These days pretty sure computers are cheaper than typewriters.

You can get a manual typewriter (hammer rather than ball) on Amazon for about $200. Brand name ones run in the $300 - $400 range.

A college instructor turns to typewriters to curb AI-written work and teach life lessons - https://apnews.com/article/typewriter-ai-cheating-chatgpt-co...

Computers good enough to run libreoffice writer or the equivalent and print to a networked laser are thrown in the ewaste trash all the time, the cost really would be in the labor and somewhat custom software setup. Could also reuse old flat panel displays that have been decommissioned from office use.

Lubing typewriters and ensuring they have a fresh ribbon also sounds pretty labor intensive.

(Where do you even get ribbons these days)

Well AI could prompt us to go backwards to even to living off the land ;-)

Im thinking there are lots of cheap typewriters in peoples attics, at goodwills and etc.

My dad is an English professor and wrote his first manuscript turned book on a typewriter much to his editor’s dismay in the late 1990s. He used to compel me to type my Christmas wishlist / letter to Santa on it as well perhaps with the added benefit of reducing its length.