1 of 1- Booksniffer
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- From: The Netherlands
- Registered: 22-12-2020
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Using a Standard for postcards?
I've recently started Postcrossing, and I would really like to use a typewriter to write on the cards.
Some of the thinner cards I've managed to get into a portable typewriter, and of course I could type on a large, white sticker of just a piece of paper, and glue that on the card.
Still: I would love to find a typewriter that is able to handle regular postcards!
Would any of the Standard machines be able to do that?
I can find several Olympia SG-3s for sale around here, at very reasonable prices - but unfortunately, for some reason they all seem to be wide carriage, or even super-wide carriage machines...
The idea of finding a place for any kind of Standard is rather daunting already, let alone a wide-carriage one!
There is also a Halda around that looks gorgeous, but I can't find much information about those.
- skywatcher
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Re: Using a Standard for postcards?
Hi Book
When it comes to typing on post cards or index cards, the larger the platen diameter, the better. The old Underwood Sixes have a fairly large platen diameter which handle cards very nicely. However, I would imagine that Underwood standards are not too common in your part of the world. I'm thinking that any typewriter with a platen diameter of 42mm or larger would be well suited for post cards.
I do remember seeing a black and white video of an office girl dropping a blank post card onto the paper table of a big Royal standard, winding it through and typing on one side of the card. Then she gave the platen knob a flick which ejected the card back onto the paper table, wound it through again and typed on the other side of the card without touching the card with her hands until both sides were typed. All the 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)
- Booksniffer
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Re: Using a Standard for postcards?
Thank you skywatcher!
Yes, European brands are much easier to find here - especially when it comes to standards!
In the past couple of weeks, I've aquired two Olympia SM3s (one with a Qwertz keyboard, in excellent condition - although it has a tendency to smudge ink underneath the line that you're typing, wich I should look into - and one Qwerty, which was filthy and quite worn).
They both handle cardstock much better than the Hema / Olivetti and the Vendex / Erika I started out with.
You need to do some coaxing in the beginning, but if the postcards aren't too sturdy, it works ok.
However, they both have the Elite typeface, which is lovely of course, but I kind of wanted a sturdy machine with Pica, too....
So, today my gorgeous, beautiful, wonderful Adler Universal arrived!
Shopping for standards is a bit of a challenge if you don't drive - I was fully prepared to pick it up by train, but the woman selling it had to be in the area (-ish) anyway and she was kind enough to drop it off.
I love it!!
I had asked her for the dimensions, to make sure it would fit on a desk (or rather, the slightly lower table I use to type on), and it wasn't as gargantuan as I had feared.
Really, when it comes to desk real estate, it takes up less space than a compuer screen, keyboard and mouse together, or than a large laptop I think - it just has more bulk in the middle.
Although, of course, desktop computers and laptops don't have bits that move sideways and knock over things on your desk when you type...
It *is* heavy, perhaps 12 or 15 kilo or so?
But absolutely not too heavy to carry for a little while.
It was quite dirty, the keys would descent in graceful slow motion when you typed, so I've spent most of the day cleaning it up.
(PSA: if you use one of those cans that have a thin nozzle that you stick into the hole, make sure that you hold onto it when you spray! Otherwise it will disappear into the innards of your machine...)
There is a tiny bit of wear on the front, but in general it looks fantastic.
The sound of the bell is very modest, especially for such a large and relatively noisy machine.
The only thing I haven't quite figured out are the tabs... no matter what I do, it only seems to give me one, three spaces in from the left hand margin.
Does anyone know of a manual for them online somewhere?
I will do my best to take some pictures of it soon!
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Thread Starter- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
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Re: Using a Standard for postcards?
Hi Again Book
Richard Polt, author of The Typewriter Revolution has a wonderful site with access to numerous owner, user and many service manuals for many of these wonderful machines. I believe the manual you seek is here. All the 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)
- Booksniffer
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- From: The Netherlands
- Registered: 22-12-2020
- Posts: 24
Re: Using a Standard for postcards?
Oooh, fantastic, thank you!
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