Canon Typestar logo

Published November 16, 2024

Canon Typestar 5

The Canon Typestar used Letraset’s Bramley (1980) as the logo typeface, with the letter a replaced by a star.

The Typestar was Canon’s series of compact personal electronic typewiters. The portable, optionally battery-powered word processor was described as a cross between a notebook computer and a typewriter. In 1985, Canon advertised it as follows:

It’s small. It’s light. It’s brilliant. You can hold it in the palm of your hand. Or carry it in a briefcase it or rest it on your lap. The new Typestar™ personal electronic typewriter from Canon. But don’t let its smallness fool you. It has a complete professional keyboard and all the features you'd expect from an electronic typewriter three times its size. Typestar 6, for instance, has a full-page memory, 32-character display for easy correction, automatic centering and underlining and the ability to print in double width. Plus a choice of five typestyles. Typestar 5 has a 15-character display and a host of equally impressive features. But most important, they both give superior letter quality typing wherever and whenever you need it. Because Typestar runs on simple batteries or AC. So why not reach up now and hold your very own star. Typestar. From Canon.

The Typestar launched in 1984, apparently starting with model number 5. It was produced into the late 1990s. The Typewriter Database has images of the various models (sometimes with typeface samples).