Tips for the Typewriter

[@cclarke6]

If you want to center some text, move the carriage such that the typing location is in the middle of the page. Then backspace on time for every two letters of the words you want to type. (For those who do not already know this trick.)

[@adventuredenali]

Excellent! I myself did not know this! Will have to try, thank you!

[@johnd4304]

Greetings from a very wet England. Thank you for a lovely video. It reminded me of listening to my wife, a writer, typing away in the long distant past. She was taught touch typing at school as most girls were. Boys were taught woodwork!!! Her first typewriter was a Smith Corona. These were always thought of the cheap and cheerful bottom end of the market, although as time as gone by they proved to be better than their price would suggest. The first typewriter I remember her having when we were first married, more than fifty years ago, was a Brother manual, followed by an Olivetti electronic with daisy wheel print head, an early Brother word processor that was the size of a suitcase, with a CRT display. That was followed by a Canon starwriter jet- a lovely little with bubblejet printer. Now, of course she has the laptop. But they have all suffered the same problem. The keys wearing out. Not the machines fault though. As I said my wife was trained on manual typewriters where it became the norm to press the keys really hard, a habit she can't get out of. Her current DELL laptop I find is unusable given that I can't read many of the keys anymore. When I mention this to her she says she doesn't notice it, as she never looks at the keyboard when typing! I'm a one finger typist. Incidentally I expect you have already found out, the bar that holds the little rubber rollers should be able to be pulled away from the roller. And the little rubber rollers should slide along the bar and be placed near the edges of the paper, as you have in your Adler video. Keep safe.

[@johnd4304]

Further to my email above, my wife suggested that you check to see if your typewriter actually had the facility to reverse the direction of the ribbon when it gets to the end. In fact she tells me all the typewriters she has used automatically reversed the tape. This all makes sense as with a black/red ribbon flipping it over would mean you would then by default be typing in red....if you see what I mean. It's stopped raining by the way!!

[@donnakelly8911]

The little spacers on your bar that holds the paper, use to be placed on either side or of margins. They were used as a guide , so you could kind of see where you were and how much space as you typed.

[@adventuredenali]

Yay! Thank you for the helpful tip!!

[@buynsell365]

This makes me think back to when I was in high school typing class. I used to practice every night and actually was top of my class. I could type 60 words per minute with no mistakes.

[@adventuredenali]

Wow! That is amazing! :D

[@jamesaritchie1]

The rubber roller is called a "platen". As for the ribbon, yes, you should reverse it, but you should also turn it over when the ink is used up because the bottom half of your ribbon has not been used. This is why many ribbons are half black and half red. With an all black ribbon, you essentially have a brand new ribbon when you flip it over. Also, it's best to set up the margins so you center the paper on the platen. That bar with the two little rollers is simply called the "feed bar" and the "feed rollers". As a writer, I have never , since 1979, used a single exclamation mark The theory is that if you have to use an exclamation mark in order to make readers know something startling or dramatic just happened, you need to rewrite the sentence. I've seen editor reject stories unread simply because they saw several exclamation marks on the first couple of pages. As an editor, I've done the same. I wish I could remember who said the following, but I'm old, and all I remember is that it was one of the most popular writers of his time. Anyway, he said a writer should only use one exclamation mark per novel. Then, in the final draft, the writer should go back and remove it. Many critics used to say they could judge the quality of fiction by flipping through the short story or book looking for exclamation marks. OIf they found more than one, they knew they weren't going to like that story. Fortunately, good editors usually either removed exclamation marks, or asked the writer to rewrite sentences that used them. As for using two sheets of paper, that was automatic for most writers. We needed a draft to keep, so we used a piece of cheap typewriter paper, then a sheet of carbon paper, and then, on top, a sheet of quality paper to send to the editor or agent.; I used twenty-four pound, one hundred percent cotton parchment as my top sheet. It was ridiculously expensive, twenty=five dollars a ream forty-one years ago, back when that was a LOT of money. But with no corrections, no cross outs, definitely no x outs, no mistakes, it impressed the heck out of editors. They make correction tape, small correction sheets, along with liquid correction fluid, or they used to make it, I assume they still do, and many writers, secretaries, etc., used one of these, They usually worked very well. Anyway, that twenty-four pound, one hundred percent cotton parchment paper was also more than thick and fluffy enough to use by itself, and the platen never even knew it was being struck.

[@adventuredenali]

Thank you for all the information

[@adventuredenali]

Haha yes of course, I am very aware of the exclamation taboo. I taught this to my kids at the school as well. Still, when writing a personal memo or journal entry, or perhaps a letter to a penpal - knowing how to create such a symbol is very helpful.

