Typewriter Basics: End of Page Indicators

[@pkguy3]

Hi Joe. I worked for the railroad all my live long day for 32 years starting out as a clerk typing waybills etc for the trains and other misc duties. All of the company envelopes of various sizes had the company name and logo pre printed on them. On each envelope there was a tiny spec of a black dot, virtually unnoticeable unless you knew of it, at the position where you would type the first letter of the recipients address. On the company's better letterhead paper (not the fax/photocopy paper) along the left side edge about 2 inches from the bottom there was the faintest of faint gray mark, again virtually invisible to the reader. I'm sure that most other large firms who also ordered hundreds of thousands of cases per year from a supplier would have the same or similar.

[@jeremyperala839]

Interesting. Did they have typewriters in the caboose or didn't they monkey around typing up things one the actual train.

[@pkguy3]

@@jeremyperala839 the bills were typed in the yard offices or freight offices

[@MrTomfooligans]

This same video has now helped me with more than one typewriter. Thanks again.

[@saulysw]

Today I learnt : my Hermes 3000 has a cut-out to see the end of page. Cool! Thanks Joe and Merry Xmas to you!

[@TheRealSk8rcruz]

I just used this feature for the first time after hearing about it on Type Pals. The letter I typed looked so neat! The page goes pretty fast on my electric. This is one of my favorite features now. Thanks!

[@blahblahblah9354]

Great video. I typed off the end of many a page as a junior high school student--gah! I ended up going with a pencil tick mark about an inch up from the bottom of each page & then erasing it later.

[@Nick215NY]

A great video Joe, thank you !....I have a 1952 Smith Corona Silent which I love. Aside from the sheer physical beauty of the machine and all its other attributes, I find the end-of-page indicator system to be the easiest to use and the best of all of them. A brilliant little system that's always accurate.

[@someonespadre]

I like the Smith-Corona page gage system so much I marked the left hub of my Royal Safari with an ultra fine point sharpie to do the same thing. Instead of implementing an end of page system Remington suggests marking up a narrow strip of paper and taping it to the left side of the platen.

[@ma-mo]

I've often just used a backing sheet with the margins all marked in Sharpie. But they sure came up with some clever design ideas. Thanks, Joe!

[@chicagobwil72]

That is EXACTLY what I do with a backing sheet but will now pay attention to my Hermes and Smith Corona and their built-in designs - that I didn’t know about until now! Great video!

[@thedarrindavisband]

Awesome video and sweet new series! Thanks so much, Joe. I’m a notorious “space-running-out-of-er” with typed correspondence, forcing me to often shrink my pen’d signature to a mere fraction of its proper, dignified size. 😆 I will put “The Hermes Notch” trick/feature to good use now that I’ve learned it from you. 🙏

[@shakespeareteacher]

Hi Joe! I have found the scale on my Olympia SM9’s to be the easiest to use. When the paper at the top of the scale is one inch from the end of the paper rest/scale, it is one inch from the bottom. On my IBM Selectrics I use a paper support/scale from an IBM Wheelwriter attached with a tiny bit of Velcro. It works perfectly and I get both a good paper support and an accurate indicator of where I am on the sheet. Thanks for bringing us back to the basics! Get well!

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Thank you, Don!

[@Lysander-Spooner]

The Wheelwriter is the ultimate typing machine ;-)

[@susankuver8378]

Love this new category of typewriter videos! Great review for me. I often forget to look down at the notch in the Hermes 3000. And my Rosie doesn't have the page indicator anymore. She came without it.

[@_landro_1092]

Nice video. I didn't know about the idea of that latch in the carriage. Whereby I do use much more free space. On a letter/A4 size page rather sth from 3,5 to 5 cm left and right and about 3,5 to 4 cm top and bottom, well, at least 1,5 inches from either side.

[@claywebster7401]

My end of page system is a pencil line 2 inches from the bottom of the page. On My IBM Selectric. That plastic ring doesn’t turn independently of the platen. It’s stuck I guess but won’t turn and I’m afraid of breaking it.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

I never liked the Selectric EOL system, very counter-intuitive.

[@douglasjackson9058]

Great informative video. My biggest issue is I always push the limit....just...one...more...line. Trying not to get into using another piece of paper/stationery. Get healthy 👍

[@AtelierDBurgoyne]

Happy New Year Joe! I have some of the same typewriters you showed and I often forget to set the platen to the right place before rolling the paper in. Haha. My 1982 Selectric III has a paper rest with lines showing the end of page of a letter-sized sheet. I guess many users must have complained about the awkward dial on the Selectric I knobs. Most of the time though, I will use a pencil to put a tick mark 2 inches before the bottom of the page. I got that trick from Lenore MacClain's book and video. I think she knew more about typing than any of us do nowadays. Take care. Daniel

[@DavidALovingMPF102]

STAY WELL!! Mechanical things that have been replaced, eliminated by the computer. What IS amazing is the brain power that went into making things work mechanically.

[@MrTomfooligans]

You've been a wonderful help, sir. My Quiet DeLuxe and I thank you.

