# Anybody have a typewriter? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 25, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500 "2014-03-25T02:33:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/21 "2014-03-25T15:39:27Z")
I prefer Nitro-Pro 8 for PDF manipulation, but for the simple adding of text, Adobe Reader is adequate. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/22 "2014-03-25T15:41:22Z")
Owning typewriter = stupid hipster ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/23 "2014-03-25T15:42:24Z")
We have one, only because my wife bought it to fill out IRS forms in duplicate or triplicate. Turns out there aren’t that many typewriter manufacturers anymore— go figure. This model (a Brother) seems pretty cheap and lightweight compared to the stately typewriters of the past, but so far it works okay for its once-a-year anachronistic purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/24 "2014-03-25T15:44:39Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Owning typewriter = stupid hipster **Mr. Nylock** = complete idiot ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/25 "2014-03-25T15:48:57Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > **Mr. Nylock** = complete idiot Fair enough. You can confirm this by reading my other posts as well. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/26 "2014-03-25T16:26:40Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > You must either neatly fill out your info by hand, or with a typewriter. You can then mail it in, fax it in, or go all high-tech & scan it & email it to them as a pdf. Couldn’t you just send it via aero mail to the Prussian Consulate in Siam? Are you too late for the 4:30 autogyro? ---
**Author:** ![Srsly\_Dad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Srsly\_Dad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Srsly_Dad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/27 "2014-03-25T17:00:10Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I got a used portable Royal typewriter when I was about 12, circa 1963. (This was back when they were actually made of metal instead of cheapo plastic.) I still have it to this day. > > Now, good luck trying to find a ribbon for it. The ribbon I have in it now is about 30-some years old, stolen from the supply room of the place I worked at the time. On a side note about ribbons - my 14 year old daughter had her grandmother buy her a 1960’s era portable Royal (she actually uses it). There is a used bookstore in town where the owner collects and displays old typewriters also. He told her that she could find ribbon (for some older adding machine or something) at Office Depot. You can take this ribbon and wind it on to your Royal spool and tah-dah new typewriter ribbon. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/28 "2014-03-25T17:08:50Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Owning typewriter = stupid hipster Either that, or I’m the sort that never throws anything out. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/29 "2014-03-25T17:48:02Z")
Stupid hoarder, then? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/30 "2014-03-25T18:03:03Z")
I like to think I’m an intelligent hoarder - I’m trying to reform and reduce my material possessions. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/31 "2014-03-25T18:09:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m completely confused. > > I have Adobe Reader and I’m able to type stuff into PDF’s all the time. > > 1. Open the attachement in Reader. (My version is 11) > 2. Click on “View” > 3. Select “Sign” from the drop-down menu > 4. In the right of the document frame, some options appear: Add Text, Add Checkmark, etc. Select “Add Text” > 5. Click where you want to add text. Start typing. You can modify the font and the size using the control box that pops up. > 6. Repeat as needed. You can even move the typed text around if you need to. > > This doesn’t work for most people? > > (Note that I’m not doing this in-browser, but using the stand-alone program.) Interesting. I never even looked for it since it wasn’t in any earlier versions, and putting it under “signing” tools is not exactly obvious placement. Alternatives that provided such a feature must’ve been making inroads on Adobe’s market share. Odd that they had to acquire [a whole new business](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EchoSign) in 2011 to offer that feature. Anyways, the new interface of having a toolbar on the right just makes it difficult for me to actually see entire PDFs, so I never really even use it. I just have it on this computer because it came on it. I use [SumatraPDF](http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/free-pdf-reader.html) for general viewing (as it was designed to be fast and handles other ebook formats) and [PDF Xchange Viewe](http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer)r when I need to type stuff (as it was the first PDF reader I encountered with at typewriter feature). I might consider just using Adobe Reader for typing again, as it is faster to load. But do they still do that thing where the creator of the document can mark the file as not allowing any modifications to be saved? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/32 "2014-03-25T18:15:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Anyways, the new interface of having a toolbar on the right just makes it difficult for me to actually see entire PDFs, so I never really even use it. Actually, you can easily expand the PDF to full screen mode while editing by clicking the icon with two diagonal arrows _after_ you click on “Add Text”. The mouseover tip calls this “Read Mode”, but you can still edit text in it. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/33 "2014-03-25T18:18:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I like to think I’m an intelligent hoarder - I’m trying to reform and reduce my material possessions. Tying to reform immaterial possessions is trickier, but worth it. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/34 "2014-03-25T21:45:08Z")
