bought, or in some cases when a seller tosses in a ream that they've found with the machine that was at the back of their closet. I can't say that any of the old stuff performs better than what I normally use, but maybe I haven't been paying as close attention as I should have.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Ektagraphic
- Touch Typist
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- From: Mass.
- Registered: 05-10-2014
- Posts: 146
Re: Typing Paper
American Stationary still offers something on their website that they call "typewriter stationary" and I have found that it is quite good! But when I am not using that I am using standard, run of the mill paper, and it seems to work pretty well for me at least.
- JoeV
- Touch Typist
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- Registered: 11-4-2015
- Posts: 152
Re: Typing Paper
@Ektagraphic: Thank you for the link to American Stationery. It appears their typewriter paper is vellum-based, which has me thinking that a trip to my local art supply store might reward me with some vellum paper to try.
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