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Nice article! I use an electric typewriter. Nothing beats it for creative writing: no app or digital device comes close to a blank sheet of paper and silence.

Nice article! I use an electric typewriter. Nothing beats it for creative writing: no app or digital device comes close to a blank sheet of paper and silence. I found a store like this once in Toronto. An "office machines" shop tucked away in a small corner of the city. It's really quite a trip.

Gracana 12y ago
> I use an electric typewriter. Nothing beats it for creative writing There's another use case for typewriters that computer still aren't very good at: filling out forms. I haven't bought one yet but I can definitely see why some companies still use them to fill out pre-printed forms.
- tjohns 12y ago
  I grew up with word processors, but I still kept an electric typewriter handy for filling out paper forms. It was a pain to align the print head with fields on paper, and erasing was a chore if I had to go back than the machine's 5 word buffer would allow. But it still looked better than my handwriting would have. I kinda miss having it around. But on the plus side, my handwriting's a lot better these days -- and most forms come in PDF format now, anyway.
- evincarofautumn 12y ago
  And the problem’s not only technical—it’s only been recently that companies have started accepting digitally filled & signed forms.
- sliverstorm 12y ago
  Form Field PDF's, when made available, are pretty slick. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040ez.pdf http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040ez.pdf
aareet 12y ago
Can you remember the name of the store? Sounds like a great place to check out.
- JackFr 12y ago
  Gramercy Typewriter. I just had a 1920's Underwood refurbished there. Tiny, tiny place on the fourth floor of a nondescript building across the street from the flatiron building. There's really not much to check out, but they really love to talk typewriters. Edit: Oops. realized you were talking about store in Toronto. Oh well.
ams6110 12y ago
Quickly addressing an envelope is another thing I still use them for.
soperj 12y ago
I feel the same way. It's why I use pen & paper.

Gracana 12y ago

> I use an electric typewriter. Nothing beats it for creative writing There's another use case for typewriters that computer still aren't very good at: filling out forms. I haven't bought one yet but I can definitely see why some companies still use them to fill out pre-printed forms.

tjohns 12y ago
I grew up with word processors, but I still kept an electric typewriter handy for filling out paper forms. It was a pain to align the print head with fields on paper, and erasing was a chore if I had to go back than the machine's 5 word buffer would allow. But it still looked better than my handwriting would have. I kinda miss having it around. But on the plus side, my handwriting's a lot better these days -- and most forms come in PDF format now, anyway.
evincarofautumn 12y ago
And the problem’s not only technical—it’s only been recently that companies have started accepting digitally filled & signed forms.
sliverstorm 12y ago
Form Field PDF's, when made available, are pretty slick. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040ez.pdf http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040ez.pdf

aareet 12y ago

Can you remember the name of the store? Sounds like a great place to check out.

JackFr 12y ago
Gramercy Typewriter. I just had a 1920's Underwood refurbished there. Tiny, tiny place on the fourth floor of a nondescript building across the street from the flatiron building. There's really not much to check out, but they really love to talk typewriters. Edit: Oops. realized you were talking about store in Toronto. Oh well.

ams6110 12y ago

Quickly addressing an envelope is another thing I still use them for.

soperj 12y ago

I feel the same way. It's why I use pen & paper.