Technical Bulletin #11
Date: April 8, 1999
Subject: Intermittent Ribbon Breaking On The Millennium Printers
A ribbon will break on a printer for two reasons only:
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If too much heat is used the ribbon material will melt and break.
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If the ribbon gets caught on the front (leading edge) of the card (print head not on top of material).
Fortunately, both of these situations are easy to correct.
If the ribbon has tried to print (as seen on top of the card) and appears darker than it should be, but the ribbon appears to be curled, then most likely too much heat (dye sub intensity) is being used. If the image being printed is of a dark color or a solid background with a dark color then this would be culprit. Go into the "controls" settings in the driver and click on the default button.
If you do not see any printing on the card and the ribbon is stuck under the card or wrapped around the black roller, then the cause is the print head coming down too early on the card. One of the following quick fixes should resolve the problem.
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Change IP in the LCD display by adding +2 to the existing number
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Decrease the "badge layout size". Follow the instructions on our previous bulletin on how to work with bevel badges
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Make sure that the "horizontal" calibration is not at a positive number in the driver
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Make sure that when printing the long plates that the .060" or "Long Plates" box is checked in the driver
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Make sure that only one card is in the printing area and that the red rubber strip is not binding on the longer (2x8 - 2x10) material as it is being printed.
If you need further assistance in upgrading your printer, please contact DCS
technical support at
techsupport@directcolorsystems.com or the same
via phone at