Oh, Brother (GX-6750)! This form won't save and it's due TODAY!

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” - Ernest Hemingway

Yes, there’s something about a typewriter that clickity-clacks awake the writer in us. It’s something to do with the romance inherent in its era, the perfect interval between thought and it’s manifestation as word, the undeniable, singular rhythm that makes each writer’s pace as unique as a sonata or snowflake. With a typewriter, we are Anne Sexton smoking cigarettes as we work out our own awful rowing toward God – even if it’s just via an IRS Form 990.

I use my Brother GX-6750 nearly every day at work for completing pesky forms and grant applications that will not open in Acrobat. I say this because the fact that I like it speaks highly of its performance and maker, as I am already frustrated by the time I turn around to type on it. And even though I have the entire Adobe Creative Suite installed on my computer, those pesky forms that won’t open digitally comprise about half of all the forms I end up having to complete, so I’m sure that as long as there are deadlines and technical mishaps, there will be typewriters.

What I Love About This Product
This Brother is about as ergonomic as a typewriter can get, with an attractive grey and white design scheme with green accents that are easy on the eyes. It weighs in at just around 10 pounds, which is lightweight enough for us though we don’t travel with it often. Product Dimensions are 16.4 x 15.1 x 5.3 inches. I keep it on a small table behind my desk so I can easily spin my chair around and type away.

It is also easy on the fingers, without being so sensitive as to dramatically increase the number of correction tapes I have to purchase. The keys are spread out well for my small fingers and most of my accuracy issues are due to human error and not key spacing difficulty.

My typing speed is normally around 70 wpm on a computer keyboard and I think it’s minimally compromised with the Brother. I still do try to draft some things in Microsoft Word so that I’m merely typing out the form, but when time is tight I make due with the Brother. I love the pure courier type font which is big, but very legible. I actually use it all the time for mailing address labels because it’s easier than printing out a label in Microsoft Word and I like the feel of the font on our branded labels. It can give the impression of personalized professionalism when the outside label is typed on the Brother as opposed to spitting out the laser printed labels that can be so smooth, they lose their charm.

The all-important correct key is easily located and is perfectly aligned so that on those extremely rare occasions when I make a mistake, I can flawlessly cover it and retype my intended letter or symbol. To improve upon the correction key idea, Brother includes a 65-key correction memory in this model, which is nice for those times when you’ve completely gone off on a rant or inadvertently held down the “/” key for an entire line.

The spaces between symbols are just right for reading and it is very easy to type past the margin. I use this feature constantly. You can access it by pressing the ALT key in combination with the arrow key that points to the direction you want to go. Line spacing can be manipulated by pressing the ALT key in combination with either the LINE 1 1/2 or LINE 2 keys.

What I Hate About this Product
Everyone knows that changing typewriter ribbons and correction tapes are a b*tch. The Brother is no exception. You will pull your hair out the first time the correction tape slips all around and unravels on you. Just take a breath, sip your mocha, and try again. There are no tricks to it. It’s just inconvenient.

What You Need to Know about This Product
Like most nonprofits, we acquired our typewriter secondhand from another business. We therefore had no manual and no replacement ribbons. I found the manual located in a friendly, easy-to-read and free to download .pdf 14 page document at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004WFSC/103-1491920-7235805?v=glance&n=172282. The manual is always helpful for typewriters, which don’t yet have internet access to link to the manufacturer’s support page. I will say though that this manual shows keys and functions that do not exhibit a one-to-one correspondence between diagrams and the QWERTY keyboard, so brace yourself for at least some confusion.

For instance, CTR “code” key is displayed in the manual as a mysterious “ l o l “ key that does not actually exist on your Brother GX-6750 keyboard. Keep this in mind when attempting to use advanced functions on the typewriter. Like many typewriters, a code key operates much like a function key on keyboards for Windows operating systems. The manual has some kind of diamond-like symbol replacing the “code” key. Just use common sense to substitute and you should be able to make it through your document without too much trouble. Any documents requiring fancy formatting are better left to your PC.

The best website for purchasing typewriter cartridges and correction tape rolls used to be http://www.business-supply.com, but I couldn’t find this model’s cartridge there. I did find a link to some here: http://dpsas.com/user/cart.php?printer=4767_Brother GX 6750 but I can’t vouch for the company. We haven’t ordered cartridges for this in ages and the employee that ordered them could not be reached for comment. When you do place your order, save yourself the trouble and buy yourself lots of ‘em.

UPDATE: Royal Office Products carries the cartridges and correction tape for this unit.

Just keep in mind while searching for ribbons and correction tapes that this model is part of Brother’s Correctronic series, so you may have an easier time searching for the GX-6750 within a listing of Correctronic products.

The Technical Stuff
The Brother Correctronic GX-6750 features an interchangeable cassette daisy wheel, line indent, sub- and superscript typing, and a carrying grip on the bottom of the unit (so that the thumb of your grip covers the space bar). Automatic functions include paper insertion, centering, underlining, bold printing, right margin flush, word-out correction system, relocation feature, and smooth carriage return.

Carriage: 12.87 inches
Typing width: 9 inches
Typing speed: Up to 12 characters per second
Pitch: 10, 12
Line spacing: 1, 1.5, 2
Correction memory: 65 characters
Copy capacity: Original plus 4
Keyboard: QWERTY

Overall
By the time I swivel around in my chair and start pecking away on my Brother GX-6750 Correctronic, I’ve already cursed and flipped my lid over some form that’s allegedly very easy to complete on my PC. The fact that this thing and I have an affinity for each other in spite of the Medusa-like looks I give it speaks volumes about its performance and maker. I highly recommend this Brother typewriter, whether inherited or purchased new.

©2005 Meagan Downey