Comments on: The Phoenix Typewriter http://www.dirkvanweelden.net Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:16:36 +0200 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Ramon http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/comment-page-1/#comment-674 Ramon Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:16:42 +0000 http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/#comment-674 I also had this vision of building a new sleek yet still manual typewriter. It seems the art of the old vintage typewriter action holds something very visceral and real that digital doesn't reproduce. I'd be very interested in seeing any kind of development on your project. Good luck. I also had this vision of building a new sleek yet still manual typewriter. It seems the art of the old vintage typewriter action holds something very visceral and real that digital doesn’t reproduce. I’d be very interested in seeing any kind of development on your project. Good luck.

]]> By: Richard Polt http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/comment-page-1/#comment-421 Richard Polt Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:04:09 +0000 http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/#comment-421 What a beautiful dream .... I would love to see a new manual typewriter with the style of a Voss, the snap and segment shift of an Olympia SM9, and yes, some digital capability. There is a pretty simple way to make any typewriter create digital output: attach rods to the type levers that activate the keys of a keyboard placed under the typewriter, as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYYUXXhrOas You could also put an AlphaSmart keyboard-sized word processor under such a typewriter and take it on the road. But if there were a built-in AlphaSmart-like capability in the typewriter, I think that would be even better. You want the Phoenix typewriter to have proportional characters. Of course, that adds a whole new dimension of complexity. But it would be neat. I can't think of a proportional portable typewriter, unless you count the 1881 Hamilton Automatic. China probably would be the place to do such a project, but anywhere you did it, the initial investment in tooling for a new design would be huge. The tooling for Brother-based portables is what China has. Probably the most realistic idea would be to design a cool new skin for the existing Brother mechanism -- some sleek, metallic shape. Even that is a long shot. If a whole new typewriter factory were to be built from scratch, I would also suggest making ... a Crandall! Richard What a beautiful dream …. I would love to see a new manual typewriter with the style of a Voss, the snap and segment shift of an Olympia SM9, and yes, some digital capability. There is a pretty simple way to make any typewriter create digital output: attach rods to the type levers that activate the keys of a keyboard placed under the typewriter, as shown in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYYUXXhrOas
You could also put an AlphaSmart keyboard-sized word processor under such a typewriter and take it on the road. But if there were a built-in AlphaSmart-like capability in the typewriter, I think that would be even better.

You want the Phoenix typewriter to have proportional characters. Of course, that adds a whole new dimension of complexity. But it would be neat. I can’t think of a proportional portable typewriter, unless you count the 1881 Hamilton Automatic.

China probably would be the place to do such a project, but anywhere you did it, the initial investment in tooling for a new design would be huge. The tooling for Brother-based portables is what China has. Probably the most realistic idea would be to design a cool new skin for the existing Brother mechanism — some sleek, metallic shape. Even that is a long shot.

If a whole new typewriter factory were to be built from scratch, I would also suggest making … a Crandall!

Richard

]]> By: SteveL http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/comment-page-1/#comment-420 SteveL Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:05:14 +0000 http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/#comment-420 That concept,though without the high end materials and styling, was already tried - its the 'electronic typewriter' and though the output was a digital text file, it was the logical result of the development of the electric typewriter. The Canon S-68 and the Canon Typestar series are good examples, and Brother still sells them. Even if you provide jpeg output instead of just digital text file output, you still have the equivalent of a casio digital watch - and no matter how you doll it up, its still just a digital watch. Note that a patek phillipe is a handmade mechanical watch, with no digital features - its not a digital watch in a fancy case. (Casio already makes digital watches in fancy cases, but they don't sell for Patek Phillipe prices, nor do they have the Patek Phillipe cachet...) Now, certain modern digital gadgets DO lend themselves to snobbish fashion, - eg Cell phones, but typewriters? Not so sure... That concept,though without the high end materials and styling, was already tried – its the ‘electronic typewriter’ and though the output was a digital text file, it was the logical result of the development of the electric typewriter. The Canon S-68 and the Canon Typestar series are good examples, and Brother still sells them. Even if you provide jpeg output instead of just digital text file output, you still have the equivalent of a casio digital watch – and no matter how you doll it up, its still just a digital watch. Note that a patek phillipe is a handmade mechanical watch, with no digital features – its not a digital watch in a fancy case. (Casio already makes digital watches in fancy cases, but they don’t sell for Patek Phillipe prices, nor do they have the Patek Phillipe cachet…) Now, certain modern digital gadgets DO lend themselves to snobbish fashion, – eg Cell phones, but typewriters? Not so sure…

]]> By: Dirk van Weelden » THE PHOENIX TYPEWRITER http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/comment-page-1/#comment-400 Dirk van Weelden » THE PHOENIX TYPEWRITER Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:13:11 +0000 http://www.dirkvanweelden.net/the-phoenix-typewriter/#comment-400 [...] Link to English translation  [...] [...] Link to English translation  [...]

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