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> Pedantic point: electric typewriters (which have existed since the 1960s) do type in a way that looks exactly like this. Wrong. Literally gooogle "selectric

> Pedantic point: electric typewriters (which have existed since the 1960s) do type in a way that looks exactly like this. Wrong. Literally gooogle "selectric type sample" and see dozens of examples of them not typing anywhere near in a perfect line. Maybe machines with very low hours or kept in excellent condition might have excellent spacing, but there's plenty of examples of them obviously not having perfect spacing. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksherman/14249132603 https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksherman/14249132603 https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/e7xxct/typeface_sample_of_the_1951_ibm_model_a_executive/ https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/e7xxct/typefac... Another example where misalignment is even more obvious: https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/sc519r/ibm_selectric_iii_670x_different_font_and_pitch/#lightbox https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/sc519r/ibm_sel... http://www.jollinger.com/typewriters/typewriters/IBM_Selectric_II.html http://www.jollinger.com/typewriters/typewriters/IBM_Selectr... you can also see inconsistent letter spacing, more obvious on some fonts than others, but you can see some characters are connected and others aren't. And no, it's not just the position of the character relative to others on the ball. As the author points out, these characters have perfect vertical alignment. Then go look at high speed footage of the 'golfball' in action and you can see the substantial deflection caused by how fast and forceful the movements are. You can see the entire assembly is bouncing around as the rails it's on flex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtKaqIpOJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtKaqIpOJc

masswerk 2y ago
To be fair, the specimen shows some misalignment as well, e.g., the "S" at the very beginning is up and a bit to the left, the "Y" is shifted to the right, and there are small irregularities in "NGST", as well. However, I don't think that they add up in a sensible manner. Notably, the Red Cross invoice is much worse: additionally to what has been noted in the article already, why would you have a hyphen in "Verkäufername"? Also mind the reoccurring use of "#" for "Nummer", which would have been rather unacceptable in a formal German document.
- KennyBlanken 2y ago
  The image provided is so low resolution that this is probably a side effect of the edges of the characters being on the boundary between pixels on the camera's sensor. Magnify it to full screen and you'll see what I'm talking about. Now go back and look at the samples I linked to, where you can clearly see vertical misalignment. I remember everyone in my school system had selectrics when I was a kid, and I assure you, they could produce text that was all over the place. Probably because the ones in a public school saw heavy use / were not properly maintained and serviced to the degree required.
  - masswerk 2y ago
    There's an image with suitable resolution to show the misalignment: https://i0.wp.com/cabel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image.png https://i0.wp.com/cabel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image... BTW, also mind the drop of the "0" in "10". Edit: We can all pretend it's perfectly aligned print, but, regardless, whether purposefully manufactured or genuine, there are obvious misalignments in that image.

masswerk 2y ago

To be fair, the specimen shows some misalignment as well, e.g., the "S" at the very beginning is up and a bit to the left, the "Y" is shifted to the right, and there are small irregularities in "NGST", as well. However, I don't think that they add up in a sensible manner. Notably, the Red Cross invoice is much worse: additionally to what has been noted in the article already, why would you have a hyphen in "Verkäufername"? Also mind the reoccurring use of "#" for "Nummer", which would have been rather unacceptable in a formal German document.

KennyBlanken 2y ago
The image provided is so low resolution that this is probably a side effect of the edges of the characters being on the boundary between pixels on the camera's sensor. Magnify it to full screen and you'll see what I'm talking about. Now go back and look at the samples I linked to, where you can clearly see vertical misalignment. I remember everyone in my school system had selectrics when I was a kid, and I assure you, they could produce text that was all over the place. Probably because the ones in a public school saw heavy use / were not properly maintained and serviced to the degree required.
- masswerk 2y ago
  There's an image with suitable resolution to show the misalignment: https://i0.wp.com/cabel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image.png https://i0.wp.com/cabel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image... BTW, also mind the drop of the "0" in "10". Edit: We can all pretend it's perfectly aligned print, but, regardless, whether purposefully manufactured or genuine, there are obvious misalignments in that image.