Typewriter Video Series Episode 245: Thoughts on Typing Paper

[@VirtualGuth]

Joe, I'll be totally honest, had someone told me back in January that before the year's end I would be attentively sitting through a sixteen minute video dedicated to typing paper with great interest, I'm frankly not really sure what I would have thought or said. How quickly things change after catching typewriter fever. I personally settled on the Southworth 24 lb. paper not long after acquiring my first typewriter earlier this year. To date, that has remained my standard for correspondence. (I have both the 100% cotton paper as well as the 25% cotton blend recycled linen paper and use whichever one that happens to strike my fancy at the time of writing.) While I've been really happy with this paper, I have no doubt that I'll always remain open to experimenting with other options. To me, typing paper as it relates to typewriters is very similar to performance tires as they relate to sports cars. In both cases the results can vary greatly from one option to the next but it's always rewarding when you hit upon an option that performs that way you want as your video here so nicely illustrates in the case of typewriters and typing paper. Hopefully I'll see you and the others once again at the upcoming TCL this Sunday. I'm guessing that paper options will be discussed quite a bit as Gregory has also recently posted up thoughts on his results from typing on the EKG paper previously discussed. Perhaps some day sooner rather than later I'll branch out a bit more myself when it comes to paper choices - I'm guessing that I could run almost anything through my SG3 and it would produce really nice results regardless of the choices. But it might be interesting to see where its limits exist. All the best, Bill.

[@tmunk]

The reason that paper curls around rollers so well is that it's 11x17" cut in half to 8.5x11", and thus the "grain" of the paper changed from long grain to short grain (the grain is now horizontal instead of vertical). This makes the paper want to curl differently. This is actually a problem with copiers and printing presses - they feed much better with long grain paper.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Ah, thank you Ted, your printshop expertise is appreciated!

[@VirtualGuth]

Ted, the depths of your knowledge when it comes to all things falling within the typewriter realm continue to boggle my mind. Good stuff.

[@joebeamish]

Interesting point. Would this mean the 8.5 x 11 version won't work well in a typewriter?

[@williamlester6243]

With typing letters to friends and family overseas, weight is a big factor for me. I was lucky enough to be given a 1,000 sheet box of Wilson Office Specialty 9½ lb. Typewriter Paper so I can fit up to 12 sheets into a #9 envelope and still come in just under 30 grams. I always use a sheet of Hammermill 28 lb. Color Copy Digital paper as a backing sheet to improve print quality and lessen wear on the platen. I have been toying with the idea of getting some onion skin paper from The Papermill Store, but shipping to Canada is prohibitive unless I buy 5,000 sheets, then the shipping is free. I don't know if I could use 5,000 sheets in my lifetime. Keep those cool videos coming and I'll keep watching them, William

[@LoWsDominios]

Man, I could listen to Joe talk about anything for ours. He has helped me so much on my typewriter journey. Now I am sitting at a 33 machine collection and almost all of them I've serviced myself. Try to use them every once in a while. I am lucky to have a big office here and it has become some sort of sanctuary for me. Even though I try to go out and use some of them, because my mind tends to stagnate if I always write int he same place. Love your content, saved me a lot of times and it is always interesting to see your take on everything that surrounds this hobby.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Thank you!

[@MichaelRpdx]

My current paper, until I go through the 500 sheets it came in, is a 28 lb Office Depot Inkjet and Laser paper. It is labled as beeing 99.9% jam free. A nod to the engineerig to have it go around rollers you mentioned. I strongly suspect it is the Boise Cascade relabled for Offic Depot brand. The two papers looked awfully similar. I like the weight of it. I've settled on it after leaving the world of 20lb paper. 24lb was better, 32lb was getting to be like cardstock. This peper was also chosen to be the stock for my bookmaking adventures. Those eight fold zine like things are especially great with this.

[@mattcwatkins]

Good timing for your videos as I'm heading down the rabbit hole after picking up my Selectric II 10 days ago. Already started a 3 ring binder with your tape technique and just enjoyed your video on the Hermes Rocket and alternative suggestions including a Victory. This one is timely as I have half a dozen old-stock papers I've been trying out including a matte 28 pound sorta photo quality stuff I printed home sale fliers 20 years ago. It takes ink well even on one of the Selectric balls that's a bit sketchier. I can forsee a Hermes Rocket, 3000, or maybe a Victory for my second typewriter and looking around in the PNW for one. I just missed a Hermes 3000 in Montana that was owned by a NASA engineer that worked on Apollo 7. :(

[@drandallesq]

Hi Joe, Very good subject for this video! I've been using 20 pound Hammermill Great White 30 recycled copy paper for a few years and it works consistently well for all the typewriters in my collection. I always use two sheets at a time. This is three hole punched, and those holes act as a visual guide to how much paper I have left before I get to the bottom of the page. Occasionally I use different paper for correspondence, but still use the Hamermill as a backing sheet.

