OPERASI MEMBAIKI MESIN TIK
Project restore typewriter
The Olympia Traveller de Luxe
When I’m back in my hometown in Penang, I always have a list of things to do. They almost always involve local food, contact lenses and dental check-ups – all the goods and services that are unattainable and expensive abroad.
Today is one of those successful ‘mission accomplished’ days. I restored Dad’s old typewriter, my old friend, whom I used to type fictitious letters with when I was 9. It is the Olympia Traveller de Luxe. Made in Yugoslavia – a country which doesn’t even exist today.
Before I left Manchester, I rang Dad to make sure it was still at home and he hadn’t thrown it out. I’d known for some time that the ink had run out, but always had it in my mind that typewriters were so obsolete that nobody knows what they are anymore.
So I set out today to find typewriter ribbons in Penang. I Googled, I YouTubed, I Facebooked. I asked Dad, I asked friends, Dad asked friends, but alas. I found them cheap as chips for RM4.60 (£1) in Young Ones, a local Chinese stationery shop just minutes from my house.
Typewriter ribbons on my lap
Thanks to this video on YouTube, I managed to replace the ribbon myself and now have a lovingly restored typewriter! On hindsight it was a bit of a no brainer, but who can say that when they thought the typewriter was an antique bad boy?
I shall be writing love notes, short stories, letters and Bible verses with dear ol’ Olympia de Luxe. Exciting times ahead.
Wan Phing Lim 
ohmygosh yang inikah dipanggil mesin tik?! ahhahaha
WOWWWW I CAN’T WAIT TO COME BACK and use it! and typing love letters it shall be!! :)
Mesin tik menunggukan kepulangan adik ke rumah di Sungai Ara!
Hello, di mana kedai jual ribbin yg saudara cakap tu? Sy pun nk cari ribbon dan repair mesin taip utk bapa mertua saya. Thanks
Saya tahu di Penang sahaja.. kedai Young Ones dekat Sunshine Square di Bayan Baru.
Ribbon model typewriter ni ada specific brand ke?
Hi Amir, brand yang saya beli itu Yosogo.
Huih….. thread tahun 2011. I’m looking for ribbon. The cheapest is from ebay but the price is…… RM20 without shipping. I buy in 2001… only RM3.50. I have my own Typewriter Olivetti Lettera 25. I bought it new at Jalan Raja Laut near Chow Kit and use during study in 2001-2002 because at that time, only rich people can afford computer. Now all my unused ribbon are dried up. Looking for new ribbon. Congrats to you can make old machine works again
How I need to service or repair my old typewriter and way I can get the ribbon black and red …
Saya beli kat Subang Jaya. Ada ribbon jenama pelikan. Harga RM7 tak silap. Tapi perumah ribbon tu kena pakai yang asal la sebab saiz dia tak ngam