Restoring and Re-Inking Vintage IBM 1403 Printer Ribbons

Question:

We work as volunteers at a local tech museum and have managed to restore a 1960s vintage IBM 1403 line printer. This printer accepts a broad print ribbon (14 inches of primer and a print ribbon more than 50 ft long). Some ribbon replacements are NOS (New Old Stock) but have dried out entirely due to age. And we are investigating methods to get these ribbons reinked or otherwise revived for use.

We discovered WD-40 dissolves the ink in our early tests, so we knew we needed something oil-based. We found BCH's Oil-Based Black Stamp Refill Ink (Sku 48-LVJU-70D5) on Amazon and bought it. We made a thin, watery mixture with some black ink and mineral spirits, which we spray with a small airbrush onto the cotton ribbon. Please could you advise on the following:

1. What solvent do we use to thin the ink for airbrush application and to clean the airbrush afterward?
2. Which oil is this ink from? Could you send me its MSDS sheet?
3. We also considered the Premium Pigment 500 ml Black Refill Ink for HP but could not tell if it was water- or oil-based. Would this be a better alternative?
4. Do you have other product recommendations that better fit our needs?

Answer:

Good to hear from you, and thanks for writing! Your support and involvement means a lot to us, especially when 'rescuing' such an iconic piece of technology. Sorry for the delay in responding — we know printer issues can be time sensitive, and we wanted to take the time to give a thoughtful and thorough answer.

Thank you for your feedback, specifically regarding our YouTube channel, where we try to offer applicable technical assistance. Your question about re-inking ribbons is terrific, and we’re glad to help.

Thinning and Cleaning Solvent

Our Oil-Based Black Stamp Refill Ink is designed to dry quickly, so we do not provide a specific solvent to thin it. Because airbrushing uses a thinner consistency, you should modify the viscosity with a slow evaporating oil like linseed oil. But you probably don't want to airbrush your re-inking printer ribbons—the ink disperses relatively evenly once applied. Simply applying the ink with a brush will prove itself handier, as the ink will spread naturally through the ribbon fibers.

Consider using a mild nonpolar solvent, light mineral oil for airbrush cleaning. If that doesn’t do the trick, a small amount of naphtha or similar solvent used for oil-based paints should work. Please test a small area first to avoid spreading it around.

Oil Type and MSDS Sheet

The synthetic oil-based ink is designed to be long-lasting and non-volatile. BCH SDS for Oil Based Stamp Ink (https://support.bchtechnologies.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040762112-SDS-for-BCH-Stamp-Ink-Oil-Based)

Pigment Ink vs. Oil-Based Ink

The Premium Pigment 500 ml Black Refill Ink for HP is also water-based and can be used for ribbon re-inking. However, your IBM 1403 printer ribbon is an oil-based system, so a water-based pigment ink would not adhere or operate correctly. Always use oil-based ink for better results.

Other Products We Considered

Our oil-based stamp ink is the best choice for porous substrates like paper. That said, for inks that need to adhere to non-porous substrates like glass or plastic, we suggest our All-Surface Oil-Based ink, which is designed for superior adhesion: BCH All-Surface Oil-Based Ink [https://bchtechnologies.com/collections/stamp-ink-more-all-surface-oil-based].

Final Thoughts

Re-inking your printer ribbon is not a process to be taken lightly, and we won't be able to remote you to a fix, however, we do offer an in-house diagnostics & repair service through our BCH Technologies repair depot at [https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service], and we do have a high volume of clients, so it will be first in line, first out of the line for service availability, so please know its a wait time that may vary.]

For more DIY troubleshooting, check out our YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies] and use the search icon (located on the right side of the menu bar) to access videos specific to printer maintenance and running on ink.