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Looking for a MAC INKER (or other machine) to re-ink dot matrix ribbons

I

Ironhand

New Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2015
Messages
9
Hello

Someone has one or two Mac Inkers you want to sell :) I might be your guy!

I don't know anything about that machine but I hope I can re-ink my epson ribbons with that.

I hope someone out there can help me.

Best regards,
Viggo from Copenhagen / Denmark
 
Dear g4ugm

Thank you so much for the fast reply.

Well, I actually got the ink via Alibaba. Oil based ribbon ink.

I also got tons of ribbons and it's ok to get them cheap on ebay as well. Via alibaba I also have some uninked ribbons - and I want to try out some stuff with purple ink, yellow ink and even white ink.

My printer is an brand new Epson DLQ-3500.

To avoid a total mess (also because the printer is not cheap) I'd first try to see if anyone here might have a Mac Inker (or similar?) machine.

If I won't succeed I'll try with the WD-40 method and the plastic bag.. I will search the forum for more precise explanations on, how it is done :)

Thank you again for any input you can give on that matter. It is really much appreciated.
 
I used to have a MacInker--horribly messy thing. But there's this old thread that may be of some help. I don't see why you couldn't fabricate your own inker. You might even end up with a better one than Computer Friends used. Also, some swear by WD-40, but I prefer getting an spray can of silicone lube--I think it's kinder on the print heads (although not as inexpensive).
 
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Chuck(G) said:
Also, some swear by WD-40, but I prefer getting an spray can of silicone lube--I think it's kinder on the print heads (although not as inexpensive).
Click to expand...

My experience with WD-40 and a Tandy DMP2100 was not pretty. Inky mess, and the pinch roller delaminated. Just get a bottle of appropriate ink and put a drop every few seconds as you slowly wind the ribbon.
 
Ditto what kb2syd said. I have a bottle of professional ink (my friend makes ribbons commercially; he makes the ink, too) and I have been slowly re-inking my ribbons for twenty years or so. I keep re-inking them until the ribbon material says it's had enough use.
 
As I said, I don't use the blue-and-yellow can stuff myself--it's great for its intended purpose, displacing water with a light lubricant. Pure silicone spray won't affect rubber parts. Eventually, you'll have to clean the head with something and a little lube doesn't hurt.

I note that POS terminals generally have a re-inker built into the cartridge. Generally, it's just an ink-soaked block of felt in contact with the ribbon.
 
Thanks for all you tips - folks! I am happy that it seems that I can do it "manually" by adding ink on the ribbon while slowly wind the cartridge.

Ok, stupid question from a newbie with matrix printers and the ribbon.

Is it ok to position the ribbon "upwards" while inking it? Sounds to me that it is easier to "drop ink on the ribbon" from above. Or should the ribbon be in the same position while winding like it is in the printer?
 
I wonder if the "best" way would be to use a foam pad like they use in stamp pad inkers and perhaps a pair of large tweezers to grip it round the ribbon, but I am sure you could DIY something quite easily. I made a paper tape winder out of a "Pound Shop" (Every thing is £1 or about $1.5 in US) fishing reel. At that price I couldn't fault it even though it took seriuos hacking of the reel...
 
Really, making a MacInker shouldn't be terribly difficult. A piece of hardware store PC pipe or hobby shop brass tube, some plexiglas (or other stable plastic) a couple of washers for a guide for the base and a turntable motor salvaged from a junked microwave oven. But I definitely wouldn't use stamp pad ink. One of the characteristics of dot matrix printer ink is that it's also a lubricant. Stamp-pad ink is usually glycerine-based, while printer ink is oil-based.

I know that a very common technique for re-inking typewriter ribbons is to wind the spool as tightly as possible and saturate the outer layer of ribbon with ink and let it sit for a few days. The ink will permeate all layers eventually.
 
Like Chuck mentioned, once introduced to the ribbon, the ink will migrate throughout.

Another method is to open the ribbon cartridge and apply some ink to ribbon mass itself. Just be careful that you don't allow the ribbon to 'escape'.
 
Stone said:
my friend makes ribbons commercially; he makes the ink, too
Click to expand...

Stone: Does your friend sell it online? Also: What are the components for that kind of ink. It should be oil based, right? It is hard to find the ink here in Europe I think.
 
Stone said:
Like Chuck mentioned, once introduced to the ribbon, the ink will migrate throughout.

Another method is to open the ribbon cartridge and apply some ink to ribbon mass itself. Just be careful that you don't allow the ribbon to 'escape'.
Click to expand...

