Typewriting

𝚃𝚢𝚙𝚎𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 Typewriters are machines that can be used to print texts on paper. Today, typewriters are obsolete technology; they are uneconomic and have been superseded by electronic devices. about intermediate In the heyday of typewriters hundreds of books were written on typewriting. Unfortunately, when typewriters fell out of favor many people simply threw them away. It may be difficult to find and get a copy. This collaboratively edited Wikibook attempts to address the demand. Typewriter enthusiasts around the world have created and shared thousands upon thousands of instructional videos. We are glad you are considering reading an easily searchable textbook instead or to supplement video instructions. learning objective skillful use of non‐specialized non‐ancient typewriters designed to type up general documents in English target audience seeing and hearing adults not covered in this Wikibook This book is not about touchtyping, the skill of typing without looking at the keys (sometimes by layman also called typewriting), because it is a largely transferable skill (cmp. § legacy). This book does not provide product guidance, choosing the right typewriter that suits your needs. Only very mundane “artistic” use is described, not like “ASCII art” or similar. structure top‐down: general instructions, then delve into details; a lot of information is repeated multiple times so you may refer to sections in a handbook manner; strictly continuous reading from stem to stern should not be necessary guidelines for co‐authors there are hundreds upon hundreds of (printed) books on typewriting, what makes this book different is extensive hyperlinking; note that Wikibooks holds back on interwiki (and interbook) linking, this book has to be self‐contained; write one sentence per physical line to facilitate readable diffs; use AE American English spelling and grammar but indicate interchangeable vocabulary like this: elevatorAE American English/liftBE British English 3 typewriting This section provides some background information. Feel free to skip it entirely. Note, similar to computer, a typewriter can refer to a person using a machine called typewriter; however, this use is – just like the word computer referring to a person – deemed archaic. thumb|alt=An array of levers featuring mirrored outlines of characters.|Terminology: In the (type) basket one (type) bar with a (type) slug at its top end is raised. legacy To this day (2026 2026 CE common era) almost all computer keyboards use a staggered keyboard layoutthe specific physical arrangement of keys, even though there is no mechanical need for that (there are no levers), there is not any consumer demand (anymore) to ease the transition from a typewriter to a computer keyboard, nor is it natural for humans’ fingers to move laterally. The predominant key mappingsthe assignment of keys to characters or functions are based on the “QWERTY” typewriter keyboard mapping. However, it is inefficient to type English‐language texts, leave alone non‐English texts. On computer keyboards the shift key is still called shift even though it does not shift anything. On actual typewriters the shift key actually moves the basket – the entirety of the assembly holding the type bars together – or carriage – the unit that holds the paper. Key tops are labeled as if there was only one key mapping. In fact the keyboard mapping can be changed electronically, the key labeled D producing an A is no problem. There is no mechanical connection between the key D producing a D. First a mechanical simplification utilized in typewriters, monospaceevery character occupies the same amount of space as the other typefaces are still in use in some domains 2026 to this day. You would think that once technology became advanced enough, i. e. supported proportionalcharacters occupy only as much space as necessary fontssoftware used to generate typefaces, the typewriter baggage simply dies out, yet this is not the case. preference Few authors of novels – and not necessarily just those who grew up in the prime days of typewriters – claim they used typewriters because it facilitated and matched their authoring workflow; for instance (esp. with non‐electric typewriters) undoing mistakes is difficult, kind of nudging you to keep on writing, not going back. A typescript (typewritten manuscript) has the benefit that a publisher can perform OCR optical character recognition, the computerized extraction of text from scanned images. supplies Typewriters need paper and ink, and not just any paper and ink. (Preparing masters for hectography – a small batch replication method – is also possible, but 2026 lc not explained in this book.) thumb|alt=All letters a typewriter can produce next to a ruler marked in centimeters and inch.|Upon closer inspection the blot of white ink can be identified. paper color Should you want to be able to correct typing mistakes with correction fluids or tapes, use white paper because the correction fluid or tape is primarily available in white. Thus correcting typing mistakes on 100% recycling paper results in unsightly bright white spots, unnecessarily drawing the attention to the fact that you typed something wrong and had to correct it. Other methods to correct typing mistakes are not as sensitive to the paper’s color; still you get the best photocopies with white paper. grammage Typewriters can print on paper that has a certain range of grammage. Grammage refers to the mass per area. If the paper is too thin, glyphs with eyes such as D or o may punch holes into the sheet. Less than about 75 gsm grams per square meter is too thin. It is possible to “just” type lightly, but this tends to produce quite faint lettering, too. If the paper is too thick, the paper might not reliably advance. Consider anything in the neighborhood of 300 gsm grams per square meter too much. You can still help push and hold your paper with a hand, e. g. for one‐time prints like business or place cards, however, the typewriter’s platen‐roller also curls the paper. The most abundant retail paper has a grammage of 80 gsm grams per square meter or 90 gsm grams per square meter, so it is easy to obtain. If you intend to produce carbon copies, choose the thinner paper of the two. dimensions maximum length There is no actual maximum length – length referring to the secondary writing direction (for Latin‐based scripts like English usually downward). Otherwise, there are maximum and minimum dimensions for sheets. maximum width The maximum width is dictated by the paper feed slot. Keep in mind that the typewriter may not be able to type all the way to the (physically imposed) margins, neither is there usually any need. minimum size The minimum size needs to be tested. If the paper is too small, it does not advance reliably, maybe even gets skewed because there is no sufficient grip. It is recommended to simply write on a large sheet and cut it down to the desired size when finished. Another method is to use a backing sheet, a larger paper, and secure the smaller one with paperclips. ink ink ribbon The necessary ink is stored on ribbons. There are two types, the typewriter accepting only one of them: plastic film on one side coated with carbon (at least originally; different mixtures were in use since, yet it is still referred to as “carbon”) textile ribbons tinctured with ink Both are available with either correctable or indelible inkindelible ink is typically employed if documents need to be tamper‐evident and remain easily legible in several decades. And to add insult to injury, there are various ribbon widths. privacy Because of the gaps left