The Case for Standard Typewriters

Why Bigger Typewriters Deserve a Bigger Place in Your Life (and on Your Desk)

Imperial 65 Standard typewriter on display in Auckland at Clackers Clinic.

The heavy but easily disassembled Imperial 65 Standard typewriter enjoying the soothing glow of a banker's lamp at Clackers Clinic.

side top view of an Imperial standard typewriter at Clackers Clinic.

To give you an idea of a Standard Imperial typewriter's mighty bulk.

A page of text typed on an Imperial Standard typewriter at Clackers Clinic

I suspect this was all typed by the typewriter itself when I was making a nice cuppa char.

A big Standard Olympia SG3 with wide carriage extended at Clackers Clinic in Onehunga

Florence, her name is. She's the Big Pink Meaty Beast and first in the Big Meaty Beast series. Olympia SG3.

Olympia SG3 typewriter in Auckland on display at Clackers Clinic.

Operating a big standard typewriter like the Olympia SG3 is something that takes up all your focus. That's a good thing.

Rear view of a pink Olympia SG3 typewriter at Clackers Clinic, Onehunga, Auckland.

Florence, Olympia SG3 typewriter, seen from the back. Tip: I have found that big typewriters are easier to carry if held from the rear.

The carriage and front cover of an Olympia SG3 typewriter at Clackers Clinic, Auckland, after disassembly.

A big benefit that comes with some big machines is ease of access due to ease of disassembly. The Olympia SG3's carriage and cover come off with a few clicks.

Olympia SG3 typewriter with carriage removed by way of demonstration at Clackers Clinic display room in Auckland.

You can see what easy access you have to all the important parts when the cover and carriage is removed.

A remington Noiseless with the top cover off, exposing the interlinking arms

As you can see with this Remington Noiseless with the top cover removed to show off its marvellous interlinkages, some standard machines are too big to fit onto a small writing desk. This is not a typewriter problem however, it is a desk problem. Typewriters can do no wrong.

An Imperial 66 typewriter on a standing level perch at the Clackers Clinic workshop in Auckland.

The mighty Imperial 66 can serve as a standing height typewriter if hoisted up. Notice the highly interesting ribbon wheel!

The front view of an Imperial 66 typewriter on a sawbench at the Clackers Clinic workshop in Onhunga, Auckland. .

A standard typewriter, like the Imperial 66, will not let you rest until you have finished typing your 250 words of action packed haecceity.

Tight Typing

I find the typing action on big, standard typewriters to have a more stable and steadier feel. I always get the impression that they were designed for typing comfort above all other considerations. The big machines were designed to withstand constant pounding but also to make the activity of prolonged typing as pleasant as possible. I refer to this quality as tightness to distinguish it from the apparent looseness I feel with the keys of some portables. By looseness I mean the feeling of needing to second guess at what precise angle a malleable key should be hit to make the best imprint or, really, the fact of having to think about the keys at all. With big, standard machines the typing process seems, to me, to be always more effortless.

An Imperial 80 typewriter at Clackers Clinic, left side.

This Imperial 80 is one of the Big Meaty Beast series of standard typewriters we promote.

The right side of an Imperial 80 typewriter at Clackers Clinic in Auckland.

Meaty by name, meaty by nature.

Front view of an Imperial 80 typewriter with an red Underwood in the background.

Autumnal colours help with futuristic typewriting projects. This is a known fact.

An Imperial 80 typewriter being serviced in the Clackers Clinic workshop.

Big typewriters like being in the centre of the room.

If you are still familiarizing yourself with typewriters in general, take a look at our gallery of machines we have repaired.