[@g-r-a-e-m-e-]

I had not considered the grain in the paper which I think is usually on the long axis of paper, meaning it bends best longwise, not good for a typewriter (unless you had one with a very long carriage). Very interesting, thanks!

[@rancosteel]

I use Rhodia Notepad, No18 A4. It designed for fountain pen ink and has a vellum surface. Excellent print quality. At 18 cents a page it should be.

[@laurafedora5385]

I love your channel, just bought a new-to-me typewriter. It’s a smith-corona branded for Eaton’s

[@哥人四了有汉四]

Does anybody used the Fabriano Copy Bio Paper? The reason for me to use that paper is: it comes in 80g and the warm Creme bright Surface seems to absorb or adjust correction paint (roller or brush). Normal copy paper is mostly too cold white.

[@dadtype2339]

I use a chep 500 sheet 92 lbs white copy paper and have found this corser grade holds the typewriter ink very well without smudging. When able, I write a lot, and the two things I go through are paper and ink ribbon. It's od when you are typing aling and as if an off switch is flipped, and the ink ribbon just turns off, nope no more ink, anywhere. I looked it up and on average a fully used universal typewriter ribbon should get you through 150/200 sheets of paper 11x8. Course there's a give and take to this as there are many factors that can play on this between how hard you hit the keys, hiw dirty or clean the type faces are, to size of paper to how much you actually put on each paper. A Chapter may end on half a page, it gets pulled and counted as a full sheet even though you didn't fill the enter sheet out. A lot of brilliant to relaxing madness in thought goes into what is essentially a tiny mechanical personal printing press and whatbyou feed it and use for its tongue. I read a craft article years ago and I have wanted to try it, just never have. You take regular copy white paper any lbs. will work, and a cup of cold or room temp black coffee, and a brush and a heat gun to dry. Dip and bruch on coffee to stain and give an aged parchment look, followed by a drying with the gun, then after dry, apply another coat, and then you can even take a lighter and lightly burn the edges. Sounds interesting but also a lot of work to age paper and give it that pirate feel. I think, Im sure actually now that I think lol about it, you can buy this kind of aged stationary or yellowed map paper. Perhaps the work that goes into crafting the paper and then writing or typing on it is the point. I can how that might be a strange sense of mixed moods and feelings. And how neat it might be to creat a Pirate Captain's journal perhaps. Day 211 out on Sea, Rrrrrrrr. Lol

[@Joe_VanCleave]

The coffee has acids that may degrade the paper. But that’ll just make it like old paper!

[@dadtype2339]

@@Joe_VanCleave Yes, that was what the article was about, crafting old paper. Probably just best to buy it, but it would be interesting to do a trail craft on it. Every time I go to buy paper, I think of that scene in Misery, when Paul tells Annie about how the expensive paper smudges and the cheap doesn't. And oh man what a melt down she had lol. I'll have to go back and see what typewriter he used, if memory serves she got it on a discount on account that the 'E' didn't work. Or some key didn't work. Thank you for the reply Sir.

[@carriageofnoreturn.1881]

My favourite paper is some which was originally designed to be used on ink duplicating machines. It is quite heavyweight, and the surface is specifically engineered to take ink well. I bought several reams when I first came across it, but sadly I’ve nearly used it all up now.

[@loveisall5520]

PS - other than with the heaviest paper, I always, always use 2 sheets of paper including the laser paper I buy by the ream. Taught that in the sixties by a frugal typing teacher...

[@agricolturadimontagna2.0]

I usually type on different tipe of paper, but often they are some Italian brands of paper, like the Fabriano or Favini art sketch paper or stuff

[@sistergoldenhair0727]

I’ve also used William Hannah notebook paper as it is already hole punched for archiving;)

[@WoodlandPoetry]

Have you run into any onionskin or air mail paper? Haven't seen those in a very long time. Where I live, only copier paper is available unless you order online. Thanks for the great video!