on (correctable) carbon tapes, typed texts can usually be reconstructed, albeit without spaces and formatting. The plastic film comes in easy to install cartridges. Since the carbon is transferred from the film to the paper, there are gaps: this means the film is single use only. Have replacement ready. re‐inking Ensure the ink dries before winding it up. Moisture and poor ventilation, i. e. when wound up, facilitate grow of mold, another disadvantage. Textile ribbons deplete gradually. They can be re‐inked (either automatically via a “sponge” or manually, although DIY do it yourself can get pretty messy). Unfortunately, textile ribbons also wear out. accessories Unavailable characters are augmented by hand. Have a pen that matches the ink color and character line thickness. To plan ahead tables or similar you may find graph paper – paper with a 5 mm grid printed on it – useful; today, of course, you can use a computer and a text editor. correction fluid correction tape typewriter eraser Nobody is perfect. Have correction fluid, correction tape, or razor/scalpel to delete typing mistakes. You can also use a special eraser, yet this produces detritus to be kept out of the machine. Choose according to your requirements and preferences. Alternatively, many electric typewriters can be equipped with a far more convenient correction tape. There are two types: If a carbon‑C tape – C stands for correctable – is used, the ink can be removed with a lift‐off tape. This tape is comparable to adhesive tape. If indelible ink is used, there are whiteout tapes. They simply cover up the incorrect character; it is still there. operation Typewriters are mechanical machines. Some things may not work as smoothly as it used when the original manufacturer delivered them. You may need to start with maintenance. environment A typewriter takes up space. Ensure the carriage can move all the way from left to right and you can still comfortably access the controls. The inertia of the carriage as it advances to the next character position may rock “light”‐weight portable typewriters enough to make them move on a smooth surface. Ensure you cannot easily push your typewriter sideways with your hand. Possibly place the typewriter on rubber like a place mat. Some rubber mat may be recommended anyway to decouple mechanical vibrations to some degree There are exceptionally quiet typewriters (“noiseless”), but in general typewriters are annoyingly loud. For prolonged work consider wearing ear protection. This may also aid your ability to concentrate. The sound is nonetheless valuable feedback that you have properly struck a key. preparation Some models feature a carriage lock. The carriage lock ensures the carriage does not move back and forth during transport. The carriage invariably locks at the center position. The carriage lock lever is at a hard to reach location to prevent accidental locking, e. g. near the feet. It may take a while to find it. loading the ribbon For stencils loading a ribbon is not necessary, maybe you even need to remove the ribbon if the typewriter does not allow to select a stencil mode. Remove the cover. In some models you shift the frame toward you. In others you have to lift the cover. In some sophisticated models the cover is hinged and you need to push a latch pin. Load the ribbon as explained below. Install the cover. thumb|alt=A ribbon spool visible when the typewriter’s cover is removed.|The spools sit entirely on the pin. thumb|alt=A ribbon only partially held in the ribbon carrier.|Another method: use only one tooth on each side. spools The ink ribbon’s ends are attached to two spools. To facilitate even wear, you may want to label the spool: place a sticker on what shall be designated the top, indicate the winding/unwinding direction and maybe write the loading date. If you are a power user – someone who writes a lot with his typewriter on a regular basis – and do not intend to unload the ink ribbon, you can skip this step. There are two reel tables with pins the size of the spools’ central hole. Unwind the ribbon a bit and place both spools on the pin so that the ribbon wind/unwind on the far side, the side that is closer to the roller‐platen. Do not twist the ribbon. If the correct spools are used, the pins should stick out at the top. If not, rotate the spools a bit and lightly push them down. Especially in portable typewriters you may feel that the spools snap. Except in very old typewriters, there are two arms extending from the reel table with vertical slits. They can be moved laterally. These are part of the reverser mechanism. Place the ribbon in the slits. When reaching either end of the ribbon, the typewriter keeps pulling the ribbon: in consequence the tension exerted by the ribbon on the arm triggers a ribbon feed reversal. Thread the ribbon into the ribbon carrier (a. k. a. also known as shaker or vibrator), the window that raises and falls down as you type characters. Using both hands, grab a short segment of the ribbon in the middle. Like flossing your teeth, use your thumbs to stretch this segment. Move it between the ribbon carrier and typing mask. In models that swivel the carriage (instead of shifting the basket, the assembly unit that holds all the type bars), you may have better access by using the caps lock. When descending the ribbon, switch from pushing to pulling: pull the lower edge of the ribbon and guide the ribbon downward so the lower teeth of the ribbon carrier become covered. Finally push down the upper edge past the gap and gently pull it toward you. Now straighten the ribbon so the upper teeth are covered, too. Turn either spool to remove excess slack. A little bit of slack is harmless. Note that one of the spools can only be rotated in one direction. This is correct. cartridges margins Typewriters almost always have at least one margin delimiter. The margin controls the area in the primary writing direction – the line length – you can write on. The right‐hand margin is the imaginary vertical line on the paper not to be crossed when typing a line. The left‐hand margin is the imaginary vertical line on the paper at which you start typing, more specifically on the right‐hand side of the line. standardization ISO International Organization for Standardization standard 838 expects that the margin to be punched with holes has a width of 20 mm – 25 mm (ca. ¾ in – 1 in). pitch Today, margin requirements are usually expressed as a length. However, you will not find a ruler on your typewriter marked in, say, millimeters. pitch (typewriter) There are few typewriters that advance horizontally only so much as the character really needs, e. g. an I (eye) and l (ell) is narrow, whereas M advances a lot more. By far most typewriters have a fixed pitch: each character occupies exactly the same width as the other (“monospace”). Horizontal pitch is expressed in character per inch (cpi), vertical pitch in lines per inch (lpi). One inch is 25.4 mm millimeters. Take a ruler and align the zero mark with the zero mark on (any) ruler on the typewriter. If the ruler marks inches, you can read the cpi character per inch value directly at the 1" mark. For rulers with a millimeter scale, read the character count at 127 mm millimeters and divide it by 5. The most common pitches are 10 or 12 cpi characters per inch. Some typewriters allow switching between the two, especially if the typeface is exchangeable. § Calculating the margins: needs more details, is not easy to understand. Refactor this. Knowing your machine’s pitch allows you to calculate the sheet’s width expressed in character positions, the margin widths expressed in character positions, and thus how many character