Typewriter - gadget for those who took soulless printers

For those who got the soulless printers, but hand writing is not kamilfo. Understand how to choose a typewriter.

Russian sellers sometimes impose such prices on their typewriters, it is better to order them from America or Germany, despite the fact that the shipping would cost more than most cars.

The sellers of the cars quite often have a sense of humor, whether naive and believe that the device, which is stale in the attic or was found in the basement, incredibly rare historical exhibit and then hang out ... the price ceiling. So, I recently saw the announcement of the sale of the most popular German Robotron, in which the seller asked 50 000. However, indiscriminate buyers that "being" beautiful or "vintage" appearance of the typewriter, alas, too enough. I know the people who come to me for repairs.
Why the sellers do not understand the value of "goods", want their cars bought as expensive as possible, and where are the fans of printed devices? What kind of car you should buy to become a happy owner of the original model?

WHY CARS RAISED?

Typewriters as a means of office EN masse stopped using in the last century. With the advent of computers and printers they immediately began to be perceived as a relic of antiquity. But after a couple of decades the interest in them began to return. It turned out that they are not the only beautiful element of the interior, they are durable and the print on them can be a hundred or even two hundred years.

WHO AND WHAT TODAY TYPING ON TYPEWRITERS?

Many are typing stories, writing letters, some so actively as in the epoch when the machine is used in all branches and offices of the world. I know a journalist from St. Petersburg Baltic news agencies, which editorial writing on the computer, but house knocks on the machine, because it's fun! Some people use typewriters to design their blogs. They type text on paper, scan it and upload to your web page.

Why should they? Each print is printed cars are always unique.
SETTINGS AND DESIGN

Let's start with the fact that cars are stationery, i.e., large, is designed exclusively for use in stationary conditions (compare with a personal computer), and portable, they are called road, which is easy to take (compared with laptops and tablets).

Office typewriter such as the Underwood 5, a Remington 12, L. C. Smith Bros. 8 very, very heavy. For example, Royal 10 weighs about 15 kg, and the domestic Progress of about 20 kg.

HOW TO DECIDE WHICH CAR TO BUY?

When you decide to buy the machine, you do not have to thoroughly understand the technical intricacies and mechanical principles, it is important to understand their preferences, tastes, attitudes about beauty. Cars have different characteristics and, accordingly, the prices are different.
Portable weigh much less – an average of 5-6 kg. is One of the easiest Kolibri is German, her weight is 4 kg with a light suitcase.
Small portable machines generally were not produced until the 20-ies of the last century. And functions they have less than stationery. But after 20 years of the twentieth century the Americans, the Germans, and later Italians competed in a design delights. And even during the great American depression, when I tried to do everything simple and cheap, the US has created a great typing device, such as Royal Standard and Portable Remington Rand 5.

GLASS OR PLASTIC KEYS?

If you want to buy typewriter keys with glass cover, you can be sure this machine is not less than 70 years. At least after the Second World war they were considered obsolete. Surprisingly, though, that today you can find them in excellent or very good condition.
The key design is very intricate on its support placed the cardboard circle with the picture of the letter on top of the glass circle, and it's all fixed round a metal "cage" ring with clips.

After the 50's all the cars were made mostly with plastic keys. Subsequently, the case of machines also started to make more cheap plastic.
However, in their beauty and design of these machines is not inferior to their predecessors.

TAPE AND REEL

If you get the machine, it is highly likely that the tape will be dried out and unusable. Fortunately, these "vestiges of antiquity" you can still find in Russia the good they deliver to us from Belarus (though their quality is questioned), you can also find similar tapes from modern office equipment.

However, before you buy a tape, it is important to know its width. For most universal machines require tape 13 mm, but there are those where you need a 16 mm – this is especially true of large office typewriters.

