IBM 6715 Operator Guide

September 1985 saw the release of IBM's first compact electronic typewriter, the IBM 6715 AKA the "Actionwriter 1", which was manufactured by IBM Deutschland in Stuttgart. Thanks to a technological alliance with TA Triumph-Adler, the internals of the 6715 are largely based on the Gabriele 9009 compact electronic typewriter. As such, the IBM 6715 takes … Continue reading IBM 6715 Operator Guide →

IBM 6747 Instruction Guide

When you're scanning an IBM 6747 instruction guide with 150-plus pages it helps when those pages are hole punched in a ring binder ... No mold, no yellowed pages, no rusted staples, no dramas getting the pages to lie flat and flush on the bed of the scanner ... The original guide has five sections: … Continue reading IBM 6747 Instruction Guide →

IBM Makes it Personal

"Personal" is an adjective normally associated with portable typewriters. While the discerning typist may have purchased an IBM 6781 "Personal Wheelwriter" for home-use back in the day, it's far from portable (but much more portable than a full-size Wheelwriter). Much like its predecessor, the IBM 6715 (Actionwriter) released in September 1985, the IBM 6781 is … Continue reading IBM Makes it Personal →

IBM Furniture For Sale

I've been after an IBM Personal Wheelwriter (LEXMARK 240v preferred) for quite a few years now. A recent search on "IBM 6781 typewriter" came up with this website: Never look a gift horse in the mouth. An IBM Lexmark Personal Wheelwriter for $69.36 USD ($96.52 AUD) with free postage, when the same models on Etsy … Continue reading IBM Furniture For Sale →

Lex Machina

In a recent (IBM's Element of Surprise) post I asked whether "IBM" branded print wheels compatible with Silver Reed EX series electronic typewriters were made for IBM or made by IBM. Sometimes the answer to a typewriter-related question stares you in the face. Take, for example, a batch of Silver Reed compatible IBM print wheels … Continue reading Lex Machina →

IBM’s Element of Surprise

In an Adaptation post from July 2018, I pointed to the similarity of the caps on third generation IBM Selectric golf balls and those on Silver Reed EX series electronic typewriter print wheels ... (Edited: 3/01/2022) I didn't know it at the time, but these printwheels were first manufactured by IBM for their 1977 IBM … Continue reading IBM’s Element of Surprise →

‘Tronics

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the search for a suitable name for the latest and most innovative electronic typewriter inevitably led manufacturers to opt for a name that well and truly associated their product with high-tech. Hence a plethora of -tronic, -onic, and -tron name endings, Early examples were the Smith Corona "Typetronic" … Continue reading ‘Tronics →

A Whole New Ball Game

Goodness gracious great balls o' type, who would have thought there were so many golf ball typewriter variants? IBM were keen to develop and maintain a strong presence in Japan (a case of keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer). It's hardly surprising then, that perhaps the most Selectric-like of all the Selectric clones is … Continue reading A Whole New Ball Game →

The Fifth Element

Good news: Searching on the French boule rather than the German kugelkopf, reaped the reward of my fifth interchangeable spherical print element or "golf ball"... The Fifth Element For some reason, getting my hands on a T-A Royal "golf ball" proved just as difficult as finding one of these ... The Fourth Element ~ This idiosyncratic fourth element … Continue reading The Fifth Element →

IBM Office

Once upon a time, in the days before Microsoft Office ... Your secretary is in Gstaad. She will be pleased to attend to the following jobs for you: typing with an IBM type-head machine (ask for the various specimens of type) transmission and receipt of telex communications (telex no. 33650) translations in 44 languages (also … Continue reading IBM Office →