[@dozeofaudio]

I think part of the reason exclamation marks aren't used is because writing is an aesthetic imitation of real life. If someone shouts, "what the hell was that!" or "I'm gonna kick your ass!" you would have to translate it into something else in writing, and you sacrifice the realism

[@malthus101]

"As a writer, I have never , since 1979, used a single exclamation mark The theory is that if you have to use an exclamation mark in order to make readers know something startling or dramatic just happened, you need to rewrite the sentence. I've seen editor reject stories unread simply because they saw several exclamation marks on the first couple of pages. As an editor, I've done the same." Well in the modern age, friendships have been lost over people misinterpreting a joke that wasn't obvious, because it didn't have an exclamation mark! (or a winky face, ha, I bet you love those!! 😉)

[@eily_b]

I went to an academic high school where you were NOT supposed to learn typewriting and shorthand and all that stuff you would need to take up an office profession. Our school was meant to prepare us for university 🙄 (smug) and in the late 80s obviously everyone still ignored the future of omnipresent computers and keyboards. But they had small voluntary classes where you could learn it anyway and actually semi-legal 😦 and my Mom said: "It's always handy to know how to typewrite with touch typing" so I went and I am still thankful to her. It was in the late 80s as I said and they still had these massive and heavy black typwriters from... I don't know... the 30s/40s? They were awful. With super long metal levers were the letters were attached (name?) and they tangled up regularly. Also the keyboard letters were grimy from generations of sweaty students typing on them. 😜 I had a very bad grade BUT I learned it and I was the only one among my friends for a long time - when the computers hit everywhere soon after (I got my first personal computer in 1992) - to write blind, with 10 fingers and VERY FAST. 😎 Everyone was jealous and it got me a few summer jobs because now all the smug people had computers themselves but could not write on them. Just typing with two fingers and looking for every letter took a lot of time. 😄 Sadly I forgot almost everything you need to know to write with a mechanical typwriter. All the tips and tricks and I really thought you could not buy ribbons anymore. I inherited my Mom's typewriter when she moved into a residential home and the next thing, when lockdown will be over (hopefully soon after two months now), I will go and get me a ribbon again and train writing on it. It's really odd to see that English (qwerty) typewriters don't have the number 1. The German (qwertz) has it. Maybe because we write our 1 different? I don't know...

[@angiejoh.7156]

This is amazing! I am the one who bought your typewriter from you. This video helps immensely! Thank you!.

[@adventuredenali]

Excellent!!! :D

[@ultraviolet13881]

Yes, those little spacers would be placed where your text begins (on the left) and roughly where it ends (on the right). Love the typewriter! I'm in the market for one, myself. I used a manual in my very first job, at sixteen years old. I know that electric models did exist, but things were different then: some companies didn't switch over to electric for many years! I think I've typed on most makes and models, my favorite is the "IBM Selectric," with the little removable ball. Enjoy, and TFS! :)

[@temporally_misplaced]

The extra piece of paper also helps with a hard platen (the rubber roller). When you use backing sheets of paper the slugs (keys) have less of a chance of poking through the page you are typing on. This is especially helpful with periods.

[@melissamcintyre7661]

Yes! I remember popping through the page more than once!

[@temporally_misplaced]

The margin release works on the left side as well! So, if you are writing the return address on a letter for instance, you can press the margin release button and move the carriage all the way to the left instead of being forced to indent or change the margins.

[@adventuredenali]

Ooh exciting! Haha! It just keeps getting better. The more I learn, the more I love these machines!

[@jamesaritchie1]

One other thing. I don't know where using two pieces of paper came from, but I never knew anyone who did that back in the old days. Ands I mean no one. Not professional writers, not newspaper reporters, certainly no one in the journalism department where I went to college. I never read it in any book about typewriters, etc. I never even heard of it until just a few years ago. Seriously, I went to one of the largest journalism colleges around, I worked as a rep[orter before becoming a professional writer, not only at a large newspaper, but also at several smaller ones. Not one person anywhere ever said anything about using two sheets of paper. Nor did the various typewriter salesmen and repairmen I knew. It really makes no sense.. Those keys don't hit the platen half as hard as the keys on an electric typewriter. And with what weight paper. Only with standard twenty pound, or also with twenty-four or twenty-eight pound? Only with cheap pulp paper, or also with thicker, softer cotton paper? I wonder if this didn't get started because of using two sheets of paper with a piece of carbon paper between them? Most only see the two sheets of paper, and are completely unaware that a sheet of carbon paper is between them. They have no idea what is happening, or why, and a legend i born. I have books on typewriters going back to Mark Twains efforts to create a good one, and nowhere does it mention using two sheets of paper.in any of them. It really doesn't make much sense. One big problem with manual typewriters is that the keys usually don't hit the platen hard enough. If they struck it as hard as this advice implies, a second sheet of very thin paper wouldn't do a bit of good. In fact, the keys would tears the top sheet of paper to shreds with every stroke. They would poke right through thin, wood pulp paper.

