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11-4-2020 13:01:36  #1


Types alignment experiments..

ok, for one of those miracles that rarely happen, I managed to find an alignment pliers, practically new, for 20 euros! It was a warehouse fund of military goods, and probably never been used!



This allowed me to try to improve the alignment of my Linea 98, which had some slightly higher and lower types. I also had other sets of general purpose pliers that I used to slightly rotate/tilt the types, but I missed the famous three-roller plier.
First of all, after carefully analyzing the details of each type, I realized that many visible alignment errors were the sum of two opposite errors. In particular, the letter "L" has always been slightly higher than the "sample" type "N" (or H), and the letter "I" lower. These two letters, when they were close to the "N", produced a little visible error, but when I wrote the word "il" the two added errors produced a more unpleasant misalignment.
This was also true of other letters such as "Z", "M", "A".
I then noticed how some characters were slightly inclined, and even this small problem had to be solved. These very small errors produced a random misalignment: when the combination of letters was favorable, the alignment was very good. But when the letters with opposite errors were encountered, the alignment worsened.
In addition, the Italian keyboard also has separate types for accented vowels, and these vowels had a slightly different alignment than the unaccented vowels.
Clearly, I am talking about very small details: probably the alignment was optimal even before, and surely I am particularly pretentious towards the quality of the alignment.

So I started trying to use the pliers carefully, aware that an error could have damaged the typebar.
Here I encountered a first difficulty: I don't know what material the Linea 98 typebars are made of, but I assume that if it is not spring steel, it is a material very close to it and very elastic.
In fact, after adjusting the typebar and correcting the alignment, I had noticed that the typebar tended to return to its original form after a short time.
So I immediately understood that the right word in these cases is "compromise".
Even in the side typebars, when you correct the alignment, you must subsequently correct the angle of the typebar again to make it enter centered in the typeguide. And when correcting the entry into the typeguide, part of the previous correction was lost! Again: "compromise"! I had to take small steps, very patiently.
I also noticed that the inclination of the character causes a different sensation to the eye, and creates a sort of "optical illusion" in the quality of the alignment. Here too: "compromise"!
The work lasted two days, with great patience, small adjustments, I wrote words test, again small adjustments, I compared with the sample types, small adjustments.

Now I have achieved a result that is satisfactory for my eyesight. Of course, it's not an almost perfect alignment like an electronic typewriter, but I think the improvements are visible, and I'm even more satisfied with my Linea 98!

In particular, look at the words "il", "intelligente", "realizziamo", "divenire" "più", before and after alignment.
I also corrected the types of accented vowels, so that they are almost identical to the unaccented vowels.

What do you think?

Misaligned



Aligned

 

11-4-2020 13:03:38  #2


Re: Types alignment experiments..

     Thread Starter
 

11-4-2020 13:08:46  #3


Re: Types alignment experiments..

I apologize. Correct link

Misaligned https://funkyimg.com/view/33Sai

Aligned https://funkyimg.com/view/33Sao

     Thread Starter
 

11-4-2020 16:13:50  #4


Re: Types alignment experiments..

Hi Olivetti

When the two images are viewed one above the other on the same screen, I don't have a fearless clue what you've typed, but I can really see how you have corrected all the visible misalignment issues of your typewriter. Congrats on your persistence and welcome to the learning curve of typewriter repair and maintenance. All the very best,

Sky 


We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
 

12-4-2020 01:19:20  #5


Re: Types alignment experiments..

Thanks Sky!
In fact, the type alignment  has always fascinated me.
When I consulted typed documents from the 1940s or 1950s, I was amazed at how often they had well aligned types.
And in parallel I did not understand why starting from the 70's, almost all mechanical typewriters had an acceptable alignment, but often less than the typescripts of the 1940s. I also wondered if it was a strategy that companies adopted to make mechanical typewriters appear lower than the new electrical and electronic ones.
Even the new Olivetti, when they left the factory, had an acceptable alignment for most office jobs, but a little lacking for elegant and quality writing.
In fact, the typewriters with the most precise alignment I have seen are the Alpina.

P.S. the typed text is a part of a parapsychology book that I copied. I looked for sheets that had previously been typed with the most misaligned words and rewrote them to compare the difference.

     Thread Starter
 

12-4-2020 01:21:22  #6


Re: Types alignment experiments..

P.S. Happy Easter to all!

     Thread Starter
 

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