Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!hao!gatech!mcnc!ecsvax!mvolo
From: mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP (Michael R. Volow)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Epson MX-80 print head madness
Message-ID: <4663@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: 24 Feb 88 22:55:03 GMT
Organization: UNC Educational Computing Service
Lines: 18
Summary: Still valuable info

> When ordering it, the fellow said "Ah hah!  Ran it with a light
> ribbon, hey?"
> And, yes, that's what I had done.  Printed an 80-odd page document with
> a ribbon that was light to begin with.  The print head went sour in
> just minutes.  Turns out that print head wires get their lubrication
> from oil in the ink of the ribbon.  What burns me is that there  is 
> not a peep about this in the printer manual.

I have never seen any printer manual warn against print head damage
with light ribbons.  But using fresh ribbons sounds like good advice
for prolonging dot matrix print head life.  I have seen comments that
OEM ribbons were longer lasting than bulk computer equipment supply
company ribbons.



Michael Volow, M.D.
Dept of Psychiatry, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, N.C. 27705
919 286 0411                           mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP