15 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2025
  2. Jun 2025
    1. Typing Skills: Fields of Typing. 16 mm, Instructional film. Periscope Film, 1972. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvF0atKsggY.

      Typing Skills: Fields of Typing <br /> Coronet Instructional Films, a division of Esquire, Inc., 1972<br /> Lawrence W. Erickson, Ed.D. Professor of Education, University of California, Los Angeles<br /> Production: Coronet Films and Creative Establishment, Inc.<br /> Director and Writer: Don B. Klugman<br /> Photography Robert Flaxman<br /> Editing: Barbara Kaplan

      Periscope Film XD72104 archived at https://stock.periscopefilm.com/xd72104-typing-skills-fields-of-typing-1972-typewriter-based-careers-educational-film/

      Alternate version at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMmsE6GMIR8

      Warm ups of fingers

      Rules of good typing - concentrate on the copy

      Typewriters in the piece: <br /> - Olivett editor 5<br /> - Others...

      • copy typing - types material already written or typed
      • setting margins
      • centering letters on page
      • formatting and spacing
      • double spacing with wide margins
      • editor's marks

      Backspace from center method for setting tab stops

      Uses for typewriters:<br /> - check writing - billing - chain feeding - financial records and reports - filling in forms - carbon copies

      index and file cards - inserted into a pleated page which may have lines.

  3. Apr 2025
  4. Sep 2024
    1. What do you mean with Zettelkasten ratchet? I am too unfamiliar with the word ratchet to really understand the meaning.[9:46 AM] Or if someone else has an idea and can help me out

      The additional "hidden context" is that the rachet/gear seen in many of these diagrams is usually attached to a radial spring (or some other device) which, as it is wound, stores energy which is later used by the bigger device in which the rachet and pawl are encased. Examples include the stem of watches, which when wound, store energy which the watch later uses to run as it counts the seconds. Another example is the mainspring of a typewriter which is attached to a ratchet/pawl set up; when you push the carriage to the right, the spring gets wound up and stores energy which is slowly expended by the escapement a space or a letter at a time as you type. In the zettelkasten analogy, the box and numbered cards placed in it act as the pawl (the wedge that prevents backward movement), as you add more and more information, you're storing/building up "potential energy" in small bits. This "stored energy" can be spent at a later time by allowing you to more easily write an article, paper, book, etc. In some sense, the zettelkasten (as most tools do) allows you a "mechanical advantage" in the writing process over trying to remember everything you've ever read and then relying on your ability to spit it all back out in a well-ordered manner.


      reply to Muhammed Ali at https://discord.com/channels/992400632390615070/992400632776507447/1286577013439594497

      continuation of https://hypothes.is/a/GTPIPnYiEe-GTUu4YcdeAQ

  5. Aug 2024
    1. Advanced Typing - Shortcuts (1943)

      Advanced Typing: Shortcuts. 16 mm. Vol. MN-1512c. United States Navy Training Film, 1943. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUJfCfqgsX0.

      Correct typing posture: fingers curved<br /> arms sloping up<br /> light fast strokes<br /> steady rhythm

      fast continuous motion of return lever<br /> using backing sheet (aka temping sheet ??)

      Shortcuts:<br /> mise en place for office supplies (she doesn't use this phrasing though) - greater efficiency - cuts down on searching

      tabulators can be helpful. There are two types:<br /> - automatic - handset

      Use tabs for paragraphs, dating letters, columns of numbers, and letter closings.

      To clear all tab stops, put carriage to left, hold tab clear key and move the carriage across. (Usually applies to Royal, Remington, Underwood, and Electromatic).

      On LC Smith and Woodstock machines sometimes have a tab clear lever on the back.

      Decimal tabulator keys help to align a variety of numbers around a decimal point.

      Always have a few tabs set to prevent a flying carriage which can be hard on the machine.

      When using carbon sheets which are slightly longer than the paper size, cut off a small triangle at the top left hand side. This makes it easier for one to separate the carbons from the copies by holding the top left with one hand and pulling the carbons out from the bottom of the stack.

      To align multiple sheets of paper for carbon copies, use a folded sheet at the top to taco the pages into the machine. Remove the folded sheet once the carbon pack is rolled forward.

      Paper bail rollers should be set to split the pages into thirds (for two rollers).

      Remington noiseless machines have a pressure indicator on the front of the machine (usually above the keyboard) which can be used when using thick carbon packs that may cause the ribbon guide to stick or bind.

      Only erase when the carriage is fully left or right to prevent eraser crumbs from falling into the machine.

      Use a soft eraser on carbon copies. Use and insert slips of paper behind the carbons and allowing them to stick out the sides, erasing from back sheet to front so as not to allow the eraser to mark your carbon copies. For the front sheet, use a shield and ink eraser and erase with a horizontal motion. After erasing, easily pull out the inserted sheets.

