while i haven't tried it, you might get far better results with a little soy or other light oil. wd-40 is too volatile, smells bad, and the fumes are definitely not good for you (or the printer plastic most likely). most current inks use soy oil. also, contrary to what most people think inks don't general dry by evaporation of the solvent but rather by oxidation of the thin layer of solvent and ink when it's printed and to a lesser extent by adsorption on the paper. now when ribbons dry out in storage evaporation is probably a big part of it, but there's probably still oxidation involved, the tupperware trick would help both, as would putting them in the freezer or fridge though it might make the plastic brittle so you'd want to let them warm before handling. the last time i bought a ribbon was about 7 years ago and it's still going strong (i don't print much) so it does take a while for them to age, at least in my relatively cool room.
with color ribbons, the trick is probably to apply several light coats so as to avoid flooding it and letting the inks run. i.e. let it soak in slowly and never get too wet, though you likely would still get some spread unless you unwound it and sprayed the face of the ribbon lightly which would definitely be a job for people who like pain. image writers are definitely beast, but just too cheap to operate to give up on entirely. new ribbons may also still be available, and if things get desperate there's always the possibility of reloading the cartridge with ribbon from another cartridge, but i'd be surprised if one of the ribbon companies didn't still make them. i've seen ribbons for far more ancient printers before. after all, a lot of companies are still using old printers, because they work just fine and ribbon printers probably survive some environments much better than laser printers which are of course far more sensitive to dust, moisture, and temperature swings. > > It's almost a certainty that after several years on the shelf, all the > > ink has > > dried up, -- Philip Stortz-- "There are reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do, and this is not a time for remarks like that; there never is." White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, how much blood will it take to win back the first amendment, which the Bush administration clearly does not support! The thought police are amongst us. -- Compact Macs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/>. Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Compact Macs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/compact.shtml> The FAQ: <http://macfaq.org/> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/compact.macs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
