Typeball
Updated: 10/17/2017 by Computer Hope
Officially known as a type element, a typeball is a sphere containing raised characters on its surface that strike an ink ribbon on a typewriter. A typeball is sometimes called a "golf ball." It was introduced with the IBM Selectric typewriter on July 27, 1961. The picture shows a typeball used in a typewriter.
These devices are used in older typewriters and were revolutionary for their time because of how easy they were to remove. By being able to remove the typeball, the user could clean and repair the typewriter easier, and change between fonts.