[@someonespadre]

The Royal QDL manual on TWDB for the series beginning in 1953 the paper is rolled in and stop at the index mark on the left platen hub then push the variable and roll the bottom of the paper to 2 red dots on the paper supports. In this way the length of the paper does not matter because the machine is measuring up from the bottom. There was also a mark on the paper table for shorter paper. According to the manual the numbers aren’t inches, they are the the number of writing lines before the bottom of the page. 12 being 2”. I made my own on my 1952 using pencil marks on the gray hub.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Thank you!

[@_landro_1092]

For the Optima and other (not just German) typewriters: The paper support finger does have an extension. For example, on my Erikas I can pull a little lid on top of the unfolded paper support. I adjust if firstly with let's say letter size or A4 or half-letter. Extend it to right finger length. Re-feed the paper, leave finger unchanged. Type happily and when top of paper reaches top of finger you're at last line of your page.

[@_landro_1092]

So do I. Best end-of-paper indicator and easily adjustable to almost any paper format.

[@bletheringfool]

Great video. What you call a paper support finger/arm I've been calling a paper rest for years, but all equally apply. Thanks for a really fascinating video. I hope your cold gets better soon!

[@dadtype2339]

On my machines that have nothing, what i do is from the bottom of the page on the left side, I'll measure up about 2 inches, and draw a line thats horizontal from the edge towards the middle, but stopping at about ¼ way in. Then I type away to my hearts content, because when that line comes, and you'll see it living within the left margin, it tells me when I am writing at that line I need to stop, you have 1 or 2 lines and then thats it. I have documents in manuscripts where the bottom line sentence just lol dips down lol its a crack up to me. Course you tell people, I was in the Zone Man!!!

[@dadtype2339]

I have since made this method better, and apparently I've seen this video so I just watched it again and it was new to me, lol I take neuro pills give me a break lol... Anyway, what I do now is I'll place the bottom on the page at the top of the space bar and then as it lays on the keys, I'll place a dot on the top of the 'G' key and then place on the table to make the dot bigger. It too lives in the left margin. So now this method is not only a bit more accurate as I know when I see it I need to either close the sentence or keep going but once I am at it or under it, I can look at my keys and see the top of the space bar which is rock bottom, about how much room I have, and this way is so much easier. Sometimes my Smith Corona Galaxie Deluxe slips and so the end of page counter on it isn't always 100% accurate. But this method I do is.. My Mother, however, said that was what most secretaries would do, something like it, she remembered having been one, a Secretary, in the 60's and 70's. She said we would just lay the paper out and with a pencil take the right hand and lay the palm open with the thumb at a backwards 'L' shape to the left margin at the bottom of the page, this was just at the thumb's length under the thumb line and a faint dot or line was placed, so to erase it later, it was placed at the index finger's first knuckle, usually just below it. This was faster and easier than setting the machine up she said. Once you saw the mark you knew you had about an inch, depending on the machine, but she remembers with hers it meant she had 2" or 4 lines left. Nice to know I am keeping it original, what do the kids say, I'm OG lol.

[@JimParr-uq7oo]

The markings on my Selectric II's end-of-page aren't even visible anymore, and though I've been using Selectrics since the late 1980s, I've never even used the features. I just sort of stretch the page out and estimate. "Yup, that looks to be about right." The Hermes 3000's implementation is just about perfect. I don't even think about it anymore, just automatically give it a glance when I'm getting down there. I use the cutout on the right, though, because I check it immediately after the carriage return...

[@patripringle7305]

Gracias.

[@joshualee3326]

Hey Joe, I'm currently restoring an old royal portable model B. I just wanted to ask you how you deal with possible heavy metals in the typewriters (especially typewriter slugs which can contain lead). Anyways, thanks for making these vids, they are alot of help!

[@Joe_VanCleave]

I minimize contact with the solder joints.

[@genera1013]

I have a Royal Senior Companion, and I can't seem to find any sort of end of page indicator at all. Do you have any tips on knowing when you get to the end of a page without an indicator?

[@Joe_VanCleave]

The easiest way is to make a tick mark with pencil near the bottom of the page, where you want the last line to be; then look for this mark as you type. The mark can then be erased when you’re done.

[@457Fede]

Sir. is there Chinese or non-english ,Thank you,i love your video,

[@Bikkipandeyvlog]

Hello Sir, Namaste, I am from India, I am 24 years old, Sir, if we want to take this then the best typing is to do both Hindi and English then which is the best

[@Bikkipandeyvlog]

Sir, I want to take it but I need best typing in Hindi.

[@Linus007]

I saw this video after I added A4, A5, and A6 marks on my Sears Forecast 12. kzbin.infoLUFPpDuo58c?si=nbalaSRb5vvzFPfX

[@DavidALovingMPF102]

You sound like you have been sick!! Have you retired yet?

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Early January it’s official! And yes, I’ve been under the weather.

[@_landro_1092]

Also, about your question on Selectric's dial indicator. i like this very much when I am using the Selectric more often in a certain time frame. The it goes into your blood to adjust and watch the dial. Similarly, when I am typing more than just one page the paper support extension exactly shows the end of my page for every page. I can adjust the paper support from like 7 to 11 inches paper length on my Erika's leaving any room at the eop, from just two lines to two inches and more - except for the folding Erika of course :-)