Anyway, one of the members on Particles whose experiences I really admire who goes by the moniker Paradroyd chimed in. I remember taking a photo of my CRT's screen to save his response. He said back in the day he had gone "all in" on GEOS right before the Amiga was released and had gone on a mission in the mid-80s to also find the best printer he could. According to him, there had been a Star printer that was never sold in stores and could only be purchased via mail-order that was hands down the best dot-matrix printer he'd ever paired with GEOS.
It was the Star NL-10.
Some of you may be thinking, "Oh come on, man, that was massively popular. It was everywhere." Actually, you're very likely thinking of the Star NX-10, which was indeed extremely popular and commonly found in shops across the country.
The NL-10, however, is virtually a thing of pure mythology. To be only available via mail-order meant only the hardest of the hard-core would ever even try to buy one (with very little reason to do so even back then). And good luck trying to research that printer. It’s virtually a technological ghost.
But, I saved a search on Ebay and eventually almost forgot about it. Over a year went by when one day I received a notification that an NL-10 had emerged from the lair of The Nothing. It looked exactly like the NX-10 except for the sticker on the front - this was it.
Interestingly, the seller had enabled the “Make Offer” option, so I offered half what he was asking for and… he accepted!
Then came the nervousness of wondering if, like so many others, this seller put it in a box with a strip of tissue paper padding or not. I fully expected the printer to arrive cracked and in pieces. But to my surprise she came safe and sound!
- The only external visual difference between the NX and NL printers seems to be the case badge.
- I was especially excited to receive the original manuals as well.
Naturally, I hooked everything up and it worked perfectly. I’ve still got a bit of learning to do but I printed in draft and high-quality modes with no issues. High-quality basically made everything look more… bold.
This is where I stopped, however. The print ribbon was so faded I could barely see the text on the page. I found a replacement online and snatched it up, but it wasn’t much better. After all these years, even “new” ribbons inside sealed plastic bags dry out.
I decided to re-ink the ribbon myself. I purchased a 2 ounce bottle of black stamp ink and last night got to work.
For over an hour while wearing latex gloves, I applied small drops to the ribbon and worked the ink into the material with my fingers. Then I’d mind-numbingly and thumb wrenchingly twist the little knob on the cartridge to forward the ribbon another 5-6 inches and repeat the process sometimes wiping away excess ink. I did all of this on top of a paper bag to catch any splatter (it happened).
By the time my thumb was totally raw from twisting the little knob to forward the "endless" ribbon, I finally returned to the starting point where I'd begun the process. I reassembled everything and ran a test print.
The ink is definitely looking nice and black now. The problem is smearing/ghosting in some areas. I think I may actually have slightly too much ink in the ribbon now. The smudging seems to happen where the small rollers that hold the paper up come in contact with the paper.
I remember reading at some stage that some people used WD-40 to revitalize old ribbons. That idea, however, didn't appeal to me because I didn't want my office smelling like WD-40 (just being honest). Plus, I never fully understood the reason for doing so. I had visions of small oil spots smearing on paper or around letterforms - that didn't appeal to me.
Someone also informed me that WD-40 on the rubber print rollers will turn them to goo. =(
I feel like I’m so close to having my new favorite GEOS battle station setup being complete (which I can’t wait to show you all soon). Assuming the ink I used is OK, does anyone have any tips on how to improve my process or remove the ghosting I’m seeing on the pages?
