Howdy old doggies!

As part of the original workup of FidoNet back in the time of 300 and 1000
baud modems I've still got a number of much later yet classic computers
here and there that still use digital printers.  Typically Epson LQ870's or
whatever.  For YEARS I have used the beautiful Mac Inker to re-ink the
standard ribbons over and over again until they wind up with holes worn in
them or whatever.  What you normally do as I have done for years and years
now is just use up the big bottle of the special ink you pour in the little
hole enabled container on the inker and it wets the new ink on to the dry
ribbon in about twenty minutes or so.  Well things have gotten so much
slower for these printers that this last bottle of ink has gotten sort of
dried up and really isn't what I need to go on doing this for the pile of
ribbons I still need or others need to service.

OOPS!  Come to find out that the Computer Friends manufacturer seems to
have 'vanished' to a couple of different addresses in the same area and
somewhat different telephone numbers that even the latest one 503-257-2321
answers 'No longer in service' or whatever.  There are a pile full of
so-called individual sources of the machines here or there on Ebay;
whatever.  But I can't find any real source for the 'official' bottle of
ribbon ink!  I think I spotted one suggestion for a company called Alibaba
which seems to be a HUGE Chinese outfit with, say, a USA interface.  But
outbound telephone call attempts to it get nowhere!  As well there are
hundreds of all this and that 'ink' items but I can find nothing that
points me to what I think I need,

Sure, I could dump a bit of Cutex fingernail erase stuff in it.  But I sure
don't want to get any solvent in the ink ribbons that might damage the
digital printer heads on these needed printers.

Anyone have any thoughts on where I can go to get the real stuff to keep my
Epson printers working?  Sure I can buy even official new Epson ribbons for
these machines.  But they aren't near as BLACK as the old ones.  As well as
who wants to throw them away after each one goes out of original ink.

Suggestions?

Mike Luther as N117C at 1:117/100



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