Typewriters

A typewriter is a machine tat may be operated manually or automatically

to produce clear printed letters and figures on papers. Its use is faster than

handwriting.

KINDS OF TYPEWRITERS

1. Manual
2. Electric
3. Electronic and
4. Text-editing which is called word-processing typewriters or word processors

With the manual typewriter, the operation is entirely by the power supplied by the typist’s hand. The typist strikes the key with the fingers to propel the type of printing point by means of connecting levers.

An electric typewriter has a rubber cylinder which is rotated by an electric motor is to provide power so that the typist exerts only a little energy on the keys to make a print on the paper. The difference now is that the manual typewriter needs a lot of energy whereas the electric one needs just a touch. However, electric typewriters cost more to buy and operate than the manual typewriters. The fact that it types faster and more neatly than the manual typewriters gives it an added advantage.

There are some electric typewriters that are called self-correcting typewriters. These typewriters are special in that they can erase typing errors. These typewriters make use of correcting ribbons that are treated with chemicals so that any incorrect letter can be removed when the typist types a certain key to peel off the error to re-type the correct one.

The electronic typewriters look like the electric typewriters but differ in composition. It contains a tiny computer called a microprocessor which gives the typewriter the impetus to perform some functions automatically. Some of these electronic typewriters print as many as eight pages per minute. They are also better than the electric typewriter because they are more complex. That is they can perform a lot of operations for example sorting and merging of lists, solving mathematical equations. They can even transfer information to other word processors and to computers over telephone lines.

PARTS OF A TYPEWRITER

Most of the different kinds of typewriters have the same basic features. For instance, all typewriters have a keyboard that consists of buttons/keys. On each key are two characters which could be letters, numbers, punctuation marks… On each key is attached a lever that has a bar of metal type at the other end. When there is a strike on the key, the type bar rises and hits an inked ribbon or a thin strip of carbon type. The ribbon or tape is located in front of the paper. To prevent the paper from flying out, a hard rubber roller (platen) ensures the grip of the paper to the typewriter. Immediately a key is struck, the platen and paper move one space to the left in automation.

THE HISTORY OF THE TYPEWRITER

During the 1700’s and 1800’s many investors in Europe and the United states tried to develop a practical typewriter. The first however to be entered into records was the one invented by Henry Mill, an English engineer. His model is now extinct that nobody can tell what it really looked like. Following Mill’s invention, others sprang up. These however had no commercial value. They were mainly used for the blind.

The first successful typewriter was built by Christopher Latham Scholes, an American painter in 1867 with the help of two friends; Carlos Glidden and Samuel .W. Soulé. In 1868, Sholes continued to improve the invention. Then in 1873, E. Remington and sons, a gun and sewing machines manufacturer agreed to manufacture Sholes latest model and began to market it in 1875. Later other firms sprang. The first portable typewriter appeared in the early 1900’s. Electric typewriters came around 1920. Since then there has been a lot of improvements on the typewriters. Today many people use personal computers with printers as word processors.