Custom type elements for Selectric typewriters

for sale at https://goimagine.com/austinselectricrescue/

These type balls are printed with Sunlu ABS-like resin on a Creality Halot Mage SLA printer. Detail isn't quite as sharp as original IBM type balls and there's a bit of wobble in the writing line, but it compares well to manual typewriters. Many of the typefaces are available in both 88-character format for Selectric I/II and 96-character format for the Selectric III. Many also have an option to use a layout that more closely matches modern keyboards:

Each order includes two plastic clips that anchor the ball to the tilt ring. Here's how to use the ball clip correctly so that you don't donk up your rotate/tilt tapes. Type elements have a one-year warranty: If they aren't working to your satisfaction we'll send a free replacement or a full refund.

Disclaimer: These custom 3D-printed type balls are aftermarket parts designed for hobbyist and collector use. Use of these products is at your own risk! While every effort is made to ensure quality and fit, improper installation, mechanical wear, or variations between machines may result in damage to the typewriter. By purchasing or using a custom type ball, you acknowledge that the seller is not responsible for any damage, malfunction, or injury that may result from its use.

Vogue is a classic art deco typeface used on Royal typewriters dating back to the 1920s. The ball was generated from a custom-built TTF font traced from samples found online: TTF file

Senatorial was used on some Olympia typewriters in the 60s; it is also known as Cubic, or just "that robot font". This version was traced from type specimens found online: TTF file

I don't know much at all about Numode #61. It was on Smith-Corona Silent-Super typewriters sold by Sears in the 50s and 60s. :shrug: TTF file

Olympia Professional Elite #41 was an option on the classic Olympia SM series, and it caught my eye as a typeface unlike anything available on the commercial IBM or BP type balls. TTF file

The next three typefaces are from https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-fonts.html:

Olympia's Congress typeface was available on the classic SM3 typewriter from the late 1950s. The scan is a bit chunky so it comes out a little heavier than the original, but the curves and serifs are just as nice.

I haven't found much information about it online, but Spencerian Script appears to date to the 1960s and was used on some Royal typewriters. I've tweaked the font a bit, raising the lower case z descender so that it doesn't interfere with the t below it on the ball. Also available as a 96-character ball for Selectric 3.

Olympia's script typeface is very similar to Spencerian but a bit neater, especially in the upper case.

The following three fonts are available in Regular, Bold, Italic, and Bold+Italic, in traditional or modern layout, and in 88- or 96-character versions.

JetBrains Mono is a modern typeface developed for coding, but it makes a great typewriter font as well. (And looks pretty good on web pages, I think.) (Source)

Atkinson Hyperlegible was developed by the Braille Institute as an easily readable typeface at all sizes. (Source)

Plex Mono is the fixed width version of IBM's official typeface. I wasn't too keen on it until I read that the italic version was heavily influenced by the Selectric Light Italic typeface, which is one of my favorites. (Source)

These two are also available in either layout, in 88- or 96-character formats:

Comic Mono is a monospace version of that font. You know the one. (Source)

And of course, there's Papyrus.

The original custom typeball project that this work is descended from was an effort to create an APL ball for an I/O Selectric, so here it is in both Correspondence and PTT/BCD layouts. (Source)

Finally, here's the GitHub repo with the latest version of the OpenSCAD files I used to generate the 3D models for these type balls. It contains a lot of tuning parameters tweaked to make reliable prints on my SLA printer, a Creality Halot Mage. My hope was that anyone would be able to generate an STL file from this and send it to a printing service like Shapeways, but I tried it and the ball I got back was unusable. :( Maybe you'll have better luck.