> On Nov 5, 2025, at 10:14 AM, Cory Heisterkamp via cctalk
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>> On Nov 4, 2025, at 12:24 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk <[email protected]>
>> 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?
>>
>> Paul
>
>
> At least one of my Flexowriters was set up this way, though I never used it
> as such. I think it was much more popular on the Friden-built accounting
> machines that used a Flexo for the console. It’s been a few years, but I
> remember a film in the public domain showing this setup in use for department
> store inventory management; the edge card was perf’d and separated after
> punching. The punched section was attached to the garment and an inventory
> copy was made on the aux punch for the master file at time of origination.
> Then at time of sale, a portion of that tag was removed by the cashier and
> used to reconcile the inventory at COB. -C
I faintly remember seeing such a thing but it may be my imagination. Your
comment about accounting machines sounds right, see page 3 of this Friden
brochure:
https://classic.technology/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2301flexowriter.pdf which
is where I initially saw the edge punched cards reference.
paul
