Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Junk Box Nick · 8th Mar 2014, 6:36 pm

I have found some printer Ribbons for an Amstrad 8256/9512 printer.

They are boxed and still in their sealed wrappers but will date from the late 1980s. Are they likely to be any good?

(The computer is long gone.)

emeritus · 8th Mar 2014, 8:06 pm

If they are dried up, they can be made useable by re-inking with endorsing ink. Good enough for general printing. That is what I used to do for my own PCW8256, saving a carbon ribbon for anything important.

M0TGX Terry · 9th Mar 2014, 9:19 am

In the days when I used a PCW8256 the trick for rejuvenating a dry ribbon was to (carefully) open up the cassette and give it a light spray of good old WD40, reclose the ribbon cassette, wait overnight for the stuff to soak in evenly, then away you go. If I remember correctly, I only got through two ribbons in about 3 years.

G6Tanuki · 10th Mar 2014, 2:22 pm

In the days when some of us still used clockwork teleprinters, it was not unknown for an old ribbon to be rejuvenated by being stood overnight in a tobacco-tin with a tablespoon of car brake-fluid.

Be careful if trying to do this on ribbons that are to be used with a printer having plastic parts - brake-fluid can dissolve them! Proceed at your own risk......

Boater Sam · 9th Apr 2014, 4:29 am

Ah, the days of re-inkable ribbons.

Better than Brake fluid, we used Baby Oil, only a little though. Or fine sewing machine oil eg. 3 in 1.

We had ribbons phisically worn away, they had been done so many times!

Boater Sam.

julie_m · 9th Apr 2014, 2:55 pm

Don't try that with a 24-pin printer -- they were much fussier about ribbon condition than 9-pin ones. I managed to shear off a printhead pin, trying to get one page too many out of a worn ribbon. Talk about a false economy .....

I also remember being able to buy just the ribbons; you could split open an old cartridge, dump out the spent ribbon and wind in the new one. If you were careful, you could even do it without getting ink on your fingers!

AC/HL · 9th Apr 2014, 3:49 pm

You'll need to sacrifice one and open it by the look of it.

dokbobby · 22nd May 2014, 9:54 pm

I don't think it will be a sacrifice, just be careful opening the box. The ribbon can act like a Jack-in-the-box, and leap out at you. At the school where I worked, I used a ribbon re-inker machine which wound the ribbon past an ink saturated sponge. I would also use the last bit of toner from a few cartridges and manage to fill another. Saved a few Pounds.

8th Mar 2014, 6:36 pm	#1
Junk Box Nick Octode Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Midlands, UK. Posts: 1,571	Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons I have found some printer Ribbons for an Amstrad 8256/9512 printer. They are boxed and still in their sealed wrappers but will date from the late 1980s. Are they likely to be any good? (The computer is long gone.)

8th Mar 2014, 8:06 pm	#2
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,339	Re: Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons If they are dried up, they can be made useable by re-inking with endorsing ink. Good enough for general printing. That is what I used to do for my own PCW8256, saving a carbon ribbon for anything important.

9th Mar 2014, 9:19 am	#3
M0TGX Terry Hexode Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Grantham, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 262	Re: Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons In the days when I used a PCW8256 the trick for rejuvenating a dry ribbon was to (carefully) open up the cassette and give it a light spray of good old WD40, reclose the ribbon cassette, wait overnight for the stuff to soak in evenly, then away you go. If I remember correctly, I only got through two ribbons in about 3 years. __________________ Terry the Morganist

10th Mar 2014, 2:22 pm	#4
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 13,998	Re: Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons In the days when some of us still used clockwork teleprinters, it was not unknown for an old ribbon to be rejuvenated by being stood overnight in a tobacco-tin with a tablespoon of car brake-fluid. Be careful if trying to do this on ribbons that are to be used with a printer having plastic parts - brake-fluid can dissolve them! Proceed at your own risk......

9th Apr 2014, 4:29 am	#5
Boater Sam Banned Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Middlewich, Cheshire, UK. & Winter in the Philippines. Posts: 3,897	Re: Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons Ah, the days of re-inkable ribbons. Better than Brake fluid, we used Baby Oil, only a little though. Or fine sewing machine oil eg. 3 in 1. We had ribbons phisically worn away, they had been done so many times! Boater Sam.

9th Apr 2014, 2:55 pm	#6
julie_m Dekatron Join Date: May 2008 Location: Derby, UK. Posts: 7,735	Re: Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons Don't try that with a 24-pin printer -- they were much fussier about ribbon condition than 9-pin ones. I managed to shear off a printhead pin, trying to get one page too many out of a worn ribbon. Talk about a false economy ..... I also remember being able to buy just the ribbons; you could split open an old cartridge, dump out the spent ribbon and wind in the new one. If you were careful, you could even do it without getting ink on your fingers! __________________ If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments.

9th Apr 2014, 3:49 pm	#7
AC/HL Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 9,642	Re: Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons You'll need to sacrifice one and open it by the look of it.

22nd May 2014, 9:54 pm	#8
dokbobby Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK. Posts: 2	Re: Amstrad 8256/9512 Printer Ribbons I don't think it will be a sacrifice, just be careful opening the box. The ribbon can act like a Jack-in-the-box, and leap out at you. At the school where I worked, I used a ribbon re-inker machine which wound the ribbon past an ink saturated sponge. I would also use the last bit of toner from a few cartridges and manage to fill another. Saved a few Pounds.