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PC600 ribbon quality
hello all,
I use a Roland PC600 and it fits my need at the moment.
I only use some ribbon refills instead of buying new complete Roland cartridges.
I noticed that some ribbons break quite easily when some other ones never do. Ribbons brands are mixed up in the ribbons box that I had together with this printer (I bought it used) so I can not say where the bad ribbons come from.
From your experience, are there some ribbons brands that are better in this area?
Does this problem also happen with Roland ribbons?
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4 Replies
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Fabrice,
If you stick with the refills with the Fuji Antisnap technology then you shouldn’t have a problem with snapping.
They can be found herehttp://www.bladesandrefilldepot.co.uk/index.php
or on Ebay
PC60-PC600 are the same refills.
There’s also a temp setting that you can alter on the head (low or high) if i remember if you are still getting problems. Turn off the ribbon saving feature as well as that’s one thing i found in the past for me that caused snapping.
If you have the service manual then that will help you with all the settings.Alex.
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thanks for your answer. I will try this type of ribbon.
What is exactly this anti snap technology? Any documentation about what it consists on?
For the ribbon saving feature, I have to say that I’m not really keen on that (costs are already high, I don’t want them to increase much more than they are). I keep this idea in mind in case it does not solve. The print head has just been replaced by the service guy so I really don’t want to change the temperature settings.
As I said, it only happen with few ribbons that I have, I think that their quality bad, simply.
If this antisnap feature is really working, it would be great.
Out of topic:
– In my cartridge box I found a bar code number 15. I can’t figure out anywhere what this number is associated to. Do someone know it?
– I know that bar codes are different for both PC60 and PC600 but is it only the barcode itself or also the associated number on it? If so, what are the numbers for PC60? (if someone has the barcode template for the PC60 I accept it 😉 I will place it in my archives, I already have it for PC600) -
Barcode 15 is Cyan on the PC-60 labels only.
Its 35R on the PC600 labelsFuji antisnap technology is what we are told the properties of these ribbons are. Don’t know more than that, other that they are the closest I’ve used to the original Roland ribbons. The only colour i find issues with is the white refill as it’s not at opaque as i need and is sometimes patchy.
Alex
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Here are some things to check that also can affect ribbon snapping.
1. Clean the head.. Often. There is a cleaning tool but I found that a bottle of 91% rubbing alcohol and a roll of kitchen paper towels does the trick best. Fold the papertowel, wet it then slip it under the print head holding it like a buffing rag that the old-timers used to shine shoes.. Rember those.. it’s the same concept but you’re looping the towel under the head and over top of the foam pressure roller (keep the towel off that) The only difference is you are buffing upwards whereas an ole timer shoe shine boy would have a polishing towel over the shoe as he paddles his hands down left down right, kind of thing.
The colorcam quickly gets a film on it from the constant dragging over the resin ribbon backside.
2. The dark colored platform that is on the base of the print path. Look at it closely. You will notice is is actually floating.. it’s not attached to the base of the printer but rides above it. It’s must still be springy. Tap it with your finger. it should pop down about 1/64th of an inch. If not, it can cause snapping and head damage.
3. Clean your vinyl. Don’t assume that freshly off a roll is the same as contaminant free. ALways clean your vinyl before you put it in the machine. I use the same 91% alcohol (not the 80someting percent). Then I let it fully dry.
4. Mark your cassettes that have a break. You will find that some of them are frequent ribbon snappers, especially after being refilled over and over again. To the eye they may look perfect but there is an issue with them in some cases.. set them aside and try another cartridge.
5. Slap your ribbon cartridge flatly on the table. bottom side once then flip over so that the word roland is the last thing to be slapped on the table. Sounds silly, right? This will flatten your spool roll. When a refill ribbon is cut the side view is perfectly level. the stack of laps are perfectly edge to edge. By the time it finally gets installed in your cartridge there’s no guarantee it will still be level stacked.
6. Hand wind your takeup spool and examine the ribbon. If you see any buckeling, waves, or stressed edges, the ribbon is not feeding corectly. When you hand wind the take up spool the ribbon should appear perfectly saddled in the print well and there should be no sign of misfeeding.
7. Look at the cartridge top. If you see any point that the top is not completely seated on the base, then it’s assembled with a gltch and this will break your ribbons. Often you will see one side just slightly sitting above the base. If you see this, and you can’t reload the ribbon where it lays flat, toss the cartridge.
If you still have snapping of the ribbon, find the place where it snapped. The evidence is there that tells you what broke it. If you find it snapped in a printed spot, then it’s possible your head is generating too much heat. If you find it snapped in an unprinted spot, you should think in terms that it’s not the ribbon, but one of the items above.
For your own amusement, next time you pull a ribbon to refill it, find an unprinted spot and go ahead and pull the ribbon apart. I think you will be surprised at how much effort it takes to hand break a ribbon. It might get you thinking to look at other causes of snapping.
Hope this helped.
Bill Aggie
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