Re: IWII smearing

["Paul Grammens" <grammens@svn.net>]

"Adalbert Goertz" <goertz@cyberspace.org> wrote in message
00034cf1719-522-1488@www.goblinsreach.org">news:00034cf1719-522-1488@www.goblinsreach.org...
> My ImageWriterII recently smears the ink along the printed lines.
> Is there an adjustment to prevent this from happening?

There is a head gap adjustment. It's a lever that moves the printhead closer
or farther from the paper.
However, this problem can be caused by a worn-out ribbon, or a damaged
printhead.  The printhead fires wires which press the ribbon against the
paper, making a little dot of ink on the paper. Sometimes one of the wires
snags on the ribbon and gets bent, so it doesn't retract after firing. Then
it rubs against the ribbon and paper as the printhead moves across the
paper, leaving a line.

If that's the problem, the only practical fix is to replace the printhead or
printer. Since they are pretty common and cheap it's not as big a deal as
when they were new and expensive.
-Paul