[Reprinted from FORMAT, Vol 4 #3, November 1990.]
I know that Abed Kahale did a little piece on re-inking ribbons but this is from a different source and does give quite a bit of background information.
The source is FORMAT (Vol 4 #3: November 1990) which is a U. K. based newsletter for the SPECTRUM and SAM users. (Don’t ask me what SAM is?). Terms and prices are in the lingo of the U. K.
Re-Inking
Ribbon Resuscitation – Assistance for the Impecunious or Dot-Matrix Disaster?
By John Wase
Do you re-ink your dot matrix printer ribbons? I do, and (I think) save myself quite a lot of money in the process. However, before you dash out to buy a bottle of Quink, let me mention that there are quite a lot of snags that you really ought to hear about.
Firstly, there is the ink. This should, of course run freely (but not too freely), and give a good dark impression. More subtle are the requirements which intimately concern the mechanism of the print head. As you probably know, the print head rapidly fires and refires a series of pins (most usually nine, eighteen or twenty four, depending on the quality, and cost of the printer), forcing them onto the ribbon, and therefore making inky dots on the paper behind. Anyone that has watched this will be struck by the speed at which it all happens (you can’t see the pins being fired; it’s all far too quick) and the more curious may well have burned their fingers on the top of the print head, which can get very hot indeed. When you think about this a bit more, you can see that the lubricating, clogging and evaporative properties of the ink will be very important in respect of the ultimate life of the print head mechanism. And a dead print head usually means a new printer – they are rarely economical to repair. So the use of inappropiate inks (like the bottle of Quink) is bad news.
Let us look at things now in a little more detail. Don White, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arizona has done a bit of research into this subject, finding that the life of a print head can actually be significantly extended if ribbons are regularly coated with a lubricant – based ink of the proper type. As Don says, the elements involved in the printing process are the print head needles, the nylon fabric ribbon, the ink and the paper. The mechanics of the process, too, are important in respect of ribbon life: they depend, in turn, on the strike pressure of the print – head needles, the contact time of the ribbon and the paper, the ribbon properties (ink absorption and affinity), the ink properties (viscosity, darkness) and the paper properties (porosity and ink absorption). To make thinks even more complicated, the print head consists of electromagnetically fired metal needles individually cased in plastic cylinders: the strike pressure of the needles can vary from 5 to 200 pounds per square inch, and contact times with the paper (which are also a function of the printing speed and strike pressure) range from 10 to 200 microseconds.
Nylon fabric is the most widely used material for ribbons – the ribbon good ink absorption characteristics and resistance to wear. To improve the ink absorption onto the nylon ribbon, the woven fabric is subjected to texturisation (the fibres are thermally treated, transforming the filaments into a highly twisted structures to improve porosity), and then a highly polarity polymer coating is added to the fabric surface to furthur improve affinity for the ink. High speed printers and twenty – four pin models use high – density ribbons with less porosity but much improved wear resistance – so don’t try swapping ribbons between nine and tenty – four pin machines – you’ll probably damage print – heads.
The ink, of course, is the key component. It must contain a permanent dye with a minimum of insoluable particles (non – abrasive and less than three microns maximum diameter), and it must neither react chemically with nor degrade in any other way the print head mechanism. That means that it must be compatible with stainless steel, phosphor bronze, beryllium, copper, nylon, acetal, polyethylene and polypropylene. It must also contain an imk – compatible additive which is stable and which will not form fummy precipitates on the print – head, but which will form a thin protective coating on the metal surface, lubricating the works well over the whole operating temperature range. The only practical additive which meets these requirements is a silicone of one sort or another, and ink is without such an additive is pretty useless. A number of printer manufacturers advise against re – inking ribbons. This advice is valid if traditional clay – based printing inks are used, for these will dry on the needle cylinder walls and clog the print head. However, this will not occur if the proper ink is used: indeed, Don has postive proof that head life can be extended with regular use of a proper ink which contains the appropiate lubricant.
Finally, to give you the complete low – down, let me mention that the key elements which affect ribbon and print – head life are the needle impact pressure (which can to some extent be varied by the printer user) and frequency of impact (which can not): the friction coefficient between needles and ribbon, and the print – head impact temperature, which are both profoundly affected by the presence and properties of the ink. This is because the friction coefficient between the matrix needles and the ribbon is very important. A large proportion of the strike energy is transformed into heat and the material properties of the nylon ribbon are themselves very sensitive to an increase in working temperature. With repeated use, the needle temperature can rise near the melting point nylon (480 degrees F) causing the ribbon to soften under the needles. The situation is made worse because nylon is a poor conductor of heat. However, as long as there is plenty of lubricating ink, adhesion between hot needles and nylon surfaces is prevented, so reducing wear: the presence of ink in between the filaments dissipates the impact energy. Of course, once the filaments begin to dry out, the impact temperatures rises sharply, causing rapid degradation of the fabric, a hole in the ribbon and possibly a ruined print head.