Let me add to this rant. Medicare requires I fill out many authorization forms for my patients. My spiffy new EHR lets me complete these forms online, add my scanned signature and the printed date and electronically fax them from my computer. However, the government does not allow electronic signatures. How will they know? (you quite rightly ask because the form is sent electronically). Well, they have decided that to assure that the signature is authentic, the date must also be handwritten. So, I can either handwrite, scan and upload the date every time I need it or else print out the forms, fill them out by hand, fax them in then upload the completed form to the patient’s chart to be filed. Don’t even get me started on military pharmacies who will not accept an electronic signature which means not only won’t they accept electronic prescriptions like every other pharmacy on earth, but when I print out my conveniently electronically-signed prescriptions, they require me to sign them again by hand before they will be honored. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/35 "2014-03-25T22:01:13Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I got a used portable Royal typewriter when I was about 12, circa 1963. (This was back when they were actually made of metal instead of cheapo plastic.) I still have it to this day. > > Now, good luck trying to find a ribbon for it. You can buy typewriter ribbons on… [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Doffice-products&field-keywords=typewriter+ribbon&rh=n%3A1064954%2Ck%3Atypewriter+ribbon). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/36 "2014-03-25T22:08:21Z")
Until two years ago we had a dozen computers in the billing department with modems to submit Medicare/Medicaid claims because the state had no option to submit the data through the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/37 "2014-03-26T00:51:01Z")
I have a typewriter at work. I have to use it all the damn time to edit already-signed forms that were prepared in .pdf using a perfectly normal Acrobat-based immigration forms software program. Sometimes we have forms that we need to submit with original signatures, but some of the information has changed since the form was signed for various convoluted reasons, and the signatory is in Darkest Peru and doesn’t speak English or have access to a computer or any way to get us a fresh signed form in a reasonable period of time. God, I sure don’t miss the days in high school and college when I didn’t have a computer and had to try to figure out how much room to leave at the bottom of the page for the footnotes. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/38 "2014-03-26T01:15:42Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > It costs less than $450 to buy this software today. With well over $30 billion (yes, with a B) in revenue, they can’t find a measly $450 to buy 10-year old software? The enterprise licensing for something like a state agency starts somewhere north of $300,000 per year. (And this was the amount on an RFP I saw 7 years ago.) Anyway, I do have a typewriter and a fax. They’re quite useful tools when you do business with the government on a regular basis. I suspect you may live close to business like the UPS Store, FedEx Store, Staples and the like. They also have typewriters and fax machines. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/39 "2014-03-26T01:23:04Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Couldn’t you just send it via aero mail to the Prussian Consulate in Siam? Are you too late for the 4:30 autogyro? **Ouch.** Brother makes a cheap typewriter. Buy it, use it, return it to the store if you don’t need it again. Or hold onto in case you might use it again. Or go on Craigslist and buy one of the HUNDREDS of typewriters that are for sale on there. Or even better: Check your local free papers and buy typewriter from there. I have seen dozens of electric typewriters for sale. Getting a ribbon if they don’t have one might be a little pricey. But then, so is printer toner. Brother:[Amazon.com : Brother GX-6750 Daisy Wheel Electric Typewriter : Office Products](http://www.amazon.com/Brother-GX-6750-Daisy-Electronic-Typewriter/dp/B00004WFSC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395797117&sr=8-1&keywords=typewriter) ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/40 "2014-03-26T02:06:58Z")
And in case it is locked, print it with something like Cutepdf (not the Adobe Acrobat pdf printer) and then use a type tool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500.md?page=3)