[@MikeBzd]

My paper journey has its origins in the Fountain Pen community. I was on the search for paper suitable for my fountain pens AND for something that was good for ordinary printing paper. Of course, it had to be cheap. I managed to settle on Premium 32 from HP. Not too badly priced and frankly does play well with my pens. Since getting back into typewriters (less than a couple days ago as of writing this post) I have found that this paper seems to suit even them quite well. Admittedly I am not sure if I need a backing sheet as even some of my typewriters can be a bit harsh on the paper. I have been watching your videos pretty much in marathon and have to admit that I do like what you have to offer. Excellent content!

[@MichaelRpdx]

A4? The military paper at about 6:40. This is of the top of my head, but that sounds like it.

[@sandrodunatov485]

No it isn't A4 unfortunately, it is something else. And it doesn't look like one of the untrimmed sizes. Doesn't look like B4 either . Size A4 is 297x210 mm , or more or less 11.7 x 8.27 inches (sorry I am not used to imperial units so I used decimals). The aspect ratio though looks much like those in the ISO 216 standard. Maybe the US Army found the geometric properties of the standard useful, and retained the ratio, but disliked A4 as a tad too large to be practical (a lot of people find A4 large and A5 small).

[@MichaelRpdx]

@@sandrodunatov485 Thannk you. I was thinking it was some A B or C series. Which is isn't.

[@benjaminernsberger9997]

Hi: It is called "Executive", "Executive 3" to be exact. From the IBM Knowledge center.

[@funstuff2006]

@@benjaminernsberger9997 Also known as 'Monarch.'

[@kylehazachode]

Have you found new thermal paper? I just ordered EKG/ECG thermal printer paper from ebay. I like it because it has a red grid on it and boxes for doctors to fill out different medical things.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

I'm getting some sent to me, I'll make a video about it eventually.

[@sketchley]

Hi. Thanks for the tip. Turns out 32lb is the equivalent of 120gsm, so got some matt paper from Ryman here in the UK; great results on my Olympia SM4!

[@badger9961]

Dear Mr van Cleave, you mentioned the different kinds of ink used by printers (laser and ink-jet) and typewriter ribbons. Do you know which kind of ink is used for ribbons? I'd like to refresh my used ribbons or rather give those used ribbons, where the colour has faded away, another colour. Here in Germany I can only buy black/red ribbons and black ribbons. Any other colour I have to produce myself. I tried Stamp-pad ink, but that's not very satisfactory. When I took too much ink on the ribbon, it was a mess on the vibrator and the typebars. When I took too little ink, it dried out pretty soon. It's difficult to find the right dose.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

People have tried to replicate typewriter ribbon ink with various degrees of success. I suspect that ink maybe glycerin-based, but I don’t think it’s oil-based like printing press ink.

[@badger9961]

@@Joe_VanCleave Thank you very much for your fast answer. I don't want to mix ink myself, but am only interested in buying some.

[@loveisall5520]

I love Southworth paper, I tend to go for the 24# resume paper and envelopes for personal letters. Works equally well in my HP Laserjet. Decades ago as a teenager I used to buy Crane's stationery or Eaton's stationery, but they went solely into the 'boutique paper' market in odd sizes. We're fortunate to still have this, and yes, snail mail letters still count for something!

[@shabab246]

Hi Joe, I was watching the 1976 movie “All the presents men”. In that movie the reports are typing on a paper which has two thick vertical red/pink columns with a blank space to type in the middle. Also the page has a large number printed on either side. I was wondering if you know or have such a paper and also if you can make a video on how that paper is used.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

I don't have that paper, but it sounds fascinating. Some research is required.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

It appears the red lines were used to mark the column width of a story in "column inches," a format once used in the publication industry to make the typewritten text compatible to the column width of the printed newspaper coming off the presses. A cursory search doesn't show the paper as currently being manufactured. Perhaps some used paper is available on auction sites? It'd be interesting to try some.

[@ChezFeroce]

Did you also post this question on Reddit? lol

[@davewalker6760]

Hi Joe - I watched your video with interest and purchased a test pack of 120gsm (32lb) Colour LASER printing paper (Navigator brand). My observations are that it's very pure white, slightly glossy, and has good contrast. It does not require (or even allow!) a backing sheet, but is slightly too thick for my liking, holds the curl of the platen after removal and actually gives a slightly lighter imprint than my current favourite paper which is, believe it or not... Amazon Basics Multi Purpose Copy Printer Paper (80gsm, A4). It's slightly off-white, which I like, and holds a tremendous imprint. It does prefer to be loaded with a backing sheet, but that's not much hardship. It's a nice thickness and has very little to complain about in my opinion :) It's certainly cheap, too! Just thought I'd share. Keep it up!