positions you need to subtract. DIN 5008 For example, an ISO International Organization for Standardization standard 216 size A4 sheet (210 mm millimeters × 297 mm millimeters) is to be printed with a 10 cpi character per inch (“pica”) machine leaving 25 mm millimeters of margin on the left‐hand side and 20 mm millimeters of margin on the right‐hand side. 210 mm millimeters × 10 cpi character per inch = 210 mm millimeters × 10 ch characters ÷ 25.4 mm millimeters ≈ 82.68 ch characters  25 mm millimeters × 10 cpi character per inch =  25 mm millimeters × 10 ch characters ÷ 25.4 mm millimeters ≈  9.84 ch characters  20 mm millimeters × 10 cpi character per inch =  20 mm millimeters × 10 ch characters ÷ 25.4 mm millimeters ≈  7.87 ch characters 82.68 ch characters − 10 ch characters − 8 ch characters ≈  64.68 ch characters Some models feature an adjustable paper guide: This is an edge in the paper feed slot you can move laterally. It has a pointy mark indicating the position on the ruler. Using the calculated information you set the paper guide preferably at −10 ch characters. If not available, shift all values by a constant, preferably a multiple of 10. adjustment Knowing the required margins expressed as a character count you can adjust them. Some typewriters have an “automatic” margin function. You press some magic button and simultaneously move the carriage to the first or last position a character should appear. margin tabs More often than not you need to set the margins yourself. For that – depending on the model – depress or lift the margin tabs. The margin tabs are located close to the margin ruler, a numbered scale, in non‐electric typewriters at the far end of the carriage or anywhere close to the platen‐roller. You may see an arrow, triangular arrow heading pointing toward the numbered ruler, or just a vertical line. In some models it is not necessary to actually push the tab down, if you are adjusting the left‐hand margin in the leftward direction, and if you are adjusting the right‐hand margin in the rightward direction. You can simply push them laterally. Move the carriage to a central position. The margins cannot be adjusted past the current position lest unless released. To move the carriage rightward you can just push it. For leftward movement you can – beside repeatedly hitting space – find a carriage release lever. Move the margin tabs. margin release In normal operations the carriage cannot be moved beyond the currently set margins. However, there is a margin release: The margin release may be labeled ⇼, ∷ or just MR. Press the margin release key to move past either margin. When you were stopped by the right‐hand margin, you may hear that the carriage advanced upon pressing the margin release key. Once you have passed either margin, let go of the margin release. You only need to press the margin release key to move rightward across the right‐hand margin, or to move leftward across the left‐hand margin. The opposite direction, moving rightward across the left‐hand margin, and moving leftward across the right‐hand margin is always “allowed”. Essentially, the margin release is “reset” whenever you enter the designated text area. loading paper You need to feed your typewriter with paper. Typewriters take sheets. There are no sprockets to advance continuous paper with perforated borders that can be teared away, so continuous paper may slowly veer to either side because it is not perfectly aligned. To some degree you can label envelopes for letters, too. Possibly wash your hands if you just loaded the ribbon. You do not want to get smears of ink on the paper before you even started. Move the carriage to a center position. Usually this should not matter, but in some machines the paper may get stuck. To move the carriage rightward you can just push it. For leftward movement you can – beside repeatedly hitting space – find a release lever. Usually you type on one sheet at a time. However, if applicable, prepare the stack of paper. For carbon copies place one carbon sheet between each paper. The black side faces the sheet to print on. The characters on the top sheet get their ink from the ribbon. Ensure all sheets have the same orientation in case you are using papers with a letterhead already printed on it. Align the borders by tapping the stack edge first on the tabletop. Be careful as to not to crinkle the carbon sheets. Insert the paper(s). There is a slot on the far side of the platenen platen is pronounced /ˈplætən/, like “platten”. If you are using paper that has a letterhead already printed on it, the front page should face away from you and the top is fed first. For plain blank paper the direction does not matter. If there are any carbon sheets, their black sides have to face the platen. Disengage the line spacer. The line spacer defines how much you advance in the secondary writing direction. It is either a lever on the carriage next to some single‐digit marks, or you can pull out the platen‐roller knob (usually the left one). Turn the knob of the platen‐roller. There are usually two knobs, one on each side. The right‐hand platen knob is turned clockwise, the left‐hand platen knob counter‐clockwise. As you twist either knob, the paper should be drawn into the machine now. If not, you may be using too thick paper, or you need to ensure the paper release is disengaged. As the paper emerges on the other side, you may need to guide it below the paper bail. Return the bail bar back to its normal position. Turn either knob so that roughly 50% of the paper is not in yet, 50% of the paper already sticks out front. In some models you have to lift the paper bail, that is the bar sometimes with numbered marks and possibly rollers sitting on top of the already written on paper. In some models the paper slips right under it without further ado, in others you have to push it there. Ideally you notice that the edges of the paper, the one in the back and the one in front of it, align perfectly. Should the paper not be aligned perfectly, pinch the papers (both back and front) at the top edge. Engage the paper release. You can now move the paper freely. Shift them individually so the corners align. If your typewriter does not have a paper guide at its feed slot, pay also attention the paper bail: you probably want the paper’s edge to appear at a certain mark. Now pinch the the papers together again and gently pull up (against the roller‐platen). Cautiously disengage the paper release. When disengaged, let go of the paper. One last visual check: while the line snap is disengaged twist the platen knob back and forth, so at the top the front and rear end alternate. If you notice any raggedness, repeat this step. Turn the roller‐platen back to the first line you want to write in. Note, while it is possible to write at the very top of the sheet, writing all the way to the bottom of the page is not possible: some paper has to remain in the machine for sufficient grip, otherwise it gets out of place and your text lines become bent. If you need text to appear all the way to the bottom, use larger paper and cut it down when finished. Engage the line spacer, and optionally erect the paper stand. The paper stand is one or two bars you can lift behind the paper feed. side Single‐sided vs. double‐sided Because of the embossing it creates on the other side, typewritten documents are usually single‐sided for purely esthetic reasons. In some instances the front and back are always printed on, e. g. a post card or a last will and testament (not exceeding two pages) so as to not raise any doubt that it was one document. (As a side bar, in some jurisdictions a will has to be handwritten or else certified by a notary public.) It is apparent that the thicker the paper, the less pronounced the imprint and thus more acceptable to write on both sides. typing hyphenation rules It is a sin to hyphenate across pages. In justified composition, at most two or three subsequent lines may be hyphenated. thumb|alt=The left aspect of a typewriter.