Whilst the standard manual typewriter and the electric version are similar in both appearance and operation, the electronic version differs notably in both respects. Now in widespread use, the first electronic typewriters found their way into the office during the 1980's.
Instead of the type bar method used in previous models, the electronic typewriter uses a revolving head called a daisy wheel. This consists of a centre hub, from which radiates a series of small arms, or petals. On the end of each arm is a character - normally either a letter or number. As a key is pressed the daisy wheel rotates until the corresponding character is in the print position. It is then pushed forward by a hammer, striking the ribbon in the same way as the conventional typewriter. The print head moves along the paper, printing as it goes, unlike the manual typewriter where the carriage containing the paper and roller moves from left to right.
The facilities offered are far in advance of its predecessors, with most having automatic centering, underlining and bold print. In addition, lift off correction is now commonplace, where the last character, word or line can be deleted automatically without the need for correction fluid or correction papers. For this a carbon ribbon is used, and the characters are lifted off the paper using a special correction ribbon which is fitted permanently inside the typewriter. Some more sophisticated models have small liquid crystal displays, usually around ten characters, to display status, etc. and some even have built in spell checkers which bleep when a spelling mistake is made, and if the typewriter has a display, the correct spelling of the misspelled word is shown.
In addition to the many extra facilities, the electronic typewriter has many other advantages over its predecessors. It is usually much quieter when printing, has less moving parts and a quicker print speed.
