Typewriter Talk / Purple typewriter ribbons

**Posted by Uwe** 15-1-2016 23:36:49

puleddu wrote:
malole wrote:
I managed to find some vintage purple carbon paper, which arrived today
May I ask you where did you find it?

I see that you're in Germany. Herlitz makes "blue violet" carbon paper which is essentially purple. I would think that you should be able to find it locally through an office or stationary supply store. If you prefer the vintage variety, I often see it for sale on eBay.

**Posted by malole** 16-1-2016 15:45:58

puleddu wrote:
malole wrote:
I managed to find some vintage purple carbon paper, which arrived today
May I ask you where did you find it?

I got it on ebay. Pure luck, really. Sometimes there seems to be a lot of it about and other times not at all.

**Posted by Spazmelda** 16-1-2016 16:28:48

I thought I had posted on this thread, but you can get purple ribbon on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-Typewriter-Ribbon-Twin-Spool-Purple-Ink-1-2-Cloth-Ribbon-Brand-New-/151753498752?hash=item235536a080:g:vw0AAOSwNSxU0OGn

**Posted by KatLondon** 17-1-2016 08:52:40

Also, forum member the typewriterman sells good ribbons, including a purple one. He's at http://www.thetypewriterman.co.uk/.

**Posted by Typewriterlv** 20-1-2016 18:20:27

I don't know why they were used but I certainly love using purple ribbon especially in my script typewriters. it add a bit of whimsy to whatever I'm typing.

**Posted by TypewriterKing** 06-4-2016 23:10:34

I have a couple of typewriter that have some blue ribbons loaded in 'em. One is a 1947 Remington that I put blank keys on the keyboard (I call it the "Blind Bat." Half the keys it came with were missing so I decided to use a Super-Riter blank keytop set. My other blue ink beauty is a 1958 Remington Letter-Riter portable.

**Posted by malole** 12-7-2016 05:23:37

Does anyone know what specific uses coloured ribbons were originally used for? Was it just down to the personal taste or choice of the typist, as to how she would decide to colour-code her documents, or was there a widely accepted rule for colours? (I thought I saw mention of it somewhere, but can't find it now.) I occasionally see unusual coloured ribbons installed in obviously long-neglected machines for sale and it makes me very curious.

**Posted by thetypewriterman** 12-7-2016 14:56:56

I believe that purple was originally used for internal documents in firms to distinguish them at a glance. Other colours may have been used with specific letterheads. For instance, I worked for an office equipment firm in the 1970's who had a brown letterhead printed on yellow-cream paper. The office typewriter was loaded with special brown carbon ribbons (yes, carbon ribbons came in colours too) to match the colour of the letterhead. I still have the reference that I was given when I left, and very effective it looks too !

**Posted by malole** 13-7-2016 03:14:50

Thanks, typewriterman! The image in my mind of offices run with typewriters is definitely coming into focus thanks to this thread and all the other info people share here.

**Posted by Rushwarp** 25-12-2016 16:33:38

Coming rather late to this discussion, I would just add that purple ribbons were quite common in ye olde days.
The Remington Standard user booklet for the No. 6 + 7 Standard models mentions:
" Several combinations of two color (ribbons) are used......although the usual combination is purple and red,,,"