|Use the lever to advance the sheet and return the carriage to the left‐hand margin. line In most models, as you approach the right‐hand margin you will hear a bell ring. Latin script typewriters are usually adjusted to ring the bell when you can still type at most 6 – 8 ch characters. This is a good point in time to consider wrapping the line. If the margin is not too thin, it is generally acceptable to print punctuation like hyphens and periods past it; use the margin release. With some models the carriage simply stops advancing once you reach the right‐hand margin. Before you know it you are typing multiple characters on top of each other. More sophisticated models arrest the type bars. The carriage return lever performs two actions at once, return the carriage and advance to the next line. It is the biggest lever you can find, attached at the left‐hand end of the carriage. Push the lever rightward till the carriage is stopped by the left‐hand margin. enter Electric typewriters do not have a carriage return lever, but a new line enter key. Unlike the non‐electric counterparts, electric typewriters block typing any new letters while the carriage or type head returns to the starting position. You should feel increased resistance if you try pressing any printing keys. line spacer The line spacer defines by how much you want to advance the paper when starting a new line. It usually has at least three settings: 1, 1½ and 2. These are factors to a reasonable line height, e. g. ⅙ in inch. This line height includes a little bit of leading – that is lead as in the chemical element. To select the line height factor you may find a wheel or lever. lh What line spacer setting should I use (for the main text body)? If you intend to superscript or subscript text inside a paragraph, it may be wise to use the 150% setting. By using double spacing, you can insert words you forgot typing using the space between lines. Alternatively, if sufficiently wide, the margin can be utilized to supply missing words (in combination with some insertion mark). Because of the uniform width of characters, typewritten texts are said to be more difficult to read in comparison to texts set with a proportional font. Consider adding vertical space just to aid legibility. On the other hand, it is a matter of practice; for instance hanzi (“Chinese characters”) are placed in uniform square boxes and nobody is complaining about that. The line spacer can be disengaged. Some typewriters integrate disengaging the line spacer as a setting 0 (zero). thumb|alt=A lady sits in front of a typewriter.|reasonable typing position strokes Users of electric typewriters simply touch the keys. Just ensure it is switched on. With mechanical typewriters the user has to muster the necessary force all on his own. A proper stroke is resolute – quick attack and quick release. Try a faint touch, try slow motion, it will not print. The keys travel quite far in comparison to electric typewriters. You want to apply all force in the downward direction, yet your arms should barely move. Therefore sit upright and have the typewriter just a bit above lap height. The regular desk height you use to comfortably write with a pen on a piece of paper is too high. Moreover, should your finger slip they may get entangled between the keys. For small face characters like the period (.), comma (,), colon (:) and semicolon (;) a light tap is sufficient; especially if the period or comma are hit with full force you may inadvertently print the top area, too, creating bit of an angry vibe, period! Furthermore, it may punch a hole in the paper or even damage the ribbon. If you are producing carbon copies, it is of import to strike keys with more force than usual. An electric typewriter is therefore ideal for such a job. Typing mistakes need to be corrected separately, in the original and each and every copy. performance Typing speed is measured in strokes per minute, pressing shift being counted, too, in addition to the actual letter key. jam If you are typing fast on a typewriter using type bars – the levers that strike the paper – as opposed to type heads, you may be stopped by one bar holding up another one thus blocking the typing window. This jam requires manual intervention. Ensure you pull down the type bar closest to you first so as to not accidentally bend the levers. Type a character sample sheet. In other words, type something like the following, obviously resembling the keyboard layout the specific physical arrangement of keys: Typewriter Model Make, manufactured 2028, serial number 123456 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + ß ´ q w e r t y u i o p ü a s d f g h j k l ; ä z x c v b n m , . - ; " = % & ( ) ' § / : ` Q W E R T Y U I O P Ü A S D F G H J K L Ö Ä Z X C V B N M ? ! _ The staggering, the lateral position of each character, corresponds to the arrangement of type bars, the levers, in the basket (of course only applicable if you use a typewriter with type bars). Ensure that in the final document in each of the blocks no two characters are above each other. If one letter, one type bar persistently does not seem to return, you may have the idea that you needed to lubricate the machine. However, oiling the segment – the solid arced block with slits holding the type bars – may be inadvisable because it is hard to clean; over time accumulating dust in combination with oil produces icky goo making the type bars even harder to fall back. capital letters There are very few typewriters that have two sets of keys: one for majusculesthe typographic term for upper‐case letters and one for minusculesthe typographic term for lower‐case letters. The predominant pattern, however, has only one set of keys. By default the letter keys produce minuscules. You need to press either shift key. They may be unlabeled. One is left of the Z, the other one at the far right in the same row. Unlike keyboards for electronic devices – including electric typewriters – you do not need to ensure the shift key is pressed before hitting the letter key. You can press shift and the desired letter in sync, simultaneously. In mechanical typewriters both mechanisms are independent from each other. caps lock thumb|caps lock in action In modern typography, headings are set with a larger fontset of glyphs following a common design size and possibly heavier weightthin and thick lines. Some premium typewriters have exchangeable type heads, but more often than not you are “stuck” with a single font size and weight. If underlining or similar is insufficient, you may want to type a title in all‐caps. To facilitate this, typewriters frequently feature a caps lock key. It is the key immediately above the left shift key and may also be unlabeled or called shift lock. If you press caps lock you will feel a snap. It often moves in unison with all shift keys. Now you can type upper‐case letters without pressing shift. However, note that digit and punctuation keys also produce their shifted meaning. All‐caps titles may benefit from added horizontal spacing, but only a little bit; one whole space character is already too much, so you need to use the semi‐step mechanism. Caps lock is a “one‐way” key: To unlock the caps lock you press either shift key (watch the video and pay attention which key is pressed). Unlike computer keyboards, pressing caps lock when it is