Olympia SM7 Typewriter Guide
1968 Olympia SM7 Video Tutorial
Welcome to one of history’s most glorious typewriters!
The Olympia SM7 was manufactured in Wilhelmshaven, a port city on the North Sea coast of Lower Saxony, West Germany. Olympia had relocated there from its original home in Erfurt after the war, when the East German government seized the factory and rebranded it Optima. By the time the SM7 was introduced in 1961, the Wilhelmshaven operation was producing some of the finest portable typewriters in the world. The SM7 was built until about 1964, making it one of the shorter-lived models in the SM series — and the last to use a carriage-shift design before Olympia moved to the lighter basket-shift mechanism in the SM8 and SM9.
Olympia's SM portables earned a reputation as the "Mercedes-Benz of typewriters," and the SM7 sits right at the heart of that legacy. It's mechanically close to the SM4, with a keyset tabulator and all-metal construction, but wrapped in a more modern, angular body. The typing action is smooth and precise, and the machine is built to last decades with minimal maintenance. It came in three main colors — white, pink, and blue — with the white models sporting turquoise shift keys and platen knobs, a signature mid-century look.
Among the writers who chose the SM7 was Kurt Vonnegut, who typed on an SM7 alongside SM8s and SM9s over the course of his career. The legendary sportswriter Red Smith also worked on one. These weren't decorative choices — the SM7 was a serious working tool, fast and responsive enough for writers who spent long hours at the keys. The carriage shift gives it a slightly heavier feel than the later basket-shift models, but many typists prefer that sense of solidity and deliberate action.
Your SM7 takes a standard universal ribbon, either two-tone (black and red) or solid black. The plywood carrying case is well-made but the hinges are designed to separate so you can type with the machine sitting in the bottom half — which also means they can come apart if you're not careful. Never trust a sixty-year-old case with a loose strap. Carry it with both hands, check the hinges periodically, and strap the case shut when you're moving it. The machine itself should give you years of trouble-free writing.
Here is the manual for this model. Please let me know if you have questions.
That paper that your note came on can be purchased here.
And the SM9 uses a universal ribbon size, which is here.
You might enjoy our matching pad and cover.
Enjoy the written rapture!
Steven
PS. Your machine comes with a lifetime trade in policy and warranties. Enjoy!