alt Hacker NewsCarriage return moved the paper (on typewriters before the IBM Ball) and moved the print head (the "ball" on an IBM typewriter, or the actual print head on TTYs and DECWriter equivalents) back to column 0.
Line Feed moved the paper up one line, Form Feed moved the paper up by a "form length" or, in the case of chain printers, to the particular position on the chain that was synchronized with the perforations on the paper itself.
The carriage return physical device on the typewriter combined moving the carriage (which could be done by hand) and the rolling of the paper up one line (which could also be done by hand) into one convenient motion.
> Carriage return moved the paper (on typewriters before the IBM Ball) and moved the print head (the "ball" on an IBM typewriter, or the actual print head on TTYs and DECWriter equivalents) back to column 0.
Carriage return always returned the carriage to the far right. Neither the print ball (if there was one), the printwheel, nor the typebars moved. Linefeed rotated the platen.
It's true the carriage return lever operated both the carriage and the platen. Manually operated with the left hand and pushed one level deep it would release the carriage lock and let you return the carriage to the right. Pushed a second level deep it would rotate the platen one, one and a half, or two lines depending on the setting.