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KEEPING OLD OFFICE ORCHESTRA'S CLACKING
Orchestras of Olivettis and Underwoods in millions of offices across the country are clacking along in syncopated rhythms of bureaucracy and business
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Orchestras of Olivettis and Underwoods in millions of offices across the country are clacking along in syncopated rhythms of bureaucracy and business.
Despite being well into a half-century of the computer age, the trusty typewriter remains the tool of choice for the legal profession and many government departments.
"When the typewriter first came to Indonesia, it was not trusted, so legal documents were written by hand. Now it's typewriters more than computers that are trusted by the legal profession," says I Putu Utama, one of Denpasar's four typewriter fix-it men.
"You can't forge documents that are written on a typewriter," claims Putu.
A perusal of legal offices confirms Putu's words. The clackety-clack of typewriter keys and the shuffle of carbon paper is evidence that in much of Indonesia, the humble typewriter still reigns.
Since childhood, Putu has been fascinated by typewriters, pulling them apart as well as cleaning and rebuilding them. His father was a typewriter repair man and Putu still uses his fathers old tools to service the typewriters brought daily to his tiny stall.
"Office workers bring their typewriters here for repair. I usually have at least one typewriter a day to work on," says Putu.
It's the typewriters' resilience Putu admires.
"This one here is from the 1970s and that one up there - well that is a pre-Merdeka *before the Indonesian independence* Dutch typewriter. Still good as new. Try saying that of a 60-year-old computer," he says, pointing to a portable Olivetti and the massive pre-Merdeka model that forms part of his collection.
Like the many businesses, schools and legal and government offices that still depend on typewriters, Putu believes typewriters are more trustworthy and flexible than computers.
"In Indonesia, we use typewriters for receipts. Receipt books already have *received with thanks' written on them. With a typewriter you can fill in the blanks - a computer can't do that. We also need typewriters for legal documents, such as land titles. With typewriters you can make exact copies of the original on carbon paper - people are still using that too. And typewriters never crash and lose data," he says in his tiny stall lined with typewriters of every shape and style.
Using a typewriter instead of a computer is also ideal for students, says Putu.
"If students use a typewriter, it is all their own work. The information has to come from their brain. When students use computers they can just cut and paste information, so I think they learn better with typewriters," says the man who could be described as a cheerful Luddite when it comes to the typewriters-versus-computers debate.
A student who can use a typewriter is more likely to find a job, says Putu. "Because most offices use typewriters, someone who can use one is already ahead of the game. I think students still need to learn to type on a typewriter, rather than on a computer, because then they learn to type properly. The other thing is that anyone can learn to use a typewriter, with computers you need to learn all the programs, that can be hard for people."
The cost of typewriters versus computers is also an important consideration.
"You can take a typewriter anywhere, you don't need electricity. A new portable typewriter costs around US$30, that's a lot cheaper than a computer at around $600," says Putu.
The top four typewriter choices, according to Putu, include the Olivetti, the Royal, the Olympic and the tough-as-old-boots Underwood, once favored by journalists. "These four are the simplest to fix and use, in my opinion," he says.
Little ever goes wrong with typewriters, explains Putu. "The main problems arise when people use cheap cotton ribbons. Threads of these ribbons fray and get stuck in the works. Cotton ribbons also create dust and make the keys dirty. If people use good nylon ribbons, the keys stay clean and you never have problems," says Putu, adding typewriter ribbons are still sold across the country, but spare parts are hard to come by.
"All the typewriter spare part factories have shut down these days. It's sad. I have hundreds of old typewriters I cannibalize for parts, like for the keyboards. If a letter is lost I can replace it with one from another typewriter," says Putu.
Passing on the typewriter fix-it man mantle is not going to be easy in the computer age.
"I hope I can find a youngster around here who would like to learn how to fix typewriters. I hope offices in Indonesia keep using these machines for the next 30 years. I hope youngsters learn about these machines and keep the typewriter tradition alive. It's become a part of our culture," says Putu, turning to serve a customer.
Bulan from Tuban, dropped her family typewriter off last week for service. She is pleased to have it back in working condition.
"This old typewriter is part of our family history - an inheritance in a way. I used this one when I was at school, as did my brother. My parents also used it, so it is really special to my family. But to be honest, I much prefer computers," laughs Bulan.
