Re-inking printer ribbons

[Fred Cisin]

On Sun, 13 Dec 2015, Jules Richardson wrote:
> so I'm wondering if there's a way of breathing life back into the ribbon so 
> that it can print again in all it's noisy, glacially-slow glory :-)
> I don't care if it's not as black as an original ribbon would have been - it 
> just might be nice if it was able to print something legible.

Re-inking is not hard, although if not planned well, it can be messy.
Cheap re-inking machines, such as the classic "MacInker" from "Computer 
Friends", are just a motorized platform to drag the ribbon over a pad 
soaked with ink.  Stamp pad ink might not be ideal, but should work.

In an extreme case, or emergency, anything that will moisturize and/or 
lubricate the ribbon will work, particularly even including WD-40!