Re: Imagewriter II print head

[dmcclain@runet.edu (Dennis McClain-Furmanski)]

Tim Haynes (tshaynes@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca) wrote:
: In article <31AB97BB.39D0@pop3.concentric.net>,
: Bill Shuff  <bill2060@concentric.net> wrote:
: >Daryl Morgan wrote:
: >> 
: >> Where can I buy a replacement print head for an Imagewriter II. Or, where
: >> can I get mine overhauled? It drags a fuzzy line across the page even
: >> where there are no characters, as though part of it is wiping on the
: >> paper.
: >
: >Before you spend the money to get a print head check to see if a pin is 
: >sticking out of the "nose" of the print head.  If it is, try soaking the 
: >head in isopropyl alcohol (get it at a drug store, 90% or better). Also, 
: >use the alcohol to clean the nose of the print head.  
: 
: Do NOT use alcohol to clean the printhead.  There is a connection
: junction behind the pins (people usually call it a "jewel") that can be
: eroded and degraded by alcohol.  WD-40 is much safer, and does the same
: thing (it loosens the dirt and ink so it comes off on a cue-tip).

It's called a "jewel" because they were frequently made out of slices of 
artificial ruby too flawed to use for lasers.

And unless the folks that built this printer were mistaken, you have it 
exactly backwards about alcohol and WD-40. Penetrating oil will get 
behind the jewel and lossen it. Alcohol will not. This was one specific 
topic I recall from the printer repair school they sent me to. They said 
you can either tell you customers not to use WD-40 (at the time people 
were trying to reliquify dried out ribbons with it), or you can say 
nothing and make money changing printheads. If the jewel comes loose, a 
pin will grab it and bend. Actually, I think the IW head had a metal jewel.
Haven't looked in one for years. After advice like the above, I decided 
the repair business wasn't for me.

Use rubbing alcohol, which has a tiny bit of mineral oil added, and dry 
it with warm air.

But before you bother, look at the wires. If they're mushroomed (not you, 
Brian), then you might as well change it.

I believe an NEC 8023 head is the same. If not that, there's another 
printer which is -- it's the one whose driver is in WordPerfect for 
MS-DOS which allows the IW to work with it.