Selectric Typewriter conversions

There were two ways to do that. The more common method was to put a thing with one solenoid per key over the Selectric's keyboard. This had the advantage that no modification to the Selectric was required. The more clever (IMHO) mod was to attach seven solenoids to the Selectric between the keyboard encoding mechanism and the print mechanism, to directly control the tilt and rotate. And two more for the carriage return and paper advance. This has the advantage that you can still use it as a typewriter without having to attach and remove the solenoid box, and it's potentially less expensive since it takes nowhere near as many solenoids. I seem to recall that Don Lancaster wrote a do-it-yourself article about this approach. Either way, though, you don't end up with a particularly great printer. The Selectric typewriters weren't meant to be pounded on continuously at anywhere near their full speed, since that wasn't how typewriters were used (even by *very* good typists). IBM made "I/O Selectrics," which had heavy-duty mechanisms intended for continuous output. Model numbers that come to mind are the 1052 and 753, though my memory regarding these seems more than a little fuzzy. There were also Selectric-based terminals like the 2741, which were AFAIK not quite as heavy-duty as the 1052, but still better than a typewriter. Trivia: although the Selectric typewriter wasn't introduced until 1962, the first production units were delivered to customers in 1961, as part of the operator console for the IBM 7030 Data Processing System (Stretch). Since it wasn't an announced product, all the publicity photos of Strech had a person, sign, or other item strategically placed to obstruct the view of the typewriter.