IBM Selectric II

The IBM Selectric II was introduced in 1971 as the successor to the original 1961 Selectric. It quickly became a staple in modern offices throughout the decade. It represented the pinnacle of typewriter technology before the advent of word processors.

It utilized a spherical 'typeball' element instead of individual typebars. This design largely eliminated the jamming issues that plagued older typewriters and allowed for faster, more efficient typing. The typeball would spin and tilt at high speeds to strike the paper.

The Selectric II added a correcting 'lift-off' tape feature. This allowed users to neatly erase mistakes by simply backing up and typing over the erroneous character, which pulled the ink off the page. It made document production significantly cleaner and more professional.

Yes, the spherical typeball was easily interchangeable. Users could swap out the typeball to change fonts, switch between uppercase and lowercase, or even type in different languages without needing a whole new machine. This versatility was highly valued in corporate environments.