In addition, many machines allow you to print in two colors – black and red (on the machine has a special switch), but such tapes to get in Russia is very problematic.
However, the issue is solved. I order two-tone ribbon in the US – where the "cult" of typewriters is very strong, producers are still profitable to make tape under a particular model, although the production machines themselves have long been suspended.
Reveal the secret. You can pick up (and successfully!) two-tone tape from a modern (but not too common) cash registers.
As for coils, as long as they were available. Sometimes, these coils play a decorative role, are, so to speak, in a designer ensemble machines.
With "native" reels of old tape is easily removed and just as simply removed with a new (less than "fashion"), then set on the original.

WHERE TO FIND CARS?

Ask friends, monitor..., and other domestic and foreign sites ads and auctions.

HOW, IN REALITY A MACHINE?

Postwar domestic cars (made in USSR) do not buy more than 1000. A waste of money. In fact, they are so many and in excellent condition, and sell more immodest. By the way, some I wouldn't take for free, because most likely I have presented. An exception may be, in my opinion, early model portable of Moscow. A machine in the classic style fair may be more expensive, but only if it is very well preserved and in good condition.
As for the German and American models of that period (with a Cyrillic font or Latin – does not matter), and they, too, in Soviet Russia, as a rule, received in large quantities, it is not necessary to go abroad 5000 rubles. If the machine is faulty or looks ugly, don't buy it for more than fifteen hundred.

If offered the machine pre-war day, it all depends on creativity and marketing abilities of the seller and the ability of the buyer to bargain. This machine is in good condition can cost from 5 to 8 (sometimes 10 but not more than) thousand rubles.
If you are willing to pay more than 10 thousand rubles, you probably very well know typewriters, their history and you already have a good collection. You languishing in pain that you don't have such a model, one hundred percent sure and know what you will spend money.

The cost calculations are easily carried out when analyzing the price in other countries. So, I bought a few machines in the US, paid for delivery to Petersburg, and they are cheaper than the models that have been proposed ambizione appraisers and experts-sellers in Russia. The explanation is simple. In America know the value of writing machines, despite the fact that it is a country that has produced for a couple of Germany's best examples. While Soviet Russia has long rocked with its own production, and when it was delivered, the kids turned out dull. Of course, this is my subjective opinion. I will add that in neighboring Finland compared to the domestic prices of cars in General cost a penny, if you want you can find them and with the Cyrillic alphabet.

CHECK THE MACHINE BEFORE BUYING

Before you buy the machine, it would be good to see her alive. The first thing you should check how easy roller machine takes the paper. If you encounter problems, then the rollers that are not visible from the outside, do not press the paper to the roller, they are seriously deformed and to restore them the whole Saga.

Then checks the operation of the carriage, and carefully. You need to make sure that the machine can easily print a string to the end (maybe the spring carriage has weakened, if not broken). If the carriage does not move when typing in General, this means that the mechanism came off the cord or fishing line, or out of order, the spring drum.
Only after this test checks the operation of all keys (respectively, and lettered levers). Some of them can jam, get stuck in the grooves of literalities. The trouble in this big no – just machine have not been cleaned-not smeared and are not regulated. The main thing that you saw typing all the letters, all of them in place and if any of them are damaged, which give a fuzzy impression.

HOW TO LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THEIR CARS

Every serious cars there is your serial (you can say identification) number. This is not an empty set of mathematical combinations, and valuable information.
It is possible to establish the year of issue typed model. But not always.
Most responsible for saving the data about their machines approached the Americans. The Internet is the open base which can be installed year of manufacture. For absolute credibility of the data is preferable to check with some one or two alternative bases, as in the preparation could be a mistake or a typo.
Slightly less detailed information has survived about the year of birth of German cars. With domestic no luck – there is almost no information. However, if you have the documents acquired, it removes all the questions. For example, I got a rare Optimа, it was sold in an antique shop along with the documents, so that set the year of release was not required.
The approximate period of issue typewriter with the Cyrillic alphabet it is easy to install on several grounds. One of the indicators is the keyboard layout. If it is for the most part coincides with the modern (as in computers), so the typewriter was not produced before the 50-ies of the last century. And if it still has the key "Yat", this indicates its pre-revolutionary origins.
Thus, the purchase of a typewriter — responsible action.

Source: vk.com/club76257067?w=wall-76257067_15%2Fall