already “activated” will not reverse its effects. Historically, telegrams were often written in all‐caps, some typewriters even had only upper‐case letters. An orator may appreciate if his speech is written all‐caps, as he may find it easier to read. To facilitate this practice in few typewriters the comma (,) and period (.) are left unaffected by the shift key. You may notice that the . and , have their respective characters printed on them twice telling you that releasing caps lock is not necessary. mistakes Assess the situation. A number of mistakes can be corrected by clever use of the typewriter. Let’s say you meant to type capital E but – just for purpose of giving an example – typed a capital F. To remedy the situation, simply go back and type the E. It may not look perfect – in particular if the F dons a serif at its foot – but it works. Either flag the mistake – put a small adhesive slip on the original – to postpone it, or apply the correction immediately as described in the subsections. If there are too many mistakes on a page, consider taking a break and starting over. There is no satisfaction in a poorly typed page. thumb|alt=The digit one in black on white paper. Next to it grooves of the digit two.|You cannot undo the impression: You can discern the 2. errors There are correction fluids and tapes available. For convenient access of the mistyped part, advance the paper by a couple lines first. Now simply cover the incorrectly typed characters. If applicable, ensure the paint is dried. Make it a habit and always give it a gentle blow, regardless whether it is really necessary. Return to the first elided position and – hopefully – type the correct character(s). For bulk corrections or if the paper is not in the correction fluid’s or tape’s color (i. e. not white), type the correction on a separate piece of paper, cut it out and glue it in the proper place. Evidently, this correction needs to be postponed till the page is finished. If your typewriter is equipped with a lift‐off tape, press the ⌫ key and now type the incorrect character as printed. While the erase function is enabled, the lift‐off tape is raised, not the carbon film. After having typed one printing character, the erase function is disabled. The type head stays at its current position so you can immediately type the correct character. CC carbon copy perfection The thickness of the copy papers and carbon sheets add up to the roller‐platen diameter. Expect more slippage than usual. Avoid unnecessary scrolling. If you are making CCs carbon copies and want to correct a mistake with the typewriter, consider advancing the stack by a couple lines and temporarily inserting scrap sheets between every copy and its corresponding carbon paper. Return to the correct line and the correcting character gets printed on the scrap sheets. Before continuing writing, remove the scrap sheets. This ordeal ensures the newly printed characters are perfectly aligned with the line and everything, something hard to achieve if you reloaded the paper. x-ing A fast method to rectify mistakes is overprinting incorrect parts: Return the carriage or type head to the position of the first incorrect character. Repeatedly strike x or / while the cursor is above incorrectly typed characters. As convenient this method is, it is particularly ugly. However, it is generally an acceptable compromise for carbon‐copied documents, amending each copy individually being awfully time‐consuming and risking damage. Of course, ugliness is of no concern for drafts or other one‐time use documents. omissions If you forgot typing one character, you can use the semi‐step mechanics. Many typewriters actually advance by one character cell in two steps. Return to the character position preceding the insertion position. Press and hold the space bar. Now type the character to be inserted. You may furthermore want to consider to superscript the character. Temporarily scroll back by one half line. paragraphs Paragraph breaks are either indicated by vertical blank space, or by indenting the first line but without vertical space. Do not indent the first line and add vertical blank space at the same time. Outdenting (“negative” indentation) is rarely done with typewriters. tabulation To facilitate the creation of lists and tables or just to quickly indent the first line of a paragraph, some typewriters are equipped with a fast‐forward key. There are two mechanisms: The user can define tabulator stops and pressing ⇥ jumps to the next tab stop. This gives the users maximum flexibility, yet the mechanics are also pretty heavy. This kind is usually only found in desk typewriters. Pressing ⇥ advances to the next character position divisible by 10 ± some offset. 10 is the most common value and cannot be changed. This mechanism is sometimes present in “light‐weight” portable typewriters. Either mechanism is suitable to create left‐aligned itemizations. Aligning the radix mark (i. e. in English the decimal point) of numbers of varying length still requires manual alignment. To set and reset tabulator stops, there are either two keys – CL to clear, SET to set a tabulator stop – or there is a tabulator control lever or swivel key. It is labeled with a plus and minus sign, or unlabeled but plus and minus signs are found next to it on the typewriter frame. By pushing the control in the direction of the plus sign, you set a tabulator stop at the current position. By pushing the control in the direction of the minus sign, you cancel the tabulator stop at the current position (if any is set). To type an itemization using the tabulation mechanics, proceed as follows: Clear all tabulator stops. Some typewriters have a small lever on the carriage to clear all tabulator stops at once. Others require you to return the carriage, press and hold the CL key or the tabulator control lever in the direction of the minus sign, and press ⇥. The carriage scoots to the right‐hand margin canceling all tabulator stops. To verify your success, if you return the carriage and press ⇥, the carriage should glide all the way to the right‐hand margin now. Advance to the position where the carriage should stop. Push the tabulator control in the direction of the plus sign and release. Repeat this step as required. Because tabulation stops are “stored” as little pins, it may be recommended to keep stops at most 5 to 15 character positions apart. The heavy carriage smashing with all its mass into a tabulation stop pin is quite some stress. Of course you can always simply use one hand and slow down the carriage as you tab. Type the itemization and use the ⇥ key to advance to the beginning of the next cell. You can amend tabulator stops as you go, e. g. because table cells are merged or split up. Even without a neat tabulation mechanism, some typewriters feature a “slow” forward ↠ key (sounding like “automatic (gun‑)fire”). With some practice you get used to its pace and can jump forward quickly. unloading paper When you have finished typing up the current page: Optionally proofread the page and fix any mistakes while you can. Reloading the page following exactly the same line rhythm is difficult, so this is the last chance to fix any mistakes. Engage the paper release. It is usually a lever found on the carriage. This removes pressure from the rollers beneath the roller‐platen. The paper can move freely now. Pull the stack of sheets out of the machine and lay them in the working area of your desk. Disengage the paper release for subsequent operation. If applicable, separate any carbon sheets. Be careful as to not to crinkle them. If applicable, make amendments you postponed, e. g. filling in missing characters. If