[@temporally_misplaced]

So two pages is a biproduct of a hard platen. If you have fresh rubber/a soft platen, you don't need two pages. If you do use two pages though when you have a hard platen, you don't poke holes through the first page. You can also send your platen to JJ Short and have the rubber replaced for around 100$. Regarding carbon paper, you are correct there as well. Hard platens were made to support typing on more pages. The Royal HH was great for this, only a single button press to swap between a soft and hard platen.

[@adventuredenali]

I should have clarified. But Temporally_Misplaced already did. :)

[@otakusplayground3052]

My typewriter doesn’t have a zero so I’m always using an uppercase o.

[@adventuredenali]

Cool! I’ve yet to encounter that on a keyboard, but seems to be fairly common.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

In 1999, I moved to a really small town about 6 miles south of Canada in North Dakota. I met the business teacher who had retired the year before I arrived. (The science position was more complicated: another story.) He was proud of how he used to let the students rotate so they could each experience the electric typewriter in his classroom. I'm not sure when the computers arrived. I just know that when I started working there, the business room had brand new iMacs. These replaced older computers, but I don't recall what they were called: they disappeared before I arrived.

[@adventuredenali]

I like how you described this scene, I can see the passing of time. A classroom filled with typewriters, transitioning into computers, all sped up to be expressed in a few seconds. Like a time traveler watching the world pass by.

[@calinionescu]

Hi, your Olympia SM3 is such a beauty! Two-tone, dark blue top... And you're lucky to have found what seems a... 10-11 CPI? I could only acquire a 12.

[@PeggyStlouis-es5mc]

I find this better than technology.

[@mavz28]

This made me realize that I haven't used a typewriter in just over 26 years, how the heck did I become an adult in what feels like the blink of an eye.

[@adventuredenali]

Wow! I’ve been feeling a bit of that blink of an eye sort of thing lately too.

[@AnjaLSL]

Oh noooo! I'm gonna get hooked on typewriters now... 😆🤦‍♀️

[@malthus101]

Nice looking typewriter - what is it? An Olympia... "something"?

[@johnlennon1049]

Great video! I have a 1959 Olympia SM4 in Hunter Green. Looks and works like new. I love that the carriage moves up when you hit capital letters. Been typing since the age of 16 when I took typing classes in my H.S. Been typing ever since. I do not use social media at all. My friends and family love when they receive a typed letter from me. They know that I put in the time to think about what I am going to say before typing it. Also, my typewriters never crash and no virus can attach themselves to my manual typewriter. I am now 74 years old and still am very fast on my manuals. I have one IBM Selective but hardly ever use it. Love the manuals. ❤. By the way, you have a very pleasant voice. Could listen to you all day.

[@InsideKimmysMind]

Such great tips. On my cursive Hermes, I use a capital i for the number 1. But my other typewriters use a lowercase L. It took me sometime to get used to that. 😆

[@adventuredenali]

Oh of course! I hadn’t thought about that!

[@gamingchinchilla7323]

Is your typewriter really that quiet or did you muffle the noise in video editing? My Smith Corona Galaxie Deluxe sounds like a tank xD

[@murvetorujova5181]

Hello! I bought a new typewriter but when I type letters print dimly. Do you know what I can do?

[@qiqerod]

Do you use any backing paper? And what paper do you use to type? Great video

[@painchaud2000]

Well I learned that if you type a message and the video switches to the next the comment goes on the next video 😂. Anywho....I was saying that after having wrote like 2 journals with my before typewriter I didn't know all these infos 😶. So thanks for this! 😁 I never learned to type properly either 😬

[@adventuredenali]

Excellent! Glad it was helpful! Happy writing :)

[@Thebluechickjewelry]

I like the typewriter it is very expensive that I would type with a back of the blank new sheet.

[@gumtree7177]

What model typewriter you have here ? What did it sell for ?

[@CyrilViXP]

I like ride and hats of Paiste and crash of Zildjian

[@Frankdarnese]

What brand/type of paper are you writing on?

