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25-8-2014 00:28:35  #1


Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

I was wondering if anyone knows where to find a replacement ribbon that is about 7/8". Most of the ones I see are a standard 1/2", but I just got an Empire 1 with the original ribbon and it is almost 1" wide. 

Additionally, I have read posts about re-inking using stamp pad ink, however when I tried it on a small portion, it doesn't seem to soak in the ribbon. Other posts I have read (including instructions on how to make typewriter ink) state that it should be an oil-based ink. If this is the case, it might explain why the water based ink isn't soaking into the already oil-base inked ribbon. So does anyone have a source for purchasing oil- based typewriter ink. Or perhaps some advice on re-inking? I suspect if I could find a wider replacement ribbon the water-based would probably work since it would probably already have water-based ink on it. 
THANKS!!

 Bryan

 

25-8-2014 15:19:15  #2


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

For odd-sized ribbon fabric, investigate printer ribbon cartridges and adding machine/cash register ribbons.  If you want to re-ink a ribbon, you will need metal stamp ink from a good commercial stationer.  This ink is used on things like number and date stamps that have metal printing wheels.  Rubber stamp ink can corrode type.  I have not tried it myself, but some people, I understand, go to a haberdashers and buy plain cotton or nylon ribbon of the correct width as used for clothing, then ink that.

 

25-8-2014 16:41:21  #3


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

I never though of getting some plain ribbon and trying inking it from scratch. I wonder what would be a similar consistency? I suspect a nylon ribbon like you woul find in a craft store would be too thin or dense. I'll have to check more into this. In the mean time, I think I will give my local stationary store a call. 

You wouldn't happen to know if a metal stamp ink is oil based would you?

Thanks!

     Thread Starter
 

26-8-2014 16:08:30  #4


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

I do not know for sure, but I would imagine that it is - since it is intended for metal stamps.  Back in the '70's, I worked for a small firm that also did a lot of office stationery and we did have customers who ruined their metal numbering stamps by using endorsing ink (the 'proper' name for rubber stamp pad ink).

 

27-8-2014 22:47:16  #5


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

There's a group of people (myself included) who have successfully used WD-40 oil to rejuvenate old ribbons. You just spray a bit of oil on a rag cloth, then rub the cloth on the ribbon, moisturizing it with the oil. This particular formula seems to dissolve the ink and bring it back to the surface of the ribbon, or at least make it fluid enough to be able to transfer to the paper when you hit the ribbon with the typebars.

This seems to be the only safe use of WD-40 around typewriters, by the way.

 

02-9-2014 23:29:42  #6


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

Hi Bryan

As yet, I have not tried to re-ink a ribbon, however, through experimenting with various formulae, I find a solution of 20 parts acetone and one part medidinal grade castor oil works well for rehydrating an unused but dried out ribbon. Pull the ribbon through the solution, or under a paintbrush saturated in the solution and wind the ribbon directly onto another reel. The acetone desolves and lifts the ink, then evaporates leaving the ink in suspension in the oil that stays with the ribbon.

The only use I've had so far for ribbon from a sewing shop, is to thread white ribbon through the various guides on the machine to illustrate the correct way to thread the ribbon. The white ribbon shows up well in a photograph against the black mechanism. All the best,

Sky


We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
 

27-1-2015 19:22:28  #7


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

This afternoon, I bought a bottle of Carters Neat-Flo Stamp Pad Ink. Does anyone know it this is good for re-inking typewriter ribbon ?
Tom

 

27-1-2015 19:48:54  #8


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

Tom, read post #2 of this thread. I think it answers your question?


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

27-1-2015 23:23:46  #9


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

Uwe,
Yes, post nr 2 is the reason I am asking. The ladies in the office supply store did not know anything about special ink for metal stamps. I am wondering if anyone has ever used this ink or knows if it is safe for typewriter ribbins.
 
Tom

Last edited by Tom Waits (28-1-2015 10:12:28)

 

28-1-2015 12:15:27  #10


Re: Odd sized ribbons and or re-inking

Well, thetypewriterman is a professional technician and in that post he claims that "rubber stamp ink can corrode type," which I understood to mean the slugs of your machine and would be a very bad thing. He does check in here fairly regularly, so maybe he can add more to this.


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

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