Good episode, but . . .
I believe there is a technical error in the story where text was being read off the typewriter ribbon. This scenario would work if the typewriter used was a Selectric or other modern typewriter using a carbon film cartridge. The more modern typewriter ribbon is used once and discarded. What was typed on paper could have been read off the used film ribbon on the take-up reel of the cartridge. This is why at sensitive business and military installations, these cartridges were destroyed/burned as a matter of standard practice.
However, in this episode McGee used an old portable manual typewriter that used a cloth ribbon. In normal use, no one would use a cloth ribbon once and toss it. Once the ribbon hits the end of the reel, it automatically reverses and is reused again. After a key is struck, the ink in the ribbon bleeds back over the letter just typed, thus re-inking the ribbon, making it ready for its next use. Changing a cloth ribbon was not very common. Offices with heavy daily typing might have replaced a ribbon once per month or more. With this back and forth motion and overstriking of the ribbon it would have been close to impossible to pull text off a cloth ribbon.
I have never seen a carbon film cartridge for a manual typewriter. Those were introduced, I recall, with the IBM Selectric, one of which I still own and use on occasion.
Don't get me wrong, this was a very good NCIS episode, flawed only by this technical error.
Love the show, though! Chuck
I believe there is a technical error in the story where text was being read off the typewriter ribbon. This scenario would work if the typewriter used was a Selectric or other modern typewriter using a carbon film cartridge. The more modern typewriter ribbon is used once and discarded. What was typed on paper could have been read off the used film ribbon on the take-up reel of the cartridge. This is why at sensitive business and military installations, these cartridges were destroyed/burned as a matter of standard practice.
However, in this episode McGee used an old portable manual typewriter that used a cloth ribbon. In normal use, no one would use a cloth ribbon once and toss it. Once the ribbon hits the end of the reel, it automatically reverses and is reused again. After a key is struck, the ink in the ribbon bleeds back over the letter just typed, thus re-inking the ribbon, making it ready for its next use. Changing a cloth ribbon was not very common. Offices with heavy daily typing might have replaced a ribbon once per month or more. With this back and forth motion and overstriking of the ribbon it would have been close to impossible to pull text off a cloth ribbon.
I have never seen a carbon film cartridge for a manual typewriter. Those were introduced, I recall, with the IBM Selectric, one of which I still own and use on occasion.
Don't get me wrong, this was a very good NCIS episode, flawed only by this technical error.
Love the show, though! Chuck