[@scriptkeeper8243]

I prefer * to kill a typo. Does a better job than XXXX

[@SkySpiral8]

When you "reverse" the ribbon, do you switch the spools or turn the whole ribbon upside down? I'm picturing it as though it were an audio cassette that I used to make obnoxious recordings on as a kid...

[@adventuredenali]

Haha! Oh man, nostalgia. These you leave in and just usually push a button or pull a leaver and they start winding in the opposite direction.

[@antigoseraros]

Parabéns! Muito linda

[@kryslam5567]

what type of paper are you using for your typewriter?

[@lemonsherbertxx]

Just the perfect video for me to watch as I brought home my gorgeous new Triumph Matura. Needs a little warming up but your tips have already come in handy!

[@adventuredenali]

Ooh! Congratulations! Happy typing!

[@midlifepublishing]

What Olympia model is this?

[@Teufelchenhair]

My one actually has no zero, so you use a upper case O instead. This is also quite common. PS: I love your videos.

[@adventuredenali]

Ooh that’s so cool! :D Thank you!

[@tochtliochtli7239]

What a clean typewriter! 😍

[@Polymath9000]

How do get fine print with typewriter?

[@julianparks8485]

Thank you 😊 I'm looking to going back to a typewriter. I find the computer is a nuisance to my writing as it interferes with the writing process. I took college typewriting back in the day and used it in college, graduate school, and jobs in the legal profession. I used an IBM Selectric and an electronic Smith-Corona(correcting tape was built into the machine as well). I remember the days of typing pools.

[@sofiabarbieshowtamil9053]

Super

[@nurhazwani2549]

Mnoreaoreaoreaoreaoreaorea

[@lucid6067]

Came here from John Stamos IG story about this video that Howard Stern recommended to him. I’m wanting to get a typewriter to write my grandfather’s biography. Your vids are wonderful!

[@arwenrosalie3031]

I am so mad I bought a 1947 smith corona black typewriter from ebay and its running late it will be here Tommorow. I cannot wait anymore!!!

[@adventuredenali]

Ooh the wait can be so painful! I hope it arrives safely and surely tomorrow!

[@piccalillipit9211]

Did it arrive - is it working for you...???

[@greyfriar9008]

Sooooo, when did you get the Olympia, and, how many typewriters do you own now?

[@adventuredenali]

I own two! I got the Olympia in the late spring of last year. :D

[@greyfriar9008]

Beware of this. I started with one and I am now waiting for a forth to arrive 😂. How this happened, 🤔, I know not but I suspect they secretly talk to each other out there and gravitate. One becomes a collection in no time at all. 😁

[@Yahnax2823]

@@adventuredenali What typewriter are you using for this video? I'm looking for a small portable typewriter for my small hands and this looks perfect!

[@godrilla5549]

Here's a tip, use wd40 on dried out ink ribbons, unspool it first of course.

[@brokenmolar]

Makes me think of that “Typewriter Tip Tip Tip” song. So fun to watch those little arms flip up 😌

[@raemcmahon8216]

To bad they don't teach typing classes anymore. None of this was new to me as I took four years of typing in school. We had speed tests with minimum number of errors to pass our classes. We couldn't look at the keys on final exams.

[@adventuredenali]

I would think they still teach typing, this is a computer age after all, but maybe not! I learned to type on a computer in school. We had a program called Mavis Beacon, with drills, and games. I loved that program. When I was a teacher we used that same program, but we only had a few computers in the classroom.

[@dennism48317]

@@adventuredenali We don't know if the hands seen in this video are yours or not but I see a lot of characters being typed with the "wrong" fingers---sort of like a fast "hunt and peck" method. Maybe that's the way Mavis Beacon taught one to type. Not so in the "old school" typing classes of yester-year.

[@franciscooper4771]

​@@dennism48317 juj, juj, juj. I remember it well!

[@Hollis_Creative_Corner]

This was perfect! For some reason my apostrophe isn't working and you will see that soon 😂

[@adventuredenali]

Awesome! :D

[@Hollis_Creative_Corner]

@@adventuredenali and of course...I found the little apostrophe 🤦🏻😂

[@MysticFox05]

I can’t wait to use mine! I still have to get ribbon for it, and paper 🤪

[@adventuredenali]

Ooh!!! Have fun when you do! :D

[@MysticFox05]

@@adventuredenali thank you!! 😁

[@destinedthunder]

I had a typewriter when I was in middle school and typed up a school paper on it. It took me forever - memories. I definitely want one. Especially for all my craft projects.

[@adventuredenali]

Haha! Oh memories! I hope you get one! They’re so fun to have. I enjoy doing all sorts of things with them. I think you’d enjoy having it for craft projects for sure.

