Hi Newbie, and welcome to TT. I moved your post to the Repair section. 

Faint type? Since you're new to typewriters, could it be that you're just used to the minimal finger pressure required by a computer keyboard and just aren't typing hard enough? Was the replacement ribbon you used new, or new from old stock (old ribbon that has never been used)? How do the type bars move (the metal arms that fly up to strike the ribbon), easily and quickly, or sluggishly and slowly? I believe your machine has a ribbon colour selector; if so, is it in the black position?

The part that actually comes in contact with the ribbon is the type slug, which is mounted on the end of the type bar. There isn't a right/wrong side to the ribbon, but maybe you don't have it correctly threaded through the vibrator. A photo would help in this case.

Hmmm. The ribbon path is correct, and by your description, the mechanics of the machine in good working order. Is the new ribbon any darker at all than the one you replaced? I'm starting to wonder about the new ribbon, or, maybe the Corsair just doesn't generate a lot of type bar velocity. I dug one out and to see what its type quality is like and got fairly dark type out of it.

Okay, here's one last idea: Is the ribbon moving while you type? Leave the ribbon cover off and type a few lines while watching the spools. If they aren't turning as you type - consistently - then that's your problem.

So the problem was that the ribbon wasn't moving. Normally the ribbon will reverse on its own, but some auto-reverse systems don't work that well, or require a rivet in the end of the ribbon to trip it (some people just tie a small knot in the end.

The spools won't turn very much during each keystroke, just enough to move the ribbon slightly, but the main thing is that they do move. It's not an uncommon problem with typewriters that they don't, which results in faded type and eventually a hole being punched right through the ribbon.