European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 14, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 14, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17america s new typewriter by Audrey d. Grumhaus new York times for years personal computers and word processors have threatened to make typewriters obsolete. In fact from the mid-1970s through 1979, typewriter Sale dropped steadily. But typewriter makers even those that also make word processors refused to give up. We Don t want to put All our Money on one product said David Spindel a marketing manager at Xerox corp. Their Faith paid off. Now thanks to the popularity of electronic typewriters the entire typewriter Market has been rejuvenated. According to International data corp., a Market research firm close to $1.1 billion Worth of office typewriters were sold in the United states last year up from $787 million in 1984. Sam corp., one of the biggest typewriter manufacturers says sales of portable and compact typewriters Are booming too. It estimates that 2.3 million units were sold in the United states in 1985, up from 1.9 million in 1984. Five years ago people predicted a paperless office but we have More paper every Day said Harry Haack vice president of services at Westminster office machines an office equipment distributor in Lake Bluff Iii. The typewriter is still Ideal for typing a memo an envelope or for making  the typewriter Boom has not gone unnoticed by the japanese. In the last four years Panasonic Canon and Sharp have joined Sam International business machines and other american manufacturers in Selling typewriters in the United states. Today s electronic typewriters Bear Little resemblance to the manual or electric models of even a decade ago. Instead of motors they Are powered by microprocessors Central processing memory chips that let them do Many of the things normally associated with computers and word processors. Of course they cannot do All of the things that computers can do but then not everyone needs a machine that is a mathematical wizard. Smaller companies particularly Don t need such capable systems and some offices can t justify the Cost said Shelley Bakst a senior analyst at International data. The technology Gap Between electronic typewriters and their electric predecessors seems to get wider All the time. Now they Are virtually silent and As much As $20 per machine cheaper to make according to Dat quest inc., a Market research firm. Perhaps most important they can do things that conventional typewriters cannot do a fact that undoubtedly helped sales of electronic typewriters surpass those of electrics for the first time last year. Already electronic typewriters can Check spelling move text delete words and store documents. Manufacturers and consultants say that As faster microprocessors and denser memory chips become available More versatile machines will hit the stores. Currently in the works for instance Are machines Erma Bombeck r j i up Phot today s electronic typewriters do Many things normally associated with computers and word processors. Equipped with calculators and thesauruses. The lines Between word processors and typewriters Are blurring. Many manufacturers Are offering hybrid systems typewriters that can accommodate a hooked on screen and storage device and can then be used As printers. There is a definite Long term trend to using screens to Type with said Clifford m. Lindsey a vice president of Dat quest. Olivetti s Etc 250 and Xerox s memory writer 645 Are in that category As is Sam s new personal word processor system. Magna Vox is test marketing a typewriter plus screen combination and brother International and Panasonic say they will soon have their own versions. Printing methods Are going through a technological metamorphosis too. Full sized typewriters which used to use the Golf Ball Type Heads that were introduced by ism in the 1960s, now Are More Likely to use Daisy wheels changeable plastic discs about three inches in diameter with 96 or so characters on their spokes. Compact electronic typewriters Are More Likely to use Thermal printing in which the microprocessor sends the character As an electric charge to a head that either melts the image from the ribbon to the paper or actually Burns it onto a specially coated paper. Most of the Thermal typewriters Are very compact Light machines Canon s Type Star 5, for example is 13 by 10 /2 by 2 inches and weighs less than five pounds. But the Thermal method has its drawbacks. It is not Good when Carbon copies Are needed. Although ism has a Thermal print machine that allows corrections by changing the electric charge of the ribbon most Thermal machines yield uncorrectable Type. This is not a severe problem if there is a display screen attached and the typewriter is used As a Printer. But it is a major drawback if the typewriter is screen less. That is one reason sales of Thermal typewriters which enjoyed a flurry of popularity when they were introduced in 1984, have slowed Down. As they have in virtually every consumer electronic Market japanese manufacturers have made inroads into the typewriter Market. But this time american manufacturers have fought Back successfully. According to Dat quest last year Japan s share of the electronic typewriter Market fell to 32 percent from 39 percent in 1984, while Europe s share plunged to 21 percent from 29 percent. American producers were the Clear winners they grabbed 46 percent of the Market. It seems As if the whole world is cramming forests these Days. Athletes Are sweating out urine tests citizens accused of a crime Are up tight Over lie Detector tests and teachers Are burning the Midnight Oil Over competence tests. Drivers Are having anxiety attacks Over sobriety tests and civil employees Are angered Over blood tests. It s just a matter of time before someone comes up with a test to measure the proficiency of a woman who wishes to become a Mother. If you re a potential Mother it could be very revealing. If you re an old Mother it s an explanation As to How you got old. True or false a new Mother outgrows her need for sleep. Running out of disposable diapers takes away from your will to live. An innocent looking 2-year-old with the face of an Angel could Start a revolution in Disneyland using weapons and mercenaries from Disney world. The term an Active child is redundant. By the time you Tell your children about sex they feel sorry for you that you had to learn about it so late in life. After the age of six weeks a child will no longer assume the guilt for your stretch Marks. Multiple Choice the most effective form of punishment for a child taking Money from your purse a you re too old for that b what would grandma say if she knew c Call the police parents struggle desperately for longevity to a see their children married and successful. B enjoy grandchildren. C be a Burden. If a child announces he she is writing a Book a put him her Back in the will. B hold out for casting approval and have Helen Hayes play you at the age of 22. Essay describe the Way you would feel if you received a Small tool for making radishes into rosettes for mothers Day and a girl your son met in a line for Star wars received a Cashmere sweater from him for her birthday. Record your emotions in a social situation if a child were asked if his Mother worked and he replied she does t have a real  this is by no Means meant to cover All the situations of parenting. It s just a sampling of what you could expect. I personally do not want to go into it any further. I m not sure but i think i just flunked my stress  c los Angeles Syndicate