5 Dec
2013
5 Dec
'13
4:39 p.m.
Does anybody have a source or replacement for LA120 DECwriter III ribbons?
I've actually got about 8 "new old stock" ones, still shrink wrapped, but
all that I've tried are pretty much dried out despite the shrink wrap. They
barely make a mark on the paper, even with the little print impression lever
cranked all the way up.
Thanks,
Bob
6 Dec
6 Dec
11:44 a.m.
I managed to find 10 LA120 ribbons hiding in the back of a local office supply place here
in the great white north. I just opened one and installed it in my "new" LA120
last week, see attached photo. My fingers were suitably black after installing it, reminds
me why they came with plastic glovies back in the day.
I can part with a couple, contact me off list...
9 Dec
9 Dec
12:54 p.m.
On 6 December 2013 19:44, Peterson, Roe (LAI) <roe at liveblockauctions.com> wrote:
I managed to find 10 LA120 ribbons hiding in the back
of a local office supply place here in the great white north. I just opened one and
installed it in my "new" LA120 last week, see attached photo.
You can't attach photos to mailing-list messages, as a general rule.
--
Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile
Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven
MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven
Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884
6 Dec
6 Dec
12:28 p.m.
On Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 7:39 PM, Bob Armstrong <bob at jfcl.com> wrote:
Does anybody have a source or replacement for LA120
DECwriter III ribbons?
I've actually got about 8 "new old stock" ones, still shrink wrapped, but
all that I've tried are pretty much dried out despite the shrink wrap. They
barely make a mark on the paper, even with the little print impression lever
cranked all the way up.
I don't have any that are any newer, but what about adding a solvent to
moisten the ones you have? A quick patent search reveals methods of
impregnating fibers with ink and acetone to make typewriter ribbons, but
there must be more than that because acetone is so volatile. A mix of
acetone and a heavier aromatic solvent?
-ethan
12:41 p.m.
On Fri, Dec 6, 2013 at 3:28 PM, Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 7:39 PM, Bob Armstrong <bob
at jfcl.com> wrote:
Digging deeper into patent 2104237, and this makes sense, acetone is
used in the ribbon process not as an ink solvent, but to fuse the cut
ends of cellulose acetate ribbons so they don't fray.
So acetone would be bad on dead ribbons.
http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=44…
has this to say...
"The vehicle [solvent] is more critical to good results and includes
a variety of combinations of non-drying constituents such as oleic
acid, castor and whale oils, vaseline, soap, and glycerine. Tricresyl
phosphate and high molecular alcohols are sometimes used as
plasticisers..."
And http://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/blog/a-short-history-of-ink/ says:
"The base of typewriter ink is usually castor oil, because it is slow drying"
Castor oil seems safe enough to work with.
-ethan
Does anybody have a source or replacement for
LA120 DECwriter III ribbons?
I don't have any that are any newer, but what about adding a solvent to
moisten the ones you have? A quick patent search reveals methods of
impregnating fibers with ink and acetone to make typewriter ribbons, but
there must be more than that because acetone is so volatile. A mix of
acetone and a heavier aromatic solvent? 
1:01 p.m.
I don't have any that are any newer, but what
about adding a solvent to
moisten the ones you have?
For worn ribbons, there are some people who claim that WD-40 works well.
Frankly, I think that INK works best.
A simple motorized ribbon re-inker may become necessary as retail
availability of ribbons fades.
2:14 p.m.
On Friday (12/06/2013 at 01:01PM -0800), Fred Cisin wrote:
Looks like Office Depot has an option,
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/914705/Porelon-BM143-Black-Replacemen…
Item # 914705
--
Chris Elmquist
I don't
have any that are any newer, but what about adding a solvent to
moisten the ones you have?
For worn ribbons, there are some people who claim that WD-40 works well.
Frankly, I think that INK works best.
A simple motorized ribbon re-inker may become necessary as retail
availability of ribbons fades. 
2 Jul
2 Jul
8:23 a.m.
On Friday, December 6, 2013 4:27 PM, Chris Elmquist <chrise at pobox.com> wrote:
Looks like Office Depot has an option,
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/914705/Porelon-BM143-Black-Replacemen…
Item # ??? 914705
+1 on office depot.? I picked up an LA36 last year, and was somewhat surprised to find
boxes of ribbons listed in stock at office depot.? I placed an order expecting to get an
email stating it was a paperwork error, but was pleasantly surprised to get the box of
brand new ribbons two days later--they worked perfectly.
