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- Kalani
- Touch Typist
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- From: Fountain Pen Network profile
- Registered: 26-8-2021
- Posts: 169
Source for "new" Smith Corona electric typewriter "ribbon cartridges"?
I've had great results from "FJA" ribbon spools via Amazon com.
Does anyone know of a reliable source for "new" (not old stock) Smith Corona ribbon "cartridges" #17657 or other (not spools)?
Do ribbon cartridges last as long as spool ribbons when typing?
(If I use solid black ribbon spools, I get twice the use by switching from "black to red" (top half/bottom half).
Thanks for the help.
k
- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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Re: Source for "new" Smith Corona electric typewriter "ribbon cartridges"?
I'll be watching for an answer to this question. I bought a number of NOS cartridges for my machine, and resigned myself to re-inking them somehow later on if necessary. E-Bay seems to have a seemingly endless supply of them, and some appear to be manufactured somewhat recently; photos of the cartridges show them in front of large sealed boxes that seem to indicate Smith-Corona was selling ones that were made in China.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
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Re: Source for "new" Smith Corona electric typewriter "ribbon cartridges"?
Are these cartridges a "one time through" affair or can it be rewound and typed with, again ?
Is the ribbon carbon-film or a more traditional nylon fiber ?
- OregonJim
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- From: Oregon, USA
- Registered: 06-11-2022
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Re: Source for "new" Smith Corona electric typewriter "ribbon cartridges"?
The Amazon link above says it's for a nylon ribbon cartridge, as opposed to carbon film.
There's one thing to watch out for with these new-old-stock cartridges: internally, they often use cheap foam rollers to transport the ribbon, and those foam rollers disintegrate over time. More often than not, they have to be rebuilt with new rollers before they become usable.
- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
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Re: Source for "new" Smith Corona electric typewriter "ribbon cartridges"?
Hi Pete
The nylon ribbon is an endless loop like an 8-track cartridge that simply winds through again and again until the ink is used up. The polythene film ribbon is a one pass and it's used, but there's a lot of film in one of those cartridges. If you've never tried a film ribbon, the quality of the print is far superior to any fabric ribbon. I'm rather partial to the green film as it makes a nice change from boring old black. 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)
- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
- Posts: 2,370
Re: Source for "new" Smith Corona electric typewriter "ribbon cartridges"?
Thanks Jim and Sky...appreciate your inputs.
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