On Tue, Nov 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM Paul Koning via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
I was just looking at some Friden Flexowriter documentation, specifically the later 2300
series. They look somewhat more modern than the well known Flexowriters but seem to be
comparable otherwise. I remember seeing a mix in the TU Eindhoven computer center, around
1970.
The documentation mentions an optional feature, the ability to read and punch "edge
punched cards". Those look like conventional Hollerith cards, but instead of the 12
row punching with rectangular holes, they are punched along the bottom edge in exactly the
same manner as an 8 channel punched tape. In other words, imagine running a blank card
through the tape path of a paper tape punch, and that's what you would see.
I never ran into this before. Has anyone ever seen these in the wild?
Not using a Flexowriter, but the original membership cards for the
now-defunct 'Cambridge University Computer Preservation Society' in
the UK were approximately credit-card sized and were edge-punched with
membership details. See here :
https://cucps.soc.srcf.net/membcard.htm
-tony