How to write with a manual typewriter
The conventional manual typewriter is making a comeback. No less a source than The New York Times, in an article headlined "Click,Clack,Ding! Sigh...," has it that the machines are attracting "fresh converts, many too young to be nostalgic for spooled ribbons, ink-smudged fingers and corrective fluid." People say they like the machines' classic styling, their sturdiness and simplicity or simply that they are nondigital and good for only one thing: writing by typing directly on paper. If you want to join the new "typosphere" be prepared to unlearn everything you know about writing on computer keyboards. The typewriter may also have alpha-numeric keys laid out in a qwerty pattern, but all similarity ends there.
Instructions
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Portable typewriter with case. Open the case if the machine comes in one, unlock the lever or levers that lock the typewriter on the case's bottom and lift the typewriter out.
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How it used to be done. Set the machine on a sturdy desktop or tabletop and sit down in front of it. If it is one of the light travel portables, you can prop it on your thighs.
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Typewriter with type bed and ribbon spools showing. Lift the cover, if there is one, hiding the type bars and ribbon spools. It may lift off completely or just flip up. (See the link in Resources for a diagram of a typewriter with the parts labeled.)
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Type hammers. Inspect the type bars to make sure that the individual numbers, letters and symbols on their ends, called the type hammers, are clean and no type bar is sticking up above the rest.
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The type guide, with ribbon vibrator behind it. Rotate both ribbon spools clockwise, then flip the ribbon reverse button or lever and spin them counterclockwise. They should rotate freely, and the ribbon should travel smoothly in either direction through the ribbon vibrator that raises and lowers it behind the type guide. Replace the cover; it helps to dampen the noise the keys will make.
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Paper at the ready. Slide the paper guide, if there is one, to where you want the typing paper's left edge to line up. Slide a sheet of typing paper down the paper table into the slot it forms with the platen roller. Use one of the knobs at either end of the platen to roll the paper around the platen until it emerges underneath at the front between the platen and the feed rollers. Continue rolling the paper up until about an inch sticks up above the type guide.
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Set your left and right margins with the sliding tabs at the back of the carriage and the desired line spacing with the little marked control wheel or lever located on the carriage.
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Carriage positioned at the left margin. Position the carriage at the left margin or wherever it is you want to start typing on the paper. On a portable machine you may have to unlock the carriage if it was immobilized in the centered position for transport. Use the carriage return lever to slide the carriage to the right or left; depress one of the small carriage release levers at either end of the carriage and position the carriage.
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Now pound those keys. Start typing, remembering to apply sufficient muscle power to the type keys to have the type hammers hit the ribbon and the paper with a satisfying "clack." The space bar moves the carriage one space at a time; shift keys let you type caps and the symbols that share space on the number keys. When you finish typing a line, return the carriage to the starting margin with the carriage return lever to set it up for the next line.
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Tips & Warnings
Use corrective fluid to cover the inevitable typing mistakes and then type over it after it dries. Buy typewriter ribbons at the major office supply stores or their web sites. Clean accumulated carbon from the type hammers with a stiff nylon brush; an old toothbrush will do. Use a little cleaning fluid to ease the task. Have the machine professionally cleaned, adjusted and oiled at least once a year if it sees heavy use.
Wear thin, disposable rubber or nitrile gloves when you need to touch the ribbon, either to reseat it if it pops out of the ribbon vibrator or to change it, to avoid getting messy carbon on your fingers. Pry apart type hammer jams in front of the type guide carefully. Jams result when you hit two or more keys at the same time. Let the spring action reseat each type bar in its slot.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images John Foxx/Stockbyte/Getty Images
