The Evolution and Legacy of Word Processing Typewriters

In the age of digital technology, it's easy to forget the humble beginnings of word processing. Before computers and laptops became the norm, people relied on typewriters to create written documents. Typewriters have been around since the late 1800s, and they revolutionized the way people wrote and produced documents. While they have largely been replaced by computers, typewriters still hold a special place in the hearts of many writers and historians as well as business professionals. In this blog, we'll take a closer look at the history of word-processing typewriters and their enduring legacy in the digital age.

What Is A Word Processing Typewriter?

A word-processing typewriter is an electric typewriter that has a plethora of different automated features. As you can see from the image below of our two Nakajima Word Processors, they look a bit different from the traditional typewriter. A word processor provides more speed and efficiency with your typing with automated features that help avoid time-consuming tasks that you would encounter with normal typewriters.

Nakajima WPT-150	Nakajima WPT-160

What Are The Automated Features A Word Processor Has?

Some of the automated features that are included with a word-processing typewriter are automatic relocation, centering, and paper selection. It also provides an automatic carriage return to help increase the speed of your typing and keep you in a typing flow. Some features that are provided in the Nakajima WPT-160 as well as select IBM Wheelwriter models are correction memory, word spell-check, and storage memory. These features allow you to increase the efficiency of your writing.

A word processing typewriter provides you with much more assistance in your writing which is why they are the preferred machine for businesses. Like a computer, these features help to ensure that documents are free of mistakes. Getting a manual typewriter is still the way to go if you are looking for that classic typewriter feeling and to get that bit of nostalgia. If you are a business professional who is looking for a machine to use in their business then a word processor will likely be your best bet.  

Royal Epoch Manual Typewriter	Royal Classic Manual Typewriter

Above are two of the manual typewriters that we have. As you can see, they have a much different look and style than the word-processing typewriters at the top. They are all really great machines and serve different functions for different needs. We don't want to get too much into the comparison of word processors and manual typewriters in this blog but if you are interested in learning more about the differences you should check out our other blog,  Manual vs. Electric Typewriters | Typewriters.com. 

A word-processing typewriter can be a great option for anyone thanks to the automated features that they possess. If you are looking for a typewriter that requires less work and helps increase your typing speed and efficiency then you'll definitely want to look into getting a word-processing typewriter. We have some great options on our website to choose from brands such as  Nakajima and IBM, both great options for business professionals and power users. 

If you have any questions about our typewriters or word processors, please feel free to contact us through our live chat, by phone at  (404) 377-1884, or by email at info@typewriters.com Monday through Friday 8 AM to 5 PM EST.