Thursday, October 14, 2021

Carbon Paper

 It occurs to me that some folks have never seen carbon paper in action. 

The first couple minutes of this program show somebody using it.
So I share.

My first book was typed on a manual typewriter like this, an Underwood, and I used carbon paper.




 




Posted by at 10:24 PM
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7 comments:

  1. Laura3:43 PM

    I love manual typewriters (Smith Corona Sterling & Olivetti Underwood); I am glad to know you typed a draft with one.

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  2. Jo Bourne4:23 PM

    I learned to type on a manual, an Underwood. I got up to 50 or 60 wpm with it by the time I was 13.

    I gave it up happily in my midteens when I got hold of an electric one, a Selectric. My father gave me a discard from his office when they upgraded.

    It didn't banish carbon paper from my life but it increased my typing speed a bit.

    I don't think I could use a manual any more. The wrists and fingers probably couldn't take the impact.

    I know some writers like to keep an old typewriter around for display. Giving a nod to the old ways. And because they're kinda cool machines.

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  3. Lil1:05 PM

    I kind of miss the Ping sound when you got to the end of the line and then the whoosh when you knocked it down to the next line, but other than that, I don't miss my old Smith-Corona. I typed my Master's essay on that—100+ pages with four carbons, footnotes at the bottom of the page. Maybe that's why I now have arthritic fingers, but at least with a computer I can still type.

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    Replies
    1. Jo Bourne2:59 PM

      I had forgotten the ping at the end of the line.
      Good times.

      I don't know if my years of typing have made my hands more susceptible to arthritis . . . or less. Maybe all the finger exercise is actually good for your hands.

      Here's one of the wiffle-waffle views on piano playing.

      https://www.healthypianoplaying.co.uk/osteoarthritis-and-pianists

      Delete
  4. Jo Bourne3:17 PM

    ... and some more thoughts on arthritis and repetitive hand movement

    https://internationalmusician.org/arthritis-protect-livelihood-early-diagnosis/

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  5. Deniz Bevan8:48 AM

    I love carbon paper! I've never actually used it in a typewriter though :p We only have a few sheets in the house and I'd love to show my kids how it works but I keep worrying I won't be able to find more once these sheets are used up...
    (I can't see the follow post button, so I hope I don't miss more comments!)

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  6. Jo Bourne9:30 PM

    There are crafts that use carbon paper. Or something like carbon paper.


    https://www.dickblick.com/search/?q=carbon%20paper

    Probably your local art store carries it ...

    I don't know where the follow button is. I wonder if I've set it up wrong somehow.

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