rda@epistemi.UUCP (Robert Dale) (04/23/86)
I have in my grubby paws a leaflet advertising a device called "The Inker",
which claims to re-ink your (fabric) printer ribbons for around 5p a time
(wossat in cents? about 6.5c perhaps?). Given the high cost of ribbons,
this sounds a good deal, especially if it works. Unfortunately, the device
costs, in the UK, 195 pounds. Not cheap, eh?
Does anyone out there in netland have one? Do you know anything about them?
Do they work, and do they work well? Is a re-inked ribbon just as good as
the original? How much does the device cost in the States? Is this an
overpriced piece of plastic and metal?
Please mail responses to me, and I'll summarise and repost, or post a
followup as you see fit.
Thanks.
--
Robert Dale University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Science,
2 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9LW, Scotland.
UUCP: ...!ukc!cstvax!epistemi!rda
JANET: rda@uk.ac.ed.epistemimazlack@ernie.Berkeley.EDU (Lawrence J. Mazlack) (05/03/86)
>I have in my grubby paws a leaflet advertising a device called "The Inker", >which claims to re-ink your (fabric) printer ribbons for around 5p a time >(wossat in cents? about 6.5c perhaps?). Given the high cost of ribbons, >this sounds a good deal, especially if it works. Unfortunately, the device >costs, in the UK, 195 pounds. Not cheap, eh? > >Does anyone out there in netland have one? Do you know anything about them? >Do they work, and do they work well? Is a re-inked ribbon just as good as >the original? How much does the device cost in the States? Is this an >overpriced piece of plastic and metal? > Your price seems a little high. I am using "MacInker" which has a manufactur's price of $42.00(US). Their address: Computer Friends 6415 SW Canyon Ct, #10 Portland, Oregon 97221 USA They claim a reinking cost of $0.05, which is the cost of the ink. This is not entirely accurate as you have to factor in the cost of the device and your time. I have used it to reink my pool of ribbons about 5 times/each ribbon. It does reink them. However, the negatives are: (a) The quality is not as good as new ribbons (really not much of a surprize). I would estimate that once the ribbon stabilizes (see b), it is about 80% as good. The results are not as sharp and tend to be a little blurry. I compare this to commericially reinked ribbons at a quality level of about 90%. (Of course, I might not be as effective a user as others and I might be pickier than you.) (b) It takes a while for the reinked ribbon to stabilize or dry enough. If you use the ribbon shortly after reinking, the results are very blurry. I try to let my reinked ribbons sit around for a few weeks before reuse. About three weeks minimally. Two months for best results. (Again, it might be that others have different results with different inks - however, I do use the ink that they supplied. (c) The motor that they supply tends to overheat and stop. I do several ribbons at a time (one after the other) and I guess that it just gets tired. The motor is pretty small. (d) It takes a fair amount of time per ribbon. I don't want to leave you with the impression that I don't like the product, I do. However, it is useful to know a device's limitations. Larry Mazlack UUCP {tektronix,dual,sun,ihnp4,decvax}!ucbvax!ucbernie!mazlack New style mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu ARPA | CSNET mazlack%ernie@berkeley.ARPA BITNET mazlack@ucbernie.BITNET telephone (415) 528-0496 snail CS Dept, 571 Evans, U. California, Berkeley, CA 94720
abulloch@violet.berkeley.edu.berkeley.edu (/violet_b/abulloch) (05/03/86)
That price of 165 pounds is grotesque (I speak as an Englishman with Scottish ancestry). The inker _is_ useful; I have one and it works very nicely, but it is nothing more than a small electric motor turning the spool of the ribbon cassette so as to pull the ribbon across a felt pad onto which one has poured ink (the whole mounted on a plastic base). The latest price that I saw advertised (in MacWorld for May) is $42.00 (they don't tell you, but this is without ink). You might contact the manufacturer direct: Computer Friends 6415 SW Canyon Ct., #10 Portland Oregon 97221 Tel.: 503-297-2321 Telex: 4949559 CF Small bottles of ink are $3.00 (and I think larger ones are c.$18.00). Alternatively, there is a Mac supply company here which has the inker in stock and claims to ship abroad (minimum of $25 for postage, though): Icon Review Toll-free tel. no. (if they work from the UK): 800-228-8910. I hate to think of someone ripping you off that grossly - do get in touch with me if you need any help. (By the way, the re-inked ribbons are generally _better_ than the originals...) Anthony Bulloch Dept. of Classics Dwinelle Hall University of California Berkeley California 94720 'Ma Bell': 415-642-4001/4218