TYPE TEST:  R. C. ALLEN 700 VisOMatic
There is no chance of avoiding leading off this test / review with a single fact:  The R.C. Allen 700 is absolutely without doubt the fastest machine in our collection of something like three hundred machines.  On no other machine can I type at full speed without any jams, skips or errors.  I have been typing for well over twenty years (I would rather not do the math) and am capable of something over one hundred words per minute at full speed -- and the machine you see here is absolutely the best machine available to me for high speed work.  The touch, the keytop shape, the type-bar return speed, the escapement -- no other combination is so well made or as fast, in my opinion.  (The machine was tested against the time-honored Underwoods and DID in fact beat them in repeated comparisons; Underwoods of many models were tested.)
The Woodstock No. 5, tested on another page on this site, was found to be very fast, which is no surprise given Beeching's reference in his book "Century of the Typewriter" to the Woodstock having won an award in Paris for sustainable 120 wpm typing, just five wpm short of the world record on an Underwood.  The machine you see here is advanced and developed from that early Woodstock, and incorporates not only basket shift (which in this execution alters the machine for the better, not for the worse in terms of touch / feel and response) but other miscellaneous improvements in feature and detail so as to make it not only superior to the old Woodstock but to many other standard typewriters as well, if not most or all.
The machine bears the VisOMatic name, which refers to the visible and automatic margin stop setting system which operates like that of some other standards (Royal, for example with its well-known Magic Margin name) and which marks a solid improvement on the earlier machines.  The device operates easily, is instantly understood and margin placement always visible.  It is an ideal arrangement.
This machine incorporates many other common "late model" refinements, such as key-set tab stops, three-color ribbon selector, automatic ribbon reverse, touch regulator mounted on the front panel, and the usual line-spacing and free wheeling platen operations (and has a perfectly designed line-space / carriage return lever.)  Our feelings on this machine should be obvious by now; it is hard to avoid superlatives when this machine is compared with many others in actual, honest high-speed hard work.  It may be surprising to some to find an "off brand" on the top of our list, but given the Woodstock's pedigree this is rendered much more credible.  The machine receives our highest ratings in all respects.