Brother Produces UK's Last Typewriter
Off to its final resting place.
These days, the majority of us do our typing on our laptop or PC keyboards with a dash of touchscreen typing thrown in for good measure. Computers have long since replaced less efficient ways of producing documents, such as by hand or via typewriter. In fact, the UK just produced its last typewriter ever and it's headed for a museum.
According to the BBC, the typewriter in question was manufactured by Brother. The company says demand for the mechanical device has fallen to the point where it's no longer financially viable to produce. It was made by Edward Bryan who has worked at Brother since 1989. He told the BBC that in the past he's successfully built a typewriter with his eyes closed.
The UK's last typewriter is headed for the London Science Museum where it will join the museum's collection of more than 200 typewriters.
"This object represents the end of typewriter manufacture in the UK, a technology which has developed over the last 130 years and has been important to so many lives," assistant curator of technologies and engineering, Rachel Boon, told the BBC. "This model will enable us to tell the story of how technology has evolved in accordance with our communication needs."
Brother told the BBC that its factory in Wales has produced 5.9 million typewriters since it opened in 1985. Going forward, the factory will be used to recycle printer cartridges as well as for the production of other office technology.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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neiroatopelcc geost91grWe had to get to 2012 to understand we no longer need typewriters. OK...There's one at serveral offices around here still. They're used a couple times a year to type documents in triplicate because we don't have any matrix printers.Reply -
geost91gr neiroatopelccThere's one at serveral offices around here still. They're used a couple times a year to type documents in triplicate because we don't have any matrix printers.Reply
And what would be that "around here"? -
guru_urug assasin32Never could find the backspace button to delete things on a typewriter.Reply
It's right next to the insert key :P -
A Bad Day assasin32Never could find the backspace button to delete things on a typewriter.Reply
If I do recall, there was a typewriter that had white-out capability. Backspace, then turn on the white-out and then backspace again to resume typing over the blotted out mistake.