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Uninked Ribbon Fabric: Nylon with a Crimped Filler, Relaxed in Soap (Thompson, US 2,918,160, 1959)
Nylon ribbons wear well but hold little ink; cotton holds more but frays under the type. Thompson wove nylon with a crimped filler held taut; relaxed after weaving, the crimped filaments spring apart into tiny pockets that store ink, while the surface stays flat.
Result: a thin nylon ribbon fabric, about 167 x 100 per inch, that held ink for about twice as many lines.
Source: Thompson, US 2,918,160 (1959). Picture drawn by Youblob.
Advanced
Factory process
Instructions
1
1
Crimp the filler yarn
Crimp the filler yarn
Give 40-denier, 34-filament nylon (5 turns twist) heat-set crimps, about 64 per inch. Thompson points to US 2,575,838 for the crimping. Ours: Nylon Thread by kind.
Materials for this step:
Nylon Thread1 as requiredTools needed:
Yarn Crimping Machine2
2
Weave it under tension
Weave it under tension
Plain weave at loom width: warp 40-denier, 34-filament nylon, 7 turns twist, about 148 per inch; crimped filler 100 per inch, kept stretched so the crimps are held out while weaving. Heavy duty: 70 denier.
Materials for this step:
Nylon Thread1 as requiredTools needed:
Power Loom3
3
Relax in warm soap and dry loose
Relax in warm soap and dry loose
Soak the fabric in a neutral soap solution at about 90 °F, then dry it without a frame. The crimps come back and open pockets among the filaments; the surface must stay flat.
Tools needed:
Soap4
4
Cut into ribbons, sealing the edges
Cut into ribbons, sealing the edges
Scour, then cut into ribbon widths with the crimped yarn running across the ribbon. A heated cutter seals the edges. Finished count about 167 x 100; a filler of 95-110 per inch works.
Tools needed:
Heated Ribbon CutterMaterials
1- 2 as requiredPlaceholder
Tools Required
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