      When typing a correction, tap the key lightly two or three times rather than hard once.

      When in a rush and it's necessary to add a word (on double spacing), underline the last letter of the prior word and type a slash (/). Then move the typing line up and type the insertion above the prior line. This creates an "arrow" of sorts for the inserted word.

      Details for inserting extra letters in misspelled words using half-spacing machines. (Underwoods and Electromatics don't have this function.)

      Light pencil marks at the bottom of the sheet can help to indicate the coming bottom of the sheet.

      Putting up the card holders (fingers) on Underwoods and Royals. They help to hold the card and improve print quality and reduce noise.

      Card holders can cause markings on carbon packs if they're not lowered.

      Trick for quickly writing postcards in succession: Disengage the ratchet using the platen spring release (or variable platen switch) Type the address on the front of the card. When done give the platen a quick practiced spin. The postcard with "jump" up and stop at the paper table and be in position for rolling in the opposite direction to write the message on the back of the card! When done a faster spin of the platen will shoot the card over the back of the typewriter where it can land in a box to collect all the postcards which were written in such a manner. <br /> timestamp 23:22

      Time saving methods for addressing envelopes:

      • Front seat principle. Insert the envelope in the usual way and type out the address. When done, turn the envelope down through the machine with the right hand. With the left hand, place the next envelope between the top of the first envelope and the front of the platen. Feed the first envelope back through the machine (in reverse) and the second will be rolled in to place for typing. Continue in this fashion until finished. All the finished envelopes will stack up in the back at the paper table.

      • Chain feeding. The first envelope is inserted and rolled partway into the machine. A second envelope is inserted between the platen and the second envelope (behind the platen). Turn the first envelope to the writing line and type the address. Take out the first envelope and insert the next the same way as before.

      • Uses paper bail. Do the first envelope in the usual way. Spin it out of the machine up and behind the paper bail into a box behind the typewriter.

      For quickly doing labels or small cards:<br /> Create a small zig-zag fold into a piece of paper to create a pocket slot which can be scotch taped on either side. This template paper can then be inserted so that the pocket is visible above the writing line, but the paper below it is still in the platen. The label or card can be placed into the pocket and the platen reversed to feed the label or card in backwards to the desired typing line. Using a v-groove or hole in the typing line can create a pencil line to serve as a guide for inserting many labels at the same place so that the typing lines up between labels.

      Some offices had special platens for holding cards like this.

      Pockets like this can also be used to hold the page to add additional lines at the bottom of pages. Deeper pockets may need to be used for doing this with carbon packs whose carbons are longer than the pages.

      Alternately one can do something similar by creating a inverted u-shaped set of slits into an index card. to hold such labels.

      When in the midst of a page and needing to do another piece urgently, roll back the letter until about 2 inches from the top, and then place in the new page and one between each of the carbons. Then roll forward to do the short message as necessary. Turn back to the insertion position to remove the copies and then continue with the first letter where you left off.

      For drawing horizontal lines on typewriter paper, push the carriage to the extreme left and place the pencil or pen at the edge of the card guide and the scale. Then move the carriage to the right to effect the line. For vertical lines, put the carriage at the desired space and place the pencil at the card guide and scale and move the platen up/down as necessary.

  6. Jul 2024
    1. Given my current r/typewriter flair ("typewriters + card index = magic"), I couldn't help but appreciate that Lucas Dul features a 3x5" card index (aka database) of typewriter typefaces in a recent video on the 1896 Williams 3 typewriter: https://youtu.be/T1zzXwB3Xh8?si=K4FeiS-V_aev9_SZ&t=506. Those who have been following along on the typeface front will recognize some of the samples from this small index having been featured in a video on typewriter typefaces at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scrguKgDNIY.

      I'm reminded of a similar card index (or Zettelkasten if you speak German) database of type I saw last year via the Letterform Archive article at Schriftenkartei [Typeface Index], 1958–1971 and a related Flickr version of it at https://www.flickr.com/photos/letterformarchive/albums/72177720310834741/

      Lest you think these sorts of analog office pairings are completely obsolete, I feel compelled to mention that I've recently noticed that Pam Beasley's character had both an IBM typewriter and a metal 1970s/80s era two drawer metal card file behind her desk in the TV series The Office (NBC, 2005-2013).

      If typewriters and card indexes are your sort of thing, I've got a small personal collection as well as some research and writing about them which can be found at https://boffosocko.com/research/zettelkasten-commonplace-books-and-note-taking-collection/#Boxes

      If you follow my collections and work, you know I'm not beyond pairing up a nice typewriter with a card index (or two).

      img

      Image of a 1948 Royal and a matching Steelcase card index.

      Syndication link: https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1e5u5z3/era_appropriate_database_for_typewriter_typefaces/

  7. Jun 2024
  8. May 2024
  9. Apr 2024
  10. May 2023

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  11. Apr 2023