Dave
8:46 a.m.
Looks like Office Depot has an option,
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/914705/Porelon-BM143-Black-Replacemen…
Item # ??? 914705
+1 on office depot.? I picked up an LA36 last year, and was somewhat
surprised to find boxes of ribbons listed in stock at office depot.? I
placed an order expecting to get an email stating it was a paperwork
error, but was pleasantly surprised to get the box of brand new ribbons
two days later--they worked perfectly.
Is there a date code on them?
Are the packages well sealed?
Are these currently manufactured?
or have they been on a back shelf for many decades?
11:47 a.m.
In article <1404314621.34689.YahooMailNeo at web121706.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>,
Dave <dfnr2 at yahoo.com> writes:
+1 on office depot.? I picked up an LA36 last year,
and was somewhat
surprised to find boxes of ribbons listed in stock at office depot.
Ribbon links added to the terminals wiki:
<http://terminals.classiccmp.org/wiki/index.php/DEC_LA36>
<http://terminals.classiccmp.org/wiki/index.php/DEC_LA120>
--
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<http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline>
The Computer Graphics Museum <http://ComputerGraphicsMuseum.org>
The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org>
Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://LegalizeAdulthood.wordpress.com>
6 Dec
6 Dec
1:13 p.m.
On Dec 6, 2013, at 3:28 PM, Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 7:39 PM, Bob Armstrong <bob
at jfcl.com> wrote:
WD-40 has a good reputation for this, but I'm always wary about
applying WD-40 to anything (it does terrible things to pinball
machines over the long term, I have to imagine it's not that
great for print heads). I imagine it's probably the white
spirit in the solvent cocktail that does the job for printer
ribbons, but I somehow imagine you need more than just some
mineral spirits from the hardware store to get the job done.
- Dave
Does anybody have a source or replacement for
LA120 DECwriter III ribbons?
I've actually got about 8 "new old stock" ones, still shrink wrapped, but
all that I've tried are pretty much dried out despite the shrink wrap. They
barely make a mark on the paper, even with the little print impression lever
cranked all the way up.
I don't have any that are any newer, but what about adding a solvent to
moisten the ones you have? A quick patent search reveals methods of
impregnating fibers with ink and acetone to make typewriter ribbons, but
there must be more than that because acetone is so volatile. A mix of
acetone and a heavier aromatic solvent? 
1:19 p.m.
On Dec 6, 2013, at 4:13 PM, David Riley <fraveydank at gmail.com> wrote:
On Dec 6, 2013, at 3:28 PM, Ethan Dicks
<ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote:
Agreed. The important thing to remember, in spite of many confused users out there, is
that WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. When used as a lubricant, it will temporarily loosen the
things you use it on, and then it will stick them together with sticky residue after the
volatile parts evaporate. WD-40 is trouble when used on machinery; it's horrible to
imagine how bad it would be if it were to creep into the guts of a print head. You may
very well end up with the print wires stuck inside the head.
paul
On Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 7:39 PM, Bob Armstrong
<bob at jfcl.com> wrote:
WD-40 has a good reputation for this, but I'm always wary about
applying WD-40 to anything (it does terrible things to pinball
machines over the long term, I have to imagine it's not that
great for print heads). I imagine it's probably the white
spirit in the solvent cocktail that does the job for printer
ribbons, but I somehow imagine you need more than just some
mineral spirits from the hardware store to get the job done. Does anybody have a source or replacement for
LA120 DECwriter III ribbons?
I've actually got about 8 "new old stock" ones, still shrink wrapped, but
all that I've tried are pretty much dried out despite the shrink wrap. They
barely make a mark on the paper, even with the little print impression lever
cranked all the way up.
I don't have any that are any newer, but what about adding a solvent to
moisten the ones you have? A quick patent search reveals methods of
impregnating fibers with ink and acetone to make typewriter ribbons, but
there must be more than that because acetone is so volatile. A mix of
acetone and a heavier aromatic solvent?
3587
days inactive
3795
days old
11 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
bob＠jfcl.com -
chrise＠pobox.com -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
dfnr2＠yahoo.com -
ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
fraveydank＠gmail.com -
legalize＠xmission.com -
lproven＠gmail.com -
paulkoning＠comcast.net -
roe＠liveblockauctions.com