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Dried out Dot Matrix Fabric Ribbons

K

kb2syd

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Wantage, NJ
These are brand new. Still shrink wrapped, but dried crispy.

Any good way to rejuvinate these. I tried the mist of WD40. After 8 hours, I can probably print in a VERY light blue/grey right now.

Maybe a small drop of 99% Isopropyl?

Any other ideas?

Kelly
 
I haven't used dot-matrix in a long time, but I remember wetting the ribbon with alcohol worked for a bit. That was when I was a kid though. You might have better success with another solvent.

Do you mind ruining a few to experiment. I would try, in this order:
-more wd40
-alcohol
-acetone
-paint thinner

Careful with acetone, too much and you'll melt some plastic.
 
I think the paint thinner may disolve the entire ribbon... Acetone is too volatile, it won't work for more than a few minutes. The solvent must also moisturise the ribbon a bit.

I'd try some "cocktails" like:
- 3/4 pure ethanol (the commonly named "alkohol", in the 99% "white" solution) + 1/4 car antifreeze liquid (ethilen glycol)
- 70% acohol solution (the common sanitary alcohol you can buy from a pharmacy) + glycerine (a few drops in a small cup of alcohol)
- 3/4 pure ethanol + 1/4 glucose 10% solution (you may find it in a pharmacy, it's a common medical product) + a few drops of Isopropyl

Please beware that both antifreeze and Isopropyl are very toxic, use a pair of rubber gloves when you work with such cocktails!
 
Try some ultrapure lamp oil--basically triple-filtered white kerosene.

Most fabric ribbon MSDS simply identify the agent as "oil". Lamp oil is about as light an oil as you can get.
 
Here is a good thread on the subject...

Tricks for ReInking Printer Ribbons

Ed,

I met you yesterday at the museum. We discussed dried out ribbons.
The oil I used was Marvel Lubricating Oil.
Click to expand...

143867_front500.jpg


http://ed-thelen.org/1401Project/TricksForReInkingPrinterRibbons.html#Marvel
 
I used stamp pad ink for many years back in the '80s. Comes in a bottle which will last forever and only costs a few dollars. I put the ink on a large stamp pad as it was more convenient that way, and then ran the ribbon out and inked it one section at a time by gently rubbing it into the pad. The only catch is that even with gloves, the ink seems to get everywhere. But I kept ribbons going till they got holes in them. (The things you do when you are a poor student...)
 
I just used to take the top off the cartridge, inject some fountain pen type ink in to the sponge ink roller, put the cartridge back into the printer and, with it powered off, move the printhead back and forth until the ribbon has gone past the roller once completely.
 
Dr_Acula said:
I used stamp pad ink for many years back in the '80s. Comes in a bottle which will last forever and only costs a few dollars. I put the ink on a large stamp pad as it was more convenient that way, and then ran the ribbon out and inked it one section at a time by gently rubbing it into the pad. The only catch is that even with gloves, the ink seems to get everywhere. But I kept ribbons going till they got holes in them. (The things you do when you are a poor student...)
Click to expand...

The problem with most modern stamp-pad ink is that it's water-based. Didn't used to be the case, but is almost universal now. Not so good for dot-matrix printheads.

The MacInker people still sell dot matrix ink and thinner:

http://www.cfriends.com/macinker/inks.htm

Pretty pricey, though!
 
Well, I have some progress to report. If your ribbon uses a laminated pinch roller, do NOT use WD-40. It will dissolve the adhesive in the pinch roller. I now have a nicely inked ribbon that cannot be advanced using the roller. I could probably fix this, but have no need nor desire to get that much ink on me to fix it.

I found several bottles of dot matrix ink in my junk stash. Messy stuff. I inked up another ribbon and am having some good results.

Now, I just need to figure out why the middle row of pins is sticking. This is a DMP-2100 printer and the horizontal element on the capital A is missing (and every dot for every character that falls into the same horizontal place).
 
kb2syd said:
Now, I just need to figure out why the middle row of pins is sticking. This is a DMP-2100 printer and the horizontal element on the capital A is missing (and every dot for every character that falls into the same horizontal place).
Click to expand...

Could be all kinds of things, but start by cleaning the head. I've had several printers with stuck/sticky elements that cleaned up after a good soaking in alcohol to remove gummed up old ink and goo. Also, ensure that the coil/hammer for that position is in good condition, and the cable connecting the print head is in securely.

-Ian
 
ahm said:
Not for nothing, but can't you still buy printer ribbons at Staples?
Click to expand...

Currently out of stock from Staples online and at the local Staples. They have no estimated delivery time available. BuyOnlineNow.com has them for $15.32 each including shipping, but I'm determined to make these NOS ribbons work.

I'm cheap, I'm stubborn and I may be a bit dim.
 
it may well be that the particular needle is worn rather than stuck. If cleaning doesn't do the trick (and the needles get very cruddy behind the jewel).
If it is wear, depending on the head it's sometimes possible to advance the needles forward through the jewel so that the worn needle is just sticking through.
I had loads of luck re-profiling the needles with some (about) 400 grade emery paper wrapped round the platen & the head screwed back in place, manually (gently) stroking the head against this until the needles were even again (too hard & you'll break needles or the jewel) (It took about 5 minutes to lap them back into shape)
Give the head a good wash out with isopropanol & re-adjust the needle projection so that the shortest needle is flush with the jewel face (be careful not to adjust it too far back or everything will pop out & you have a major re-assembly job on your hands)
that's it!
 
ahm said:
Not for nothing, but can't you still buy printer ribbons at Staples?
Click to expand...

Staples? Ha, that's a good one.

I bought a new, never been used Tandy DMP-106 but it didn't come with a ribbon cartridge.
Some ribbons you can't get anywhere, period.
IE: don't buy a Tandy DMP-105 or 106 (and definitely check ribbon availability before you do buy a printer).
I scoured the US and the UK - they don't make the ribbons anymore, and nobody has any.
I managed to get a used DMP-105 from a forum member who had two cartridges. I bought it for the cartridges - not the printer.
Now I'm re-inking them with the stuff Chuck(G) pointed out from Computer Friends, Inc.

From my searches, I found the following (and this is the thinned down list of the ones I contacted) to be good sources for old stock in ribbons/cartridges (just not the one I was looking for):

Bill @ 800-334-2137
ScanTracker 800-816-6855
Best Ribbon 800-880-3800
Robin @ International Ribbon Supply 800-756-5046
Nu-Kote @ 800-448-1422
Old Software.com 1-888-466-8084

If these don't have what you need, I've got some contact email addresses for people in the UK who might have what you need.
 
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