I have recently gotten into using an typewriting as a fun way to send letters to my girlfriend during college. (cheesy I know, but also useless introduction.)
I have a Smith Corona sl500 and have been using it for a few weeks when I started having problems with the letters not fully forming when I type. I took a look at the ribbon and it does look like there are some overlap problems where the previous letter hasn't moved far enough before the new one is struck but I am not sure how I could fix this problem. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
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I am not sure how old your ribbon is. If you are having this issue it could be caused by the ribbon being too tight or too loose to advance correctly. In cases like this, it could easily be because one of the ribbon carriages is damaged and needs to be replaced.
I had one of these many years ago and I remember if the ribbon was 'old' (even if it had not been used very much) the ribbon would not always make clear letters on paper. Not sure why but it may been because it had dried out in spots.
You are fortunate that even Walmart carries ribbons for these.
www.walmart.com/
If you need more help there are several forums (many people truly love vintage typewriters) so you might check some of these if a new ribbon does not do the trick.
Reddit is a good site but you may have to have help finding the right group to join.
www.reddit.com/
If you don't have the manual for the typewriter, here is a PDF that may help you solve the problem with it:
www.smithcorona.com/
You may need Typewriter oil. There is a oil made just for typewriters to help it flow along and less sticky keys. Also the typewriter ribbon could have dried out.
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