you are super‐organized, you place the finished pages in a tray collecting all pages of one document. end of work flat spot prevention Engage the paper release. Prolonged pressure to the rollers at one point may make them flat. Flat spots convey the paper poorly. On the other hand, this puts stress on the paper release spring so it may wear out and actually decrease the pressure the rollers exercise. Rest assured, springs as well as rollers can be replaced; replacement rollers are now marketed as parts for electronic printers. Select the easiest setting for everything else, for instance disengage caps lock. The ink in the ink ribbon is adjusted to not dry out for several months. It is not necessary to remove the ribbon after each use. Moreover, unloading exposes the ribbon to the risk of damage. Unloading the ribbon is essentially loading the ribbon in reverse. Carbon films and correction tapes can stay indefinitely. Dust accumulation is bad. Return the carriage to a center position and cover the typewriter e. g. with a nonfuzzy towel. Portable typewriters intended for travel come with a lid turning the typewriter–lid unit into a suitcase. glossary procedures form forms To fill out forms you need to disable the line advance snap. This allows to freely align the form vertically. Depending on the model you just pull the paper drum knob, turn a wheel or lever. It may be integrated in the line advance length selector and labeled 0 (zero). For form fields of limited length, be sure to consult the ruler to count the characters you can type, maybe necessitating condensing the intended entry. hanging punctuation hanging punctuation Justified composition may produce an unsteady right‐hand margin: commas, hyphens and periods are predominantly white characters. Despite the justified composition the right‐hand margin optically appears to be ragged. The solution is to insert a half‐space within the line. If you do not want to utilize a computer to plan this much ahead, first type a left‐aligned version just like usual. Use this version to count and indicate where to place extra spaces. Each line that ends on a period, comma or dash gets another half space. That means for the second half of the line you press and hold the space bar before typing any character. hectography hectography Typewriters that accommodate for dual‐colored ribbons usually also have a blank setting. If not remove the ribbon. letterspacing letterspacing Type one space character between every character. That also means to type an intervening space you hit space three times in a row. See § space out for the favored more sophisticated method. dashed lines lines, dashed, horizontal, vertical or diagonal A vertical dashed line can be achieved by putting straight apostrophes (') beneath each other. A horizontal dashed line is achieved by repeatedly typing dashes (-). If their angle/orientation is right, diagonal dashed lines can be achieved with the accents ´ and `. Because of the varying line lengths of these characters and not worth mentioning the spacing between them, diagrams employing dashed lines in multiple directions may look inconsistent. dotted lines lines, dotted, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal For horizontal dotted lines, repeatedly type the period (.). For vertical dotted lines, type period, use the backspace, advance the line feed by half a line and type a period again. Alternatively hold the spacer and type periods as you advance the roller‐platen. Repeat as appropriate. For a denser vertical line you can also employ the colon (:). solid lines lines, solid, horizontal or vertical Some typewriters have a groove in the typing mask. Place a pen here and move the carriage for horizontal lines (hold the carriage release for that), or retreat the paper for vertical lines (advancing the paper can make it difficult to see where to stop). perforation perforation To perforate thin enough paper – e. g. a reply form beneath a letter body or phone number strips to tear from a bulletin board posting – use dotted lines with even less spacing. Due to their small face area it is usually not necessary to apply extra force when typing. Consider selecting the non‐printing stencil mode or removing the ribbon since the ink is usually not necessary. space out space out Many typewriters actually advance in two steps. Upon pressing any printing key (including space, excluding “dead” keys) the carriage (or type head) advances by one half character width, and once all keys are released the carriage advances another half character width. This semi‐step mechanics can be utilized to add horizontal space, esp. desirable in all‐caps titles. First, type a character as usual. Next hit and hold the spacer. This “adds” just one half of space. Now type the next character. Release the spacer and strike it as usual. Repeat these steps as appropriate. Should this mechanism not supported by your typewriter, resort to letterspacing. Letterspacing, however, adds too much horizontal space. thumb|alt=A lever next to black, white and red-colored spots.|Example color selector. If loaded correctly, in this setting the black part of the ribbon prints. markup Markup options are severely limited, yet they are not none. bold bold To some degree bold text can be produced by typing the same letters again. Use the backspace to return to the starting position. On the other hand this may increase the likelihood of punching through the paper (e. g. creating holes). You can always simply manually retrace the character with a pen after you have finished typing the page. colors colors There are dual‐colored ribbons and typewriters that allow selecting between the top and bottom portion of the ribbon. Note that carbon copies remain monochrome regardless. double underlining double underlining Advance either one whole or just one half line. Use the equal sign = to produce double underlines. Hit and hold =, depress the space bar and hit = again, release both keys and repeat as appropriate. If you have advanced just one half line, you may want to skip underlining for descenders (g, j, p, q, y, and possibly parentheses, f and the capital Q, too). Alternatively, use the same method as underlining twice, with vertical displacement applied to the second time. The vertical distance between the underlines may be considered too wide, though. overlining overlining See underlining except that the underline is produced for the preceding line and you may want to skip any inch signs ("). Keep in mind that overlining may be confused for underlining. strike strikethrough strikethrough The underscore used for underlining cannot necessarily be aligned properly. Instead use the hyphen‐dash. However, the dash is too short, you need to hit and hold the dash, then hold the space bar and hit the dash again. Now release both keys and repeat as appropriate. subscript subscript Advance the paper by half a line. This requires turning the roller‐drum manually; the lever advances the paper by at least one whole line and you may accidentally move the carriage, too. When you are done, turn the roller‐platen back by half a line. In proper typesetting the font size has to be reduced, too, but this cannot be achieved with a typewriter. superscript superscript See § subscript, taking into consideration that you roll back the paper by half a line upward. typeface typefaces There are typewriters that have replaceable type heads; spheres or discs are common forms. In other typewriters the typeface is an integral part. If the typeface conveys meaning – such as variable names in mathematics and sciences – consider writing them with a pen by hand. underlining underlining Many typewriters feature an