
The Imperial Bad Companion: The Litton Imperial 220

The poorly planned Plana.

If only this underwood typed like it looked.

The massive dissapointment of the Masspro

Make a poor quality typewriter? Ten-Four buddy!
Errrm, this should read ‘Ten-Forty, not Two-Forty’.

Let of some steam, Bennett…

Splendid by name, not so Splendid by type-feel.
The few I have that you mention I agree on the Underwoods of the 50s, the splendid and kind-of the Corona 3. I like my Corona 3 except for the double shift. I’ve not found the keyboard wobbly or the action very slow. If I had a choice between keeping the Corona 3 or any of my Olympia machines, the Corona would stay.
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That’s understandable. The Corona 3 certainly has its place. They’re good at what they are, but the touch was much better balanced in later coronas.
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I agree on all of these except the Olympia. I like my SF. And oddly, many complain about how stiff the keyboard is — whereas you have the opposite complaint, if I understand correctly. Some of these little Olympias have a touch control that is VERY effective and can turn the keyboard into a tight trampoline.
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It is interesting, as I have had 3 SFs so far, but none of them have felt particularly identical. The only similarities I have had have been the early ending of the strike the is – to me – so jarring.
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I’m surprised to see the Silver-Seiko Imperial at the top of that list. my Royal version is a right treat to type on. I suppose it might just be a condition thing, though – mine was in out-of-the-box new condition. (keys were not even yellowed)
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The Erika Daro. As you know I am quite fond of German machines, but this one? I didn’t like it. It left such a dissapointed feeling… I still can’t seem to shake it off.
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I haven’t had the (dis)pleasure of getting my hands on one of those yet! Interesting. I’ll keep my eye out for those.
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Enjoyed the often savage but amusing criticism! An orange 70s Adler Contessa I briefly owned was TRULY AWFUL, as was a Nakajima KMART. In comparison my Royal 240 (Silver-Seiko) is not so bad (although I must admit not that good either).
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I do remember your Royal 240 – like the Imperial 220 it had a tendency to brown out on random keys.
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I agree about the plastic Remingtons. Heavy, lacklustre, and awful to type on. The Olympia 99 is a love/hate for me. Feels spongy at times, and then other times it seems to type okay. Nice styling to it, though. Like a SM4 that’s been starved.
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Oh, the styling on the SF is definitely up there with the best. I just wish it typed as beautifully as it looked.
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50s Underwoods don’t get much love, but I must say my Quiet Tab Deluxe types great, plus it has that way cool typeface with those bulbous p, q, b, d characters. Plus it looks like a Buick! Funky cool!
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The IMC Rover 2000 is another disaster.
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