Paying Tribute: Kaimuki Typewriter

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KAIMUKI TYPEWRITER

There are a few typewriter services remaining on the island, but perhaps not one as quite as mysterious-looking as Kaimuki Typewriter Services.

As romantic, neat-looking and neat-sounding analog typewriters might seem to a generation where touch screens are the norm, the reality is that typewriters, both analog and electric, face a dire future. Richard Sugano’s father was one of the original partners in the business, which has been in existence since 1958.

Sugano joined Kaimuki Type around 1973, has been there ever since and has mechanical and historical knowledge that illustrates it. Sugano has a no-nonsense, practical attitude toward the industry that mostly now relies on government and corporate companies as client bases now. And while he seems unattached to the fate of typewriters and other analog machines, there are hints of sentimentality and whimsy in the dim, humid space that resembles a crowded garage.

There’s an original liquid crystal calculator, manual check writers, mail scales and even a pachinko machine. There are old metal-blade fans, a microwave, telephone and television set that seem to be among the old items Sugano can repair, but are merely part of the office furniture that he and his partner use daily.

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