underscore character (_). This character is wide enough so repeatedly striking it creates one continuous underline. You may want to consider skipping descenders (g, j, p, q, y, and possibly parentheses, f and the capital Q, too). See also double underlining and solid lines. zig‐zag underlining underlining, zig‐zag A zig‐zag underline may be achieved by stringing carets (^) together in the next line at a semi‐step. symbol curiosity frameless|alt=A key of a typewriter labeled with a rune double S symbol instead of a zero. In Nazi National Socialist Germany typewriters with dedicated “lightning‐bolt” de SS Schutzstaffel unset types were in use. Few even featured a ࿕ key. characters Through clever combination and positioning, you can type more characters than 40‐something keys/types provide, sort of. These are all workarounds and do not meet the quality standards in professional typography. character name yes A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z CHARACTER-A á á Hit ´. This is usually a “dead key”, that means it does not advance the carriage. Now type a. Evidently, this is opposite the customary writing order: using a pen the base letter is written first and accents are added second. â â Hit ´ and `; this is usually one “dead key”, that means it does not advance the carriage or type head. Now type a. æ æ Hit and hold a, press the space bar and release a and type an e. Note that the majuscule Æ cannot be produced in this fashion. ampersand ampersand See &. apostrophe ’ ’ Most of the time you simply use the straight tick ('), but to get a nine‐shaped apostrophe type a raised comma. In German the apostrophe is also known as de Hochkomma, literally meaning elevated comma. eight-spoked asterisk ✳ ✳ With a sans‐serifwithout serifs (serifs are additional lines, e. g. horizontal lines added to a capital eye I) typeface you can superimpose a + and x. It looks more rectangular than round though. at @ @ At is conventionally substituted by an a overlaid with a slash /. Obviously without the arc it does not look anything like the @ sign. You may want to consider spelling out the word at instead, possibly putting it in parentheses: (at)). CHARACTER-B ¦ broken bar ¦ If the straight apostrophe is long enough, but not too long, type a ', backspace, advance the platen by half a line and type another '. Scroll back by one half line before you continue writing. bullet ◦ ◦ Just type an o. CHARACTER-C ç ç It may not produce a satisfactory result but you can try combining c with a comma (,). © © The copyright sign is conventionally approximated as (c). care of ℅ ℅ Reverse the paper by one half line, hit and hold c, press the space bar, advance the paper by one half line, type a /, release all keys and type one o. caret ‸ Advance to the next line, hit ´ and `; this is usually one “dead key”, that means it does not advance the carriage. Alternatively, finish writing the page, load the paper again upside‐down, disable line snap, and after careful adjustment type a v. cent ¢ The cent sign is substituted by overlaying the minuscule c with a forward slash /. The proper glyph has a vertical line sticking out by the same amount at the top and bottom. Considering spelling out the word cent if the reader may not recognize the substitution as ¢. commercial minus sign ٪ ⁒ ⁒, ٪ Roll back by one half line, hit and hold period ., depress the space bar and release the period, advance the paper by one half line, type a slash /, release all keys and type one final period .. CHARACTER-D đ đ The version with a stroke through the (upper) stem can be achieved this way: Hit and hold d, press the space bar, release d, and type a t. Đ Đ Hit and hold dash (-), press and hold the spacer, release the dash key, and type a capital D. db ȸ ȸ Press and hold d, press and hold the spacer, release the d and type a b. degree ° ° The degree sign is approximated by a superscript o (minuscule oh). A perfectionist may hold and turn the roller‐platen knob slightly backward. division sign ÷ ÷ It may not produce satisfactory results, but try to overlay a colon (:) with any of the horizontal lines. dollar sign $ $ A single stroke dollar character can be substituted by overlaying the S with a slash (/). double dagger ‡ ‡ Type a plus +, hit backspace, roll back the paper by half a line and type + again. There may be a small gap between the plus signs. Advance the paper by half a line to return to the baseline. CHARACTER-E emdash em dash An em dash (—) can be approximated by hitting and holding the hyphen‐dash key, pressing the space bar and then hitting the dash key again. Release both keys and hit the dash key one more time. If efficiency is more important, simply striking - three times will do. endash en dash An en dash (–) can be approximated by hitting and holding the hyphen‐dash key, pressing the space bar and then hitting the dash key again. Note that a parenthetical en dash usually needs to be surrounded by space. Alternatively, if available and wide enough, consider the raised underscore (_) the en dash character. If efficiency matters, simply type - twice without going great lengths at making the dashes overlap. equal sign = Some models lack a proper equal sign. Type a dash -, use the backspace, now firmly hold the roller‐platen knob and advance the paper just a tiny bit (before it snaps to the next position), and type a dash again. et et ligature & This character is conventionally expanded to et, the Latin word for and. exclamation point ! If the straight apostrophe is long enough, you can overlay ' with a period (.). CHARACTER-F ff ff ff Hit and hold f, press space, and type f again. ffi ffi ffi Hit and hold f, press space, type f again, release both keys and type an i. ffl ffl ffl Hit and hold f, press space, type f again, release both keys and type an l. fi fi fi Hit and hold f, press space, release f and type an i. fl fl fl Hit and hold f, press space, release f and type an l. CHARACTER-H hash hash See octothorp. CHARACTER-I infinity ∞ ∞ With a sans‐serif typeface you may get an acceptable result by combining o, x, o at a semi step width. interrobang ‽ ‽ By overlaying ! and ? you get ‽. CHARACTER-L ł barred l ł It does not look like the proper character, but overlay l with a slash. Ł barred L Ł It does not look like the proper character, but overlay L with a slash. CHARACTER-M minus − minus A minus sign (−) is rendered using a hyphen‐dash (-) or an en dash. The important thing is that the line is at the same height as the horizontal in +. See also ⁒. multiplication times × multiplication The multiplication cross (×) is rendered using the regular character x. This works best with typefaces without serifs. Of course an x may be confused for the variable x. Alternatively use a multiplication dot by typing a period (.); a superscript period does not work, though, hence the period stays at the baseline. CHARACTER-O Ø ∅︀ Ø, ∅︀ Type capital O, use the backspace to return to the previous position and type the forward slash /. The corresponding minuscule ø, however, cannot be produced this way, at least not in a satisfactory manner. ɵ ɵ Overlay an o with an e: Type an o, then backspace and type an e. Do not type too hard as to not punch a hole in the paper. octothorp # Press and hold =, press the space bar and type = again. Backspace and hit and hold /, press the space bar and type / again. You can fine‐tune this procedure. Type a = just like before. Then backspace. Now possibly engage caps lock to access the /. Before actually typing the first /, gently push and hold the backspace key a little bit. Observe how the carriage moves a small amount to the left. In that position hit the /. Remove pressure from the backspace key. For the