[NHCOLL-L:1249] Re-inked printer ribbons

[Alexandra M. Snyder]

Colin and others,

I do not have any good news for you on a cheaper source for re-inked 
ribbons but perhaps some insight on what happened.

Charles Chapman, formerly of Automated Office Products and the developer of 
the ethanol resistant, non-bleed ink, has his own business.  It is called 
Access Computer Printer Products, Inc.  You now must order these ribbons 
from this company, located at 9700-AA M.L. King Jr. Hwy, Lanham MD 20706 
Tel. 301.731.4407  Fax 301.731.4046  email acpp at erols.com    Because 
Chapman is the developer of the ethanol resistant, non-bleed ink I doubt 
you will be able to have your ribbons re-inked with it elsewhere. 
According to someone I spoke with at Access, the ink is "expensive" and 
that is why the cost has doubled.  Frankly, they may want to get out of the 
business of re-inking ribbons because they are not making enough money on 
it.

Although the dot matrix-Resistal-ethanol resistant ink combo has served my 
purposes well for over 12 years, I am always looking for other (viable) 
label production ideas.  Recently, Andy Bentley of the University of Kansas 
fish collection introduced me to the Prodigy Max, a thermal transfer 
printer available through Alpha Systems in Virginia.  It is very costly to 
set up but the Kansas wet collections are happy with the product.   Another 
idea for "permanent" wet label production is the set up the fish collection 
in Tulane uses (or has used).  They use the HP E-size plotter  (Draft 
masterMX Plus) with rapidograph nibs (00 to 1) and Koh-i-Noor 3080-F India 
ink.  The paper is a Curtis Parchment Parchkin.  (Some of you may remember 
manually producing labels by using rapidographs and this Koh-i-Noor ink or 
Higgins Eternal.)   The collection manager, Nelson Rios, may have further 
comments when he sees this message.

Anyway, your question reminds us that in this modern world we no longer can 
trust that a product will endure or remain cost effective.  As a collection 
manager I am spending more time than ever looking for dependable products 
that are "archivally correct" and cost effective;  then testing and 
monitoring these products, then starting all over again when these products 
disappear...

Lex Snyder

================================
Alexandra M. Snyder, Collection Manager
Division of Fishes
Museum of Southwestern Biology
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131 USA
PH 505.277.6005  FAX 505.277.0304
amsnyder at unm.edu