Teleprinter

A teleprinter (teletypewriter, Teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical typewriter that can be used to send and receive typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over various types of communications channels. They were adapted to provide a text-based user interface to early mainframe computers and minicomputers, sending typed data to the computer with or without printed output, and printing the response from the computer. Some models could also be used to create punched tape for data storage (either from typed input or from data received from a remote source) and to read back such tape for local printing or for transmission of previously stored messages and data. These punched tapes were also compatible with higher speed tape readers and punches directly attached to computers.