Royal Manual Typewriter black (79100G)

I read all 20 reviews on the Amazon site before pulling the trigger and rolling the dice that this typewriter wouldn't be broken during shipping. That really seemed to be the delineation between a good and bad review for this machine.Because of that, I wondered as I waited whether or not the Royal Epoch was made of flimsy plastics. Would it fly apart under heavy use? Would the carriage return lever -- something many people wrote negatively about -- be as fragile as claimed?Well, I was pleasantly surprised. It's plastic, sure, but it's very heavy plastic, almost metallic to the touch. It's heavier than it looks. Everything was attached. No bugaboos during shipping (whew!). I put it through its initial paces and everything was in working order. This is a very good machine!One thing I must caution those who are considering it, though -- manual typewriters are not for the faint of heart. You have to be a true writer, someone who wants to connect with their inner Hemingway, Gellhorn or the like. There will be no corrections. It won't be pretty on the page, like a computer printed document. This is old school and your nimble keyboard fingers may very well not be up to the task.Now that's something else I noticed throughout the reviews I read. If you were someone who grew up and learned to type on a manual, you're hunky-dory with the idiosyncratic nature of these beasties. If you're a newbie? You're gonna have a learning curve. Don't give up!In time, you will discover the freedom a manual gifts to you. Writing at a computer invites distraction. If you're on a manual, you are there to write. And write you will! You might be tempted to hit eBay and find a vintage manual and you are welcome to do so. The vintage machines are outstanding to this day, especially the Royal Quiet Deluxe (I have one of those). But they do require a lot of upkeep. This Royal Epoch pays homage to its ancestors while be a modern and, thusly, easier to maintain beastie. Buy this machine. You will not be disappointed! (Unless it's shipped badly, lol). Good luck!

There is something magical, creative and soothing about the sound of a manual typewriter. I can highly recommend this one - brandnew, robust and reliable.I had been looking for a used typewriter. Actually, I had no idea that manual typewriters were still in production. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that you could purchase this one from amazon. It's made in China. Once, "made in China" had been synonymous with cheap materials and a lack of quality control. By and by, however, that seems to have changed profoundly, and I have come to respect the label "made in China" a lot. This typewriter is no exception. It is all new, excellent quality and, above all, it gives you that sattisfying sound I have come to love.

I bought this as a gift for my wife. The unit shipped with a dry ink ribbon, so I had to order a new one. Once the new ink ribbon was installed and it was used for the first time, it was clear the item was manufactured to an extremely poor standard. The paper advance rollers had a gap in them, so advancing the paper could only be done by tugging at the top of the paper. The keys were misaligned, leaving extremely sloppy type. Due to the delay (partially because it was bought as a gift, and mostly because of the length of time for the replacement ink ribbon to arrive) the item was past the return window, so customer service refused to accept the item back. I now have a $200 brick.

Using this machine reminds me of playing a musical instrument. You really do have to keep a certain tempo or it just doesn't work properly. The keys get all jammed up but I think this is something you accept when you purchase a manual typewriter. I'm having fun with it and it's a nice change from a PC now and then. Given this age of non-existent digital security a manual typewriter is in my opinion an excellent option if you need to write something privately... even when there is no electricity. It's either that or a pen and paper? I see there are some bad reviews out there for damage during shipping but my machine made it all the way to Hawaii and no damage at all. It works great!My biggest hangup is that there is correction function with this machine. I suspect this is also something you just have to accept when you purchase a manual typewriter. Even so, I'm very happy with my purchase and to me it was a reasonable price. I don't know why they didn't include a picture of the case in the posting. It is certainly comes in handy!

My personal experience with this typewriter isn't as bad as some other peoples. Mine arrived in pretty perfect shape and generally works well. That being said, it is definitely cheaply made and SHOULD NOT cost almost two hundred dollars. It's about 85-90% cheap plastic.On my model the S key is not aligned. It comes up about a quarter of a line lower than any of the other letters. This isn't a huge deal, but it's definitely noticeable. The keys all shake and rattle when you type on it as well, since they're just more of the above mentioned cheap plastic. Also the bell stopped working after about a week, after I heard something rattling around in there I turned it over and a single metal grommet (a small metal circle) fell out and the bell never worked again.That being said, I still like it. I bought it because I like writing first drafts on manual typewriters and my only other manual typewriter was very expensive and I'm kind of scared of using it since I feel like it's on its last legs. I'll use this one until it falls apart, which I honestly don't think will be long.If you like typewriters and money isn't an issue for you then I'd say check it out, it's a neat little thing. On the other hand, if money is an issue or if you're planning on giving this as a gift to some aspiring writer I would advise you to look elsewhere. Check Etsy, there's a lot of neat restored manual typewriters on there and it's where I'll be buying my next one.