1 of 1- keystriker
- Novice Typer
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- From: Rural Northern California, USA
- Registered: 21-9-2024
- Posts: 25
Problem with silk typewriter ribbon
I'm just getting back into typewriters after a hiatus of about 55 years. Things have changed a lot over that period of time, including ribbons. I don't know what they used to be made from, but I really don't like nylon ones very much. I recently bought a silk ribbon from ribbons unlimited, and liked the results I got from it much better. However, I found that it started fraying at the edge, and was shedding little pieces of thread that would fall into the segment. I picked them out when I saw them, but I'm afraid I've probably missed some, and that there might be a problem waiting for me down the road. Is this typical of silk ribbons, or did I get a bad one, or did I load it onto the reels carelessly maybe? The ribbon got pretty frayed and so I threw it out. I'd kinda like to try another one and be more careful with it, see if that helps, but I don't know if I'd be throwing my money away. Does anybody have ideas o the subject? Thanks.
“Don’t be too harsh to these poems until they’re typed.
I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty:
at least if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction.”
~ Dylan Thomas
- Pete E.
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- Registered: 23-6-2020
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Re: Problem with silk typewriter ribbon
I have easily 60 or so my machines with silk ribbons that I got from Lanie at Ribbons Unlimited and have not had this problem.
Give him a call or an email and explain your issue. I would guess he will make it right for you.
Is it possible part of your ribbon vibrator or 1 of 2 of the ribbon guides may have a razor-edge and might be shredding the ribbon ?
I would look at the ribbon and both spools off the machine and spin it a bit to see if this fraying exists on parts of the ribbon that have not cycled through your ribbon feed mechanism yet... as part of my trouble-shooting.
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- keystriker
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- From: Rural Northern California, USA
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Re: Problem with silk typewriter ribbon
I’ll check. Thanks for the suggestion.
“Don’t be too harsh to these poems until they’re typed.
I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty:
at least if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction.”
~ Dylan Thomas
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Thread Starter- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
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Re: Problem with silk typewriter ribbon
Hi Keystriker
Traditionally, typewriter ribbons were made from natural cotton with the luxury ribbons being made from silk. I'm not sure when nylon ribbons became the mainstay of ribbon production, but I'm sure that members here with more knowledge on this subject than me will know the answer.
A couple of questions I would like to ask are:
1, What make and model of typewriter are you using?
2, Is the ribbon the correct width for your machine?
My reason for asking is that some machines require a 7/16" (11mm) ribbon and if a 1/2" (12.5mm) ribbon was installed, the edges of the ribbon could be chaffing against the ribbon guides and/or the vibrator (ribbon lifter).
Cotton ribbons had a habit of deteriorating with use due to the continual hammering of the type slugs against the ribbon. This deterioration would result in cotton fragments mixed with ink filling in the letters. This is why so many different type cleaners were available on the market for the most part of the last century. Hope this gives you a few more ideas. 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)
- keystriker
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- From: Rural Northern California, USA
- Registered: 21-9-2024
- Posts: 25
Re: Problem with silk typewriter ribbon
Thanks. It's an Olivetti Studio 44, which takes a 1/2" (13mm) ribbon with eyelets. I wound the ribbon onto original Olivetti metal spools. I think the problem arose because I first had the ribbon on a Royal Citadel (a low end ultra-portable, also with 1/2" x 2" spools), and then moved it to the Olivetti. First it came on a plastic spool, then I transferred it to the Royal metal spools, then from there to the Olivetti spools. I first noticed a few threads sticking up from the ribbon in the Royal, and then it got worse in the Olivetti. In fact, come to think of it, I actually first had it on a Silent-Super that I sent back, then on the Royal, and then on the Olivetti. Probably just way too much handling for silk, which is a relatively delicate fabric. I suspected that all along, but I wanted to check to see if it might possibly have started shedding anyway without all that back and forth; i. e., was it a known issue with silk ribbons.
“Don’t be too harsh to these poems until they’re typed.
I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty:
at least if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction.”
~ Dylan Thomas
- •
Thread Starter