Sunday 22 January 2023

Showcase (5) : Erika 105

From the 1970s is the Erika 105, a smooth typing machine yet relatively chunky for a portable typewriter, though the exterior is a little plasticky. The Erika was made by the wonderfully named Robotron of the German Democratic Republic. The Erika has a number of interesting features including a four position ribbon selector. Usually, typewriters just have two or three (if they support two colour ribbons and stencil typing). The fourth position was apparently for if you had a single colour ribbon so you could get more use out of it?

The Erika works pretty well with a distinctive if not over loud typing sound. I'd prefer a little more volume of course.