IBM 6400 Setup Manual page 207

Ribbon End Point
The factory default is NORMAL. This value corresponds to the character life
expectancy of the installed ribbon. For example, the life of the IBM General
Purpose Ribbon is specified at 20 million DP characters. By selecting
NORMAL Ribbon End Point, the Ribbon Minder tracks characters up to 20
million before declaring RIBBON INK OUT/CHANGE RIBBON.
By changing this setting, the user can specify a point lower or higher at which
the RIBBON INK OUT/CHANGE RIBBON message is displayed. Using the
example above, if the Ribbon End Point was set to Reduce 50%, the RIBBON
INK OUT/CHANGE RIBBON message would be displayed at 32.5 million
characters. If Ribbon End Point was set to Extend 50%, the message would
display at 97.5 million characters. In this way, the user can set ribbon life to
match the required print density for the application.
NOTE: The percentage of ribbon use displayed on the control panel by the
Ribbon Minder Ink Consumption display tracks the consumption
based on the adjusted Ribbon End Point. For example, if the Ribbon
End Point is set to Reduce 50% (32.5 million characters for the
standard ribbon), the Ribbon Minder Ink Consumption display starts
at 100%, and decrements to reach 0% as 32.5 million characters
print.
If the Ribbon Type is changed from the factory default to another value,
Ribbon Usage adjusts accordingly, where 100% corresponds to the
proportionate value of the selected length. For example, if the Ribbon Type is
set to IBM General Purpose Ribbon 60 yd (approximately half the Factory
Cabinet ribbon), Ribbon End Point set to NORMAL would correspond to 32.5
million characters (half the value of the Factory Default ribbon). With this
same 60 yard ribbon, if Ribbon End Point was set to Reduce 50%, the
character count would be set to 16.25 million, etc. Ribbon Minder tracks the
ink consumption based on these new parameters, displaying 100% when a
new ribbon is installed, and tracking usage to 0%.
NOTE: Ribbon Ink Consumption is determined not by actual character count,
but by an accumulation of a specified number of printed dots in any
one of a number of pre-defined vertical zones. It is stated here as a
function of characters printed for user clarity.
New Rib. Detect
The factory default setting is Enable. When the RIBBON INK OUT/CHANGE
RIBBON message displays, and a new ribbon is installed with New Ribbon
Detect enabled, the Ribbon Minder automatically resets by opening the
platen. If New Ribbon Detect is set to Disable, the Ribbon Minder must be
manually reset by using the New Ribbon function.
Print Format Menu
207