[@TypewriterCollector]

Thanks for sharing!

[@brynwest4495]

What typewriter are you using?

[@vandelsoproductions]

Thanks for this. I learned when I was a kid on an antique but I've forgotten a lot. I just looked and my new to me 1944 Royal does not have a 1 or a ! It also needs a bit of work I'm hoping I can get done next summer. I was thinking of you because I saw another typewriter documentary the other day, The Typewriter in the 21st Century. I saw it on Hoopla - it was really good.

[@adventuredenali]

Oh you’re so welcome!! Have fun working on your Royal. I hope you get it working. And, thanks for sharing another documentary! Can’t wait to watch it!

[@christophermckellar1352]

The paper support at the back of the machine is likely also the gauge telling you when you are near the bottom of the page. Put it up, then extend it. As the paper scrolls up in the front, measure it against the numbers on the support. It tells you how many lines you have left, at least on an 11 inch tall piece of paper. Thanks for your videos. They and you are a welcome breath of fresh air.

[@adventuredenali]

Yes, that’s right! I admit to forgetting to use it often, haha. And thank you!

[@jamesaritchie1]

Which brings up another, relate doint. Most platens are damaged AFTER the dry out. The surface becomes hard, slick, and brittle. This is something too many don't check when buying a typewriter. The platen, and those two little rollers on the guide bar, shoul not be dry and slick. If they are, they need replaced. If they aren't replaced, the day will come when the surface of the platen starts falling apart, and the advance rollers will stop advancing the paper the proper amount. Many, many, many typewriters that seem to be oin perfect condition are one key strike away from being useless junk. Many who buy typewriters don't know this, and many who sell typewriters don't know this.

[@adventuredenali]

Thanks again for sharing. I never intended on this being an in-depth video, and much of what you’ve mentioned I have read about. This was just for a very simple - tiny tips to help when first getting started, with the assumption any one with a typewriter would then do a good deal more research to understand their machine in a larger capacity. :)

[@adventuredenali]

Hopefully though your comments will be read by people looking for further information and be of help to them.

[@pareshkamat4881]

Very nice typing tips

[@qwertyasdfqwerasdfqwqe]

I love the color of the Typewriter! super interesting vid. So cool!

[@adventuredenali]

I do too! Thank you :)

[@yuehchopin]

Yes 3x

[@Gabs.89]

I just got myself a portable typewriter and those tips were definitely useful. Thanks!

[@adventuredenali]

Excellent! What typewriter did you get? Congratulations, and happy typing.

[@Gabs.89]

@@adventuredenali Thanks! It's an Olivetti Lettera 82, very similar to the Hermes Baby. I was just cleaning her and adding some oil right now. She has this unusual button with two lines that I was able to discover through your video that it was a margin release button. =)

[@TamiMartins]

Loved this

[@adventuredenali]

Thank you!

[@itrstt66]

if you take a halfway written paper of the typewriter, how do you put it back again keeping the line spacing?? if by any chance know of some tutorial appraoching this matter please do share. Thank you in advance

[@adventuredenali]

All typewriters are different, but most do have a way of setting the margins. Let me find a couple of examples for you.

[@adventuredenali]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4SkkmRuf82jiNU

[@adventuredenali]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/amrHm6iparefhac

[@adventuredenali]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJy4iaFrl7SqsM0

[@someonespadre]

Look for the “variable spacer,” usually the left knob pulls out or there is a button in the center of the left knob which you either push or pull, that disengages the ratchet which allows you to roll the letter to the top of the type guide then re-engage the ratchet.

[@temporally_misplaced]

This SM3 is so beautiful.

[@adventuredenali]

It is a beauty for sure. The carriage glides like butter.

[@temporally_misplaced]

@@adventuredenali you mentioned in your video of the Adler that the Olympia requires more intention and tires your fingers, I totally agree. I like it for letters, but won't be using it for anything of length, that's what standards are for. However, I highly recommend trying a Smith Corona Silent Super, I put those on equal level with the Olympia SM9, but find them aesthetically more pleasing than the boxy white body of the SM9.

[@adventuredenali]

@@temporally_misplaced exactly. I’m looking currently for a silent super, I’ve decided - most likely, that’ll be my next typewriter. I do like the clipper too.

[@temporally_misplaced]

@@adventuredenali I have clippers and sterlings, I'll send you one just to prevent you buying one, hah. Say the word. The Desert Silent Super is surprisingly beautiful.

[@adventuredenali]

@@temporally_misplaced hahah are they that bad?? XD