I tried out two very different re – inkers. The first is Caspell’s “Ribbon Refresh”. This comes as an aerosol canister at less than `10.00 including postage. The other device is the “Maxiprint Ribbon Re – Inker” from AC Enterprises. This varies in price (there was a special offer when I got mine) but is likely to be at least `40.00. It consists of a box full of bits and pieces.
“Ribbon Refresh” first. To use this, you prise off the lid of the ribbon. This is usually a mooulding with a number of plastic pegs in it which fit into holes in the raised edge around the base. Great care is needed, as the pegs on the lid are easily broken off. The use of a ribbon where pegs are missing on the plastic box can result in the ribbon jamming and doing in the print head. Great care is also needed because, as you prise the lid off, a spring – loaded gadget which is difficult to replace often shoots out: beware. Once the lid is off, the ribbon is revealed as “concertinaed” fabric within the container. Put the open container, still with the ribbon inside, on a large sheet of newspaper, preferably out of doors. Put the tube (like the one supplied with WD40) into the aerosol press – spray and spray. Too little and the resulting print has light and dark patches. Too much and it’s a runny mess. Don’t forget to turn the knob after inking to bring the bits from outside and the ends into the middle, and to spray those, too. It’s best to have several ribbons and do them well in advance, so that the ink soaks well in and the lightest hydrocarbon evaporates: I speak from bitter experience. Unless you take care, it can be a very messy job. Having said that, I’ve used “Ribbon Refresh” successfully since it was introduced, and have saved myself a fortune on replacing ribbons. True, the ink is not so black, nor does it last so long, but one can’t have everything, can one.
The “Maxiprint Ribbon Re – Inker” is a horse of a different colour. The base of the box is slotted, and you have to assemble and screw a number of bits into this in order to clamp your particular shape of ribbon thightly. You then mark the start of the ribbon with a little dab of “Tippex”, open the ink cartridge and turn a handle which is slotted onto the ribbon drive. My Epson FX80 types of ribbons are the least conveniently accomodated, and I find it difficult to get the clams tight enough. The loop around the cartridge was not as tight as I would have liked. In opening the cartridge, I got the stuff all over my hands. The ink did not run as freely as I would have liked and I couldn’t control it as well as I had hoped, so that the first ribbon seemed over – inked, whilst others had the ink applied rather patchily. The winder kept coming off the ribbon: whilst it was stopped, the ink kept going, with a great big patch. It also took a very long time to wind the ribbon right through to the white “Tippex” mark again. Much of this was beginners’ clumsiness, but I would not, for instance, recommend this to the Junior School teacher whilst the class was waiting!
So what were the results like. Marvellous, actually. They exceeded my wildest expectations. The ribbon was super – black. I have used one for ages in an Epson RX80 (you remember, the very old one) with Tasprint at double height to print leaflets and handbills. And still it carries on and on, as fresh as when I first reinked it. I get the impression that it lasts quite a bit longer than a new one.
So what’s the verdict? At first I thought this was going to be a one – horse race: “Ribbon Refresh” is so much cheaper and I found it so easy. However, the results, though satisfactory, are not nearly so impressive as those for the “Maxiprint” device. For the amateur, therefore, with a low rate of ribbon usage, I would recommend the Caspell can, for here one would need to buy only five or so new ribbons before the break – even pooint was reached. However, if you are a fairly large user of ribbons (more than twenty), like a small business office, or a teacher in a computer – aware school, and particularly if you need an especially good impression or it you use an awlful lot of graphics, then the “Maxiprint Ribbon Re – inker” could suit you better.
Editorial Comments:
I thought that the background of what to avoid is good. One way to test ink for whether it is oil based or water based is to apply a tiny amount to a jar of water and shake it up. The water based will dye the water uniformly while the oil based will form droplets of the ink and oil. Paul Holgren has told me of re – inking ribbons by using a piece of plastic and holding it folded over the ribbon and then using an electric screw driver to run the ribbon through the plastic with ink on it. I have tried that but it seems that I need another hand to do it. That way does not require opening the ribbon cartridge (box) which is not that big a deal with the ribbons for my Epson LX810. What is needed is a way to hold the entire assembly including holding down the switch on the electric screwdriver. I have heard of using mineral oil and also WD40. Once in the past I got a bottle of re – inking ink from RMG but looking at the ink I have hesitated to try it since I could be weeks getting the ink off of stuff that was not to be inked. If interested in that the next time you order from RMG ask Rod Gowan about the ink. 0/0