[@copyrightfreevideobyttf]

Hooray for updates!

[@robertordonez9242]

For some reason I need to use at least 3 copy paper to get a decent impression on my type writer? Not sure if it’s the paper or not.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Check the platen roller for hardness with your fingernail, it should be resilient, but if it’s as hard as a rock that could be the reason. If so, it would need to be resurfaced with fresh rubber, which involves removing the whole roller and either covering it with heat shrink tubing (which isn’t as good as real rubber) or send it to JJ Short & Associates here in the States to get resurfaced.

[@ozzieburt2350]

Can white font be typed on black paper?

[@Joe_VanCleave]

The only white ribbons I’ve seen are correction ribbons, that have the bad habit of flaking residue into the machine.

[@ozzieburt2350]

@@Joe_VanCleave hmmm ok thanks !

[@thethriftyfawn]

I don't know much about paper for typewriters (or paper in general lol) so this was very interesting!

[@dianemaher3538]

If you want to send me some of that Hammermill paper Joe, I'd happily use it in some of my ancient machines.

[@dgeer809]

Don't know why this popped up today but of course if you worked in the same office as me we always had a premium bond with printed letterhead plus a minimum of 2 carbon copies made using carbon papers so the backing sheets were a minimum of four flimsy...2 carbon 2 others, one for file, 1 for field rep... and maybe another so 6 sheets plus top!

[@valeriafaillace3144]

Hello, happy new year and thank you for this video. Have you tried to type on tracing paper? Without ink in order to leave traces, embossingnthe paper ?

[@Joe_VanCleave]

It works really well with aluminum (aluminium) foil, try it!

[@valeriafaillace3144]

@@Joe_VanCleave whzt a fantastic idea! I used foil for some projects (I am in art school) and you video gave me the idea for a project I al alrrady working on. Thank you so much! I am trying to buy a typewriter now ! :)

[@ausserhaus]

I must confess that I never use special typewriterpaper. My favourite ist a book-paper that was send to me by the company that produces that paper - I only have a few sheets left and I won't get anymore because they don't sell it to consumers, only to bookprinter. What a pitty. I use my selfmade lokta/mulberry, flax- or cottonpaper, but even though I seal it during the producing process it sometimes soakes to much ink even of typewriters and it takes so much time to make it that I only produce it in summer when the paper takes less time to dry. I prefere what we call "Bütten-Papier" (I don't know the english name - laid paper?) from ZERKALL, RÖSSLER, or ROSSI. But I also like LE TYPOGRAPHE (machine made paper) and CROWN MILL as long as it is not plain white. And I really try to avoid copypaper and right now I'm using LE TYPOGRAPHEs light red paper most of the time. Do you use expensive handmade paper? And what about envelope and sheet - do they have to fit or isn't that important for you? I like the Royal Quiete de luxe's font. Beautiful! I'm very proud of my "Maritsa 22" that has an italic font. Thank you very much for this interesting video!

[@Joe_VanCleave]

I haven't used handmade paper, but it sounds like another hobby to get interested in. For envelopes I use either the standard letter-size, or the smaller size, which I have a whole box of, from a thrift store. But also, some of my letter-writing correspondents have sent me letters that were folded and wax-sealed, to form their own envelop. I should try that.

[@ausserhaus]

@@Joe_VanCleave thank your your quick response. The german word for "fit" and "match" is the same and I chose the wrong one. What I actually meint so sag was: do envelooe and paper hast to match in color and/or fabric for you? Would you put a sheet of copypaper in a blue, handmade envelope? In deed is making paper a wonderfull Hobby - seeing and feeling the diference of the used rawmaterials and experimenting with color, blossoms and other stuff is just amazing and offers a huge variety of different results.

[@larson0014]

I found some erasable typing paper, never heard of it before

[@Dick07040]

I had professors who forbade erasable paper on our work. It smears.

[@solitairepilot]

I humbly confess my sins, whenever I want to type something on paper, I go to my 1994 Smith Corona word processor, I’m sorry, it just types so dark and perfect. In the future I will try to use my Royal Portable. Please, I beg forgiveness!!!

[@sistergoldenhair0727]

I use erasable bond paper from the 1970s, onion skin paper, cockle finish typing paper, Stuart hall typing paper from the 1980s. I prefer using vintage paper in my typewriters. I have zero interest in using modern copy paper in my vintage machines.