IBM Wheelwriter

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IBM Wheelwriter
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IBM Wheelwriter 15 Series II (20872655808).jpg
The IBM Wheelwriter 15 (Series II) from 1988
Developer International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
Manufacturer
Type Electronic typewriter

The Wheelwriter is a line of electronic typewriters that was manufactured by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) from 1984 to 1991 and by Lexmark International (a spin-off of IBM) from 1991 to 2001. Typewriters in the Wheelwriter series use swappable daisy wheel cartridges to produce high-quality letterforms on the page via an ink ribbon and an impact printing head. Cartridges can be swapped out to allow the user to switch between a wide array of typefaces. The Wheelwriter was IBM's first daisy wheel typewriter and represented the technical apex of IBM's typewriter families, replacing their long-lived and commercially successful IBM Selectric typewriter series on its introduction in 1984. [1] [2]

Contents

Features

All models in the Wheelwriter range possess some amount of electronic memory, acting as a data buffer and allowing for a number of advanced features, including algorithmic centering of text on a line, basic spell-checking, and word-by-word erasure of text (either via white correction ribbon or via Lift-Off adhesive correction ribbon), among other features. [3]

A variant of the Wheelwriter, called the Wheelprinter, is essentially a Wheelwriter without the keyboard and with a parallel communication interface, allowing it to be used with a number of personal computers (including IBM's own PC). [4] : 157–161  The Wheelprinter is capable of printing 25 characters per second. [5]

History

The Wheelwriter was introduced in October 1984 with two models: the Wheelwriter 3 and the Wheelwriter 5; the Wheelprinter was also announced simultaneously. The Wheelwriter was IBM's first daisy wheel typewriter and served as the replacement to their long-lived and commercially successful IBM Selectric typewriter series. [5] All models in the Wheelwriter series were manufactured by IBM's Information Products division out of its Lexington, Kentucky, headquarters. In 1991, the IBM Information Products Corporation was spun off into its own corporation, Lexmark International, who subsequently retained the tooling and manufacturing rights to the Wheelwriter series. [6] Wheelwriters continued to be marketed as IBM products and were distributed and resold by the latter, however. [3] By 1995, manufacturing of the Wheelwriter was relegated to one production line out of Lexmark's Lexington facility. [7] By the late 1990s, the Wheelwriter was one of the last electronic typewriters still manufactured in the United States, Lexmark holding a majority of the American market share in that category. [6]

Late entries in the line are capable of storing entire pages (for perfect duplication) and moving the printhead over predefined locations on a page (useful for batch filling out form fields). [8] : 20  Such late models include such models as the Wheelwriter 1000 and Wheelwriter 7000 (the former for classroom and home use and the latter for enterprise use). [9]

The Wheelwriter line was discontinued between the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ Somerson, Paul (December 11, 1984). "IBM Stages Coup with Revolutionary Printers". PC Magazine. Ziff-Davis. 3 (24): 33–35 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Maloney, Dan (January 14, 2017). "Vintage IBM Daisywheel Prints Again After Reverse Engineering". Hackaday. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Lewis, Peter H. (August 1, 1993). "An Impressive Line from Lexmark Breaks Old Ground". The New York Times: A10 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ Dickinson, John (April 30, 1985). "Printers from IBM: Traditional & Trendy". PC Magazine. Ziff-Davis. 4 (9): 157–163 – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 Howlett, Karen (October 17, 1984). "IBM unveils desk-top printers, new generation of typewriters". The Globe and Mail. Bell Globemedia Publishing: B8 – via ProQuest.
  6. 1 2 Ellis, Caron Schwartz (February 1, 1998). "Many IBMers moved on to form significant companies in county". Boulder County Business Report. Boulder Business Information Corporation. 17 (2): 6 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ "Lexmark sees future in color inkjets". Computer Dealer News. Plesman Publications. 11 (10): 8. May 17, 1995 – via ProQuest.
  8. ↑ Twist, Robert (May 1999). "Typewriters: Standing the test of time". Office World News. B.U.S. Publishing Group. 27 (5): 1, 20 – via ProQuest.
  9. ↑ Hershey, Robert D. (December 20, 1999). "Out of the Past, the Click and Clack of Low Technology". The New York Times. The New York Times: C20 – via ProQuest.
  10. ↑ "Typewriters by Lexmark". Lexmark.com. Lexmark International. Archived from the original on December 1, 2001. Compare with next available archived snapshot.
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