Spazmelda wrote:

Hello typewriterguru!  There seem to be more and more Selectric collectors. Selec-tors? Welcome to the board

 
Thank you.  Someone must be interested in them as I keep seeing more of them on sites like eBay.  I think the type ball with all of the characters on it is fascinating to people.

typewriterguru wrote:

When I was growing up, we had a Canon Typemate in the house. It was a small portable typewriter with thermal printing. It could do a lot but thermal printing never seemed to go anywhere with typewriters. Now it seems all of the modern cash registers are thermal.

I have a Typestar 5, and it is one of the handiest machines I have. It's a very basic electronic typewriter but still has many nice features. However, it is quiet and very small--smaller than the laptop on which I am typing on. It even takes batteries, making it very convinient to use. I am surprised thermal printing didn't go far for typewriters. The printer is very primitive on my Typestar and produces poor work compared to contemporary electronic typewriters of the time, but one would think the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages. I wish they still made ribbon cartridges for my machine, but alas I only have one and for that reason I rarely use the beloved Typestar.

typewriterguru wrote:

Have you looked on eBay for ribbons? I saw some on there for the Typestar a couple of days ago.

Looks like there are a few! However, I'm not going to be paying $40 for a single ribbon- that's 8 times what I paid on the Typestar itself ;)
 

Hi everyone, I just joined the forum.
I used to play with my mom's Olivetti when I was younger. I didn't really like the typeface though, it was big and spaced. I recently got one for myself, an Olympia Traveller Deluxe. I wanted a portable one as I don't have much space and need to move it often. I admit I was drawn to it by the pretty color, it's a lovely blue version. It's a great machine though with a neat typeface, I could spend days on it if it wasn't for the shoulder ache.

I'd also like to ask someone with experience if they can date my typewriter, it has a really odd serial number that looks like a binary code...
 

Thanks, I actually always sit the wrong way. I try to keep my back straight but after some time that I'm concentrated on my writing I find myself bending forward. Now I mainly just write for shorter sessions.
I don't do that only with writing, I while ago I was painting down on the living room table and before knowing my shoulders ached terribly. But since I'm quite stubborn I stayed there until I finished.
I even tried wearing a corset, that's basically the only thing that can keep my back straight...

I just posted, the number is inside not easy to photograph so I also wrote it down. I saw a few other colored versions said to be made in the 70s, but the number on mine is weird so I'd like someone to tell me.