second / block the left‐hand end of the carriage with your hand. It should not move. Now press the space bar. If you held the carriage firmly enough, it should have moved just a tiny bit to the right. In that position type /. Do not worry, this positioning may need multiple attempts. When done, do not forget to disengage the caps lock. A tall upright octothorp can be achieved with pluses: Press and hold +, press and hold the space bar, now type a + again. After releasing all keys, backspace and repeat the previous step as superscripted text. However, there may be a small gap between the plus sign rows. œ œ Hit and hold o, press the space bar and release o and type an e. Œ Œ Same procedure as œ just with capital letters. one one The digit 1 may be missing. Type a minuscule ell (l) instead. In Roman numerals a one is still typed as a capital eye (I). CHARACTER-P ℗ ℗ The sound recording copyright sign is conventionally approximated as (P). per cent % The per cent sign is conventionally substituted with o/o. percent ‰ The per mille sign is conventionally substituted with o/oo. plus + If the straight apostrophe (') is long enough, place two of them above each other combined with a dash (-). A makeshift plus is achieved by overlaying the dash (-) with a slash (/). This is more acceptable in combination with italic type faces. pound sign pound sterling £ £ The pound sign is substituted by an L overlaid with a dash (-). In some typefaces it may look like an E with its top bar missing, though. In some typefaces L overlaid by an f may be more appealing. CHARACTER-Q quotation marks quotation marks Virtually all typewriters lack proper quotation marks (AE American English: “…”; BE British English: ‘…’). The inch sign (") or straight apostrophe (') are used instead. Some languages use lowered quotation marks (de „Abc ‚def‘ ghi“ unset): advancing by one half line works, but – beside being inconvenient – it may look just ugly, so the English quotations are used nonetheless. CHARACTER-R ℝ ℝ Hit and hold capital I, depress the space bar and release the I key, now type a capital R. However, on some typewriters the stems of I and R may be exactly on top of each other, so you type IR with regular spacing instead. Note, for consistent style – if other similar characters such as ℚ are used in a document – consider writing this character manually. response ℟ Hit and hold capital R, depress the space bar and release the R key, and now type a slash (/). CHARACTER-S semicolon ; ; A semicolon can be produced by overlaying the comma , and colon :. Type a comma, use the backspace, and type the colon. root square root √ √ Advance the paper by half a line. Press and hold the space key, type a v. After releasing all keys undo advancing the paper. Now type a /. The terms in the root are overlined. st st Combine s and t a half step apart. star ✶ Something resembling a six‐pointed star is achieved by overprinting capital A with a v. See also eight‐spoked asterisk. CHARACTER-T thorn þ þ The stems may not align perfectly, but try overlaying b and p. CHARACTER-U unequal ≠ Overlay = with /. upward arrow from bar ↥ ↥ This is not necessarily suitable for all typefaces: Hit ´ and `; this is usually one “dead key”, that means it does not advance the carriage. Now type an ell (l). CHARACTER-Z ℤ ℤ Type overlapping Z’s. zero zero Many typewriters do not have a dedicated digit zero key. The zero is produced by typing a capital Oh instead. This allows the manufacturer to provide another character. For a slashed zero, see ∅︀. If a character cannot be printed, you need to do it by hand. In order to not accidentally miss any unprinted characters, there are small adhesive flags you can stick on the paper. standards list of style guides This section showcases standard‐compliant writing emphasizing the proper use of the typewriter. This section can be extended: indictment, screenplay, academic essays, as long as it is (or was) formally standardized it fits. Professional and Technical Writing/Business Communications/Letters DIN‐Norm 5008 business letter Among writing instructions, the de DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung‐Norm 5008 unset (German Institute for Standardization Standard 5008) defines the page layout. The page layout is tailored to a de DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung A4 unset sheet; this is 210 mm millimeters × 297 mm millimeters. There is one line reserved for a return address. Because the line length is 75 mm millimeters, printing a return address in practice necessitates a smaller font, hence it is not written with a typewriter. At 6 lpi lines per inch there are exactly two blank lines between the information and text frame. Paragraphs are separated by one blank line. The text width is 165 mm millimeters At 10 cpi characters per inch you can fit 64.96 characters. If you want to fold the letter, you have a purely esthetic problem: a fold across the text (and btw by the way the signature) is ugly. Folds are supposed to run between any two lines. However, the middle segment of a folded de DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung‐Norm 5008 unset business letter page has a height of 105 mm. At 6 lpi lines per inch it is not possible to find a configuration ensuring the folds are between the lines. Therefore, esthetically tolerable business letters conforming to de DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung‐Norm 5008 unset are only one page long. To economize on space, only form A is presented. 5008 Cella Robotron S 1001 Cella thumb|alt=A sample text letter obeying to certain rules.|POC proof of concept: A typewritten business letter. Set the margins. The left‐hand margin is set at 11, the right‐hand margin at 74. There is space for 64 characters. Load the paper. The left‐hand edge should be at 0.5 characters on the paper bail. For that use the (white on black) margin ruler. The left‐hand edge should be at the 1 tick. Prefer to slightly cover the mark. Before disengaging the paper release, flip down the paper support and pull the paper to the back, away from you. Both ends of the paper should lay on top of each other. Now scroll back the paper so its top edge is barely visible through the ridge in the typing mask. Possibly you need to repeat the previous step. Advance so you have 7 blank lines. The cursor is now in the return address line. You have 29 character positions at your disposal. The next 9 lines are for the actual inside address. Advance by one line. This line and the next two lines are meant for postal instructions. It is also the first line of the data frame. To get to the data frame, press ⇥ four times and depress and hold the spacer. The cursor is at 49. Start typing from here up to 29 characters. The data frame consists of exactly 12 lines. After the data frame leave (exactly) two blank lines. For the letter body you have 48 lines of vertical space left, the descenderslines that extend below the baseline (the line characters “sit” on) of the 48th line already being clipped if you can even manage to keep the paper in place. Avoid using the final 6 lines (1 ") just in general. For the signature reserve (at least) three blank lines. For right‐aligned double‐digit page numbering of the form Page 12 of 34, press ⇥ five times and space three times. Press space another two times for single‐digit page numbering. references Possibly generic references, data lookup tables. further reading Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Vocational/Typewriting Practical typewriting 12.26 MiB mebibyte New practical typewriting 16.38 MiB mebibyte A scientific course in typewriting 5.1 MiB mebibyte trades 0% communication written communication