Joe reviews the Canon Typestar 5 thermal electronic typewriter, the follow-on model to the Typestar 4. Typestar 4 versus Brother EP-20: • Typewriter Video Serie...
Canon should do a wireless version of this typewriter that also connects to Wifi and cloud. "Digital typewriters" are a big niche product for writers right now. Being able spontaneously type a hard copy of their work and also save it to cloud would be a game changer for a lot of writers.
I was blown away when I noticed my Typestar 5 II that I got for $8.00 had the justify option. I use it for short writing on of course thermal receipt paper which is awesome because I use it for Twitter posts that are longer than the character limit. My iPad Pro 2021 will recognize the text in camera mode and I can pop it into Word or Google Docs and edit. I have some 4x6 thermal labels on order for postcards and other useful labelling. I will never part with my Typestar 5 II.
That random beeping that you hear and need to hit margin release for is not a problem with just your machine. It's actual a built in feature of all Typestar 5. It beeps at you and locks itself any time you hit 2 keys at once by accident. You have to hit MR to release. The manual says it's to help avoid mistakes, I just find it super annoying. If you type slow tho doesn't happen as much.
They were fun, but it felt a little slow to print out compared to other typewriters. The print tapes were pretty expensive if you didn’t use thermal paper (which we didn’t because we had printed letterhead. This was also around the same time that we got the first PC laptop and so were pretty fascinated with that.
Your videos are very interesting to watch. There are other channels about typewriters, photography and astronomy but the way you explain stuff is more organized and entertaining. God bless you, friend
I like Canon office products. The Typestar 5 makes me feel contented to use a microcomputer, due to its disadvantages, such as the small right shift key, and the oversized return key. Your video was quite informative. I may want to research further the Typestar 5. The red shell is eye-catching to me. As an avid typist, I am a keyboard specialist who would love to see more of your forums about typewriters. You did a nice job.
I hope in our college batch taught on hownto use electronic typewriter. The school have all the units, but it was not functioning already and as I was observing, it was antiques already. Most brands were Panasonic, I guess?
Aack! Electronic gremlins. The bane of the electronic typewriters. Impressive effort to make a work around that you can live with. Sure is a pretty one.
ETW....Electronic Test Wafer! Typing machines have really improved! The pictures of office workers using the Canon ETW made me want to draw in captions!
Hey Joe! You did not mention the type density adjusting knob? The case is designed such that one can open the latches, flip up the cover, open the case and expose the typewriter, then flip the top cover back and latch it for a palm-rest. The case leaves the on/off switch and power port accessible. The right platen knob can be pushed in to disconnect the index, saving wear and tear on the components and allowing a form of fractional adjustment.
Biggest gripe I had with these things was the tiny "LCD" screens. Only showed me a fragment of what I had written or was currently typing. Maybe some folks can work that way? I couldn't and still CAN'T. So? I MUST HAVE A "FULL SIZE" SCREEN.
Hi joe, have you considered adding something like a coping saw blade to help tear off the paper? I may purchase one of these soon and experiment myself.
@@Joe_VanCleave oh my goodness, the thought crossed my mind while watching the video, like I wonder if Joe would resort to THAT [he probably would at least give it a try lol]
Joe, I just axquired a TypeStar 220. Have you posted your spreadsheet anywhere? I would like to add to it for the 220. I think you should try to get the details of as many TypeStars as possible so we can have a complete feature comparison spreadsheet. What do you think?
I have a Smith Corona Graph text 90 and after typing 50 characters into it it says "Key Locked!" I can't seem to get out of it without a power cycle. No PDF manual is uploaded for this model so i have no clue what to do. Any ideas whats causing this?
Hey there, my Typestar 5 just recently started beeping when typing. (Beeps each key press) . Though resetting it allows it to work again for awhile then it will randomly start doing it again after a little while
@@BoptimusPrime Could be some intermittent stepper motor feedback signal is lost, then the micro controller looses count of where it's at. Hopefully it'll hang in there.
I bought one of these recently and everything worked perfectly except the Return function. So I tore everything apart and managed to get out the small (unipolar stepper?) motor that cranks all the gears around and sure enough, though it spins when Return is pushed, it can't handle any resistance. My question is: do you happen to know if these particular 6-wire stepper motors are common to all the canon machines of the 80's? If so I'll find another broken canon machine to salvage a motor out of as there are plenty lying around but nary another Typestar 5 in sight. Cheers, and great video as always.
I’m not sure if the same motor is used in different models, you may have to get the same model. Be sure the gear on the motor shaft isn’t losing grip due to being split; if so, you may be able to super glue it.