I will try that as well. Sounds like the "faster" method. It's worth a try and also to check if it's too messy :) Tnx.
 
Ironhand said:
Stone: Does your friend sell it online? Also: What are the components for that kind of ink. It should be oil based, right? It is hard to find the ink here in Europe I think.
Click to expand...
No, he only sells the ribbons directly, not online. He's actually a chemist (over here, that's not a pharmacist) by trade and the ink(s) he uses are his own, developed by him, personally. He explained how black is the hardest color to make high quality ink because there is no native black dye he can use and he showed me how the black ink is actually an extremely dark purplish color when examined up close. It, however, appears black when printed on paper.
 
Not to hijack or anything, but...

Would anyone still have a MacInker? I have my own, I am just looking for the different gear kits made to fit and drive specific ribbon cartridges that you have to buy in order for the MacInker to work on your specific ribbon model. I bought my own MacInker almost 10 years ago (even though I knew of Computer Friends since the early 1980's), but only bought one gear kit (which is basically the drive screw and some standoff posts) for one specific model impact printer I have. I have other impact printer with different kinds of ribbon cartridges, so this one gear kit doesn't fit the other ribbons to drive them on the inker. Computer Friends HQ was actually only a few miles away from where I used to live and I actually went to their office building and met the long time owner to order the stuff. Sadly though, by the time I was going to buy other gear/drive kits a few years later after that, Computer Friends closed up shop for good. That's understandable seeing the world has moved mostly away from dot matrix impact machines, although CF were also selling laser toner stuff. I called them/him up and he said he couldn't sell anything, including the gear drive kits. It's kind of unfortunate I finally got a MacInker in CF's latter days even though I really wanted one back in the 1980's (when the inker was still expensive).

If nothing else I can always try to tool the drive screw but that may be difficult for me unless I talk to someone who knows how to machine one. And obviously I can always try (and have in the past) the methods mentioned by the others in this thread. I've also replaced ribbons by taking the old one out of the cartridge and putting in a new ribbon that was from a different type of cartridge. I just like to use the MacInker because it evenly coats the entire length of the ribbon, so you don't get light and dark variations of ink across the ribbon by using some other method, even after capillaric action. Sometimes I do two passes to make it even darker and it doesn't oversaturate that way.

Anyway, just taking a chance to see if anyone here may have any kits they would like to get rid of (we'd still need to talk to see if you have the right ones for me). :)
 
I was thinking the same thing as Dave!

If I had the Mac Inker I would upload photos and precise measurements so we could 3D print it.

Technoid - can I ask you a big favor? Can you upload a sharp high resolution picture of that MacInker "ink roller"? I am very interested to see how big the "holes" in that roller are - and how it is fitted to the "platform". If you do that I'll invite you for a drink here in Copenhagen :)

I just bought some electrical parts etc on eBay to make a reproduction of the MacInker (a more advanced version). I also ordered customized plastic platform on eBay which will work as the platform etc.

Only thing what is giving me trouble is that "ink roller". The device where you actually add the ink.
I wondered if there is a better product which can be used where you also can control the amount of ink released.

I will - of course - upload my creation here once I am done :) I just need those rollers.....
 
I had a MacInker, and like Chuck said, it would be quite easy to build a workalike. I recall that most of the seperate pieces that comprised the unit was not the ink delivery component nor the motor drive but the number of plastic brackets to hold whatever ribbon or cartridge you had.
The ink delivery system was, as I can best describe after 30 years, a plastic cylinder about 12mm dia by 30 high. One end sealed off and the open end upwards. A single tiny hole, perhaps 0.1mm to 0.2mm dia was drilled through in the middle of the length of the cylinder (not through both sides). On the cylinder outside were two rubber washers that could be slid up and down, these positioned the ribon so that the middle of it passed directly over the hole. The ink was drawn out by capillary action.

The motor was fixed under the plastic base, and had a spigot with I think a flat blade like a screwdriver. There were probably slip-on extension drives for various cartridges I think. The motor probably did just a few rpm, it may have taken 5 minutes or less for the ribbon to be inked. What invariably did happen was, ink ended up everywhere. They are really messy things.

It would not be difficult to make one, perhaps using a motor from Lego Technic or a scrap item. For the ink tube, a plastic permanent-marker pen barrel drilled with a sharpened needle (or pin, probably smaller and better) and two bits of garden hose or O-rings for the guides would do. A spigot for the source reel and some plastic gear or whatnot for the motor takeup spool. The base could be a piece of 10mm plywood say 25 or 30cm long x 15 or 20cm wide, with some wood blocks underneath for legs and to give the motor some clearance.
 
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