Moon's Deceptive Facade: The Unusual Case of the Selectric
In the mid-20th century, the IBM Selectric typewriter was a popular workhorse, known for its move from typebars to a replaceable typeball element. However, its high price tag of over $1,000, equivalent to buying a nice car for most people during that time, left some room for affordable alternatives.
Enter Juki, a sewing machine and printer company, which created a clone of the IBM Selectric typewriter. Thomas O'Reilly, a typewriter salesman, saw potential in a $500 compatible machine and took a prototype to Juki, a company that was manufacturing typewriters for Olivetti at the time.
Unlike other typewriters, Juki's clone took IBM typeballs. This was a significant departure from the standard, as most typewriters used their own proprietary typeballs. Juki even manufactured their own typeballs for their typewriters, and their ribbons, while not a standard IBM cartridge, could be found on platforms like eBay.
The Juki typewriter was narrower than most Selectrics, with a plastic case, and its manual was similar to the IBM Selectric manual. However, the Juki typewriter in the video did not work properly, perhaps a testament to the challenges of maintaining such vintage machinery.
It is possible to print one's own typeballs, but there is limited public information indicating that Juki clone Selectric typeballs can be directly controlled by a computer for modern typing applications. While enthusiasts and hackers have retrofitted original Selectric machines with sensors and actuators to interface them with computers, this requires significant modification and custom hardware/software engineering rather than out-of-the-box computer control.
Interestingly, IBM was not upset about Juki creating a clone of their Selectric typewriter, as they were already moving towards the "wheelwriter" which used a daisywheel element. Later, Juki made a Xerox-compatible daisywheel printer, again at a fraction of the cost of the original.
In summary, Juki clone Selectric typeballs themselves cannot be natively controlled by modern computers for typing without substantial hardware modification and specialized interfaces. No standard or commercial solution appears available that enables direct computer-driven use of Juki Selectric clone typeballs for modern typing tasks. However, the potential for computer control of typeballs similar to Selectrics remains an intriguing prospect for typography enthusiasts and historians alike.
[1] Note: The information in this article is based on available public data and may not reflect the most recent developments or advancements in the field.
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