Joe, thanks for your amazing videos about typewriters! I noticed 2 references for Typestar ribbons : ir-50 and ir-50ii (the last is easy to find, the first is expensive and rare). Are they compatible?
I'm not 100% certain, but they look identical from examining eBay photos of both types. I looked on Around the Office's website and they list the IR-50 for the Typestars 2-7, they sell the black IR-50 and the red IR-51 ribbons, but they're a bit pricey. I'd advise finding an eBay seller of the IR-50ii and order one pack if the price is right; or try calling Around the Office and see if they can answer your question. Here's their website: www.aroundtheoffice.com/CANON/departments/26/
I’m an archiver for family memorabilia. I want one to type the details about photos on paper tags 3”x4” would be the smallest. Would that be an option with this. I see it has thermal paper. Is it impregnated with chemicals that are not archival? I think I just need an ink ribbon typewriter. TIA for any insight.
For archival uses, you should use a regular ink typewriter, or one of those electronic “daisy wheel” machines with a carbon film ribbon, those are also archival. I recommend adhesive labels, they roll through the typewriter platen better than stiff card stock tags, then you can stick the labels to the tags. Avery have a wide selection of adhesive labels.
People, help me! HOW LONG DOES THE ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER RIBBON LAST.. (IS IT REUSABLE LIKE IN MECHANICAL OR DO I HAVE TO BUY NEW ONE AFTER ITS ON ITS END..) Just bought my first electric typewriter (6€) Canon ES 3 ps: are all electric typewriter so damn loud..
I got Canon Typestar 6 Grey/Brown recently. It's work as it should, but the bottom half of the display doesn't fully show the text that have been typed. Is possible to fix? May be to clean something up inside? I would appreciate if you give me "something" about it and accept my grammar please, it's my 2nd
Hello! New comment here. I have a Canon typestar 3 that belonged to my dad but i don’t have the charger/power cord! Please tell me what to use it with? What cord do i need?
Hi i was thinking of getting something similar to this but wanted to know if it can also use regular A4 papers or does it have to be thermal paper ? Thankyou and have a nice day , Simba
To use regular non-thermal paper you need to use the original ribbon cartridges, which are difficult to acquire as they haven't been manufactured in decades. Also, the original ribbons work best on smooth paper, they don't transfer the film very well onto fibrous papers. For these reasons we find using thermal paper much more convenient.
Hi Joe, thank you for posting this video! Could you, tell me, what is the Ir-50 ribbon cassette efficiency? I have Typestar 2, and I love it but it seems a single cassette is good enough to cover with full writing only approx. 10 sheets of A4 paper. Please advice.
Hi! This was very informative. Thank you! Could this machine be used with carbon paper in the middle of two sheets of paper to write on both at the same time? Oh, and, what could be wrong with a Typestar 10 that displays “RAM BATTERY LOW” when turned on and doesn’t work after that? Thank you again!
Thermal Typers don’t work with carbon paper, which requires the force of impact to transfer to letters. Thermal Typers are impactless. There’s an internal battery in your Typestar 10 that needs to be replaced, the access door may be under or in back. Or look for the owner’s manual online, that would tell you for certain.
Try pressing the margin release key, perhaps it thinks it’s already at the right margin? Other than that, it sounds like some internal trouble; alas, these weren’t built as rugged as manual machines.
Mine was initially doing that when I loaded in D batteries that were mixed brands and older. I know this is a year old but try some fresh brand new duracell batteries, it worked for mine.
Hi~ I just got a Canon typestar 6 now and I want to buy ribbon cassette, could you tell me which type I should buy and how much it should be? Does the Canon CR-50 Correctable Film Ribbon Cassette match canon typestar 6? I see some on Ebay, but it is really expensive, nearly 30 GBP each.....
I had found a source that was selling the cartridges at a fair price and I hoarded 5 of them. I mainly use thermal receipt paper for short writing but I have my stockpile for letters or special typing.
@@bndfglvllddjdkfkfkf6097 With the original ribbon cartridge they will print on regular paper; but those cartridges are not being made any more, and new old-stock ribbons are expensive.
@@Joe_VanCleave I was even considering trying to learn to refil those ribbons, but some told me the quality decreases a lot if you do it, but still seems fun to write in a typewriter
Joe, the Japanese are notorious listeners who are very sensitive to any legitimate criticism of their products. I'll bet if someone at CANNON gets wind of yours? A NEW keyboard design will debut in the not too distant future.
I have some say in the kinds of commercials I don't want ... everything else is up to them. Why do I allow them? Because my channel is monetized, I get paid by AdSense based on views and subscribers.
@@randomvideos9268 Joe is my best friend. I used to work with him. I like his video work. I don't like commercials. They are a distraction. I don't allow commercials on my channel.
