Published on : 2025-09-01 15:40
       I picked up a Canon Typestar 10 II recently. 
       
 (IMG)  A photo of the Canon Typestar 10-II with packaging
       
           Meet Luna ! She's my daughter's cat and she photobombed 
           the photos in this blog post ...
       
       It's a little electronic typewriter from the late 80s. Runs on 
       batteries 🔋 or plugged in 🔌, prints quietly on thermal paper 
       (I use fax paper rolls) or normal paper if you have a ribbon 
       cassette (as you can see if the photo above I have an almost empty 
       ribbon cassette and a brand new still in original packaging 
       cassette). Not exactly modern, but I'm finding it oddly useful, 
       just like the little thermal printer my daughter received as a gift
       
 (DIR)  Tiny thermal printer is a lot of fun
       
       There's something calming about it. No WI-FI 📡, no tabs, no 
       distractions. The words go straight to paper, no undo button 
       waiting to tempt me. It forces me to keep moving forward. That 
       feels good. 
       
        - Editing isn't even that bad. 
       
       The tiny built-in screen 📺 lets me type and review a line at a 
       time before it prints. It's just enough to catch mistakes without 
       turning into endless backspacing. 
       
 (IMG)  A close up photo of the screen
       
       I actually find this balance refreshing - I can correct typos, but 
       I don't spend hours rewriting the same line.
       
        - The Typestar even offers some formatting tricks
       
       I can underline text, center titles, add background shading, or 
       even print letters with an outline for emphasis. 
       
 (IMG)  Printing the demo ... Luna is there as well
 (IMG)  A close up photo of the demo
       
       It feels a little like a word processor's "bold" button, but 
       entirely in hardware. For a machine this small, it's surprisingly 
       capable.
       
        - It's also portable
       
       I can carry it like a slim laptop 💼, set it on a desk anywhere, 
       and just type. The hum of a laptop fan is replaced by the soft 
       scratch of paper feeding through. If I want to write outside, I 
       don't worry about glare on a screen or a battery dying after a 
       couple of hours. The Typestar sips power and runs far longer than 
       most laptops. 
       
        - Of course, the output is simple
       
       Black letters on plain paper. No fonts, no colors, no formatting 
       tricks beyond those few built-in ones. But that limitation is 
       freeing. The words matter more than the layout. When I read what I 
       wrote, it feels immediate, like a letter or a note, instead of 
       another file lost somewhere in a folder. 
       
        - Yes, the text fades eventually ⏳
       
       But I think that's part of the charm. If I want to save something 
       long-term, I can always scan it or photocopy it. The original page 
       becomes more like a draft, a temporary artifact of the writing 
       process. 
       
       Using the Typestar has changed how I think about writing. 
       When I'm on a computer, I tend to polish every sentence. I rewrite,
       I delete, I chase perfection. On the Typestar, I just write. The 
       machine won't let me fuss too much, and that's a relief. It's 
       closer to sketching than editing. 
       
       I didn't expect to enjoy this machine as much as I do. 
       For drafts, letters, and even just clearing my head 💭, the 
       Typestar still has a place today. It slows me down in the best way,
       reminding me that words don't need to be instant or perfect. 
       
       Sometimes "outdated" tools turn out to be exactly what I need...
       
       
 (DIR)  Back to my phlog