Update!
I spoke with the factory folks and they say that there basically is no gear version of the 4C (four color) cartridge, and at this point I believe them.
I have personally seen and know the following types exist:
- Single color (black) short form factor w/ foam (1C-FOAM)
- Single color (black) short form factor w/ gears (1C-GEAR)
- Multicolor (4C) tall form factor w/ foam (4C-FOAM)
I have never actually seen a 4C-GEAR but I figured that since 1C-GEAR exists that 4C-GEAR must. After all, the factory can make all of the types I just listed. I know that some people have managed to get ahold of working 4C cartridges. I assumed that those must have been the elusive 4C-GEAR but it’s entirely possible that these units were really 4C-FOAM that was produced late, produced from a particularly good stock or stored in ideal conditions. Apparently, though, there isn’t a 4C-GEAR. (If anyone can prove one exists, please let me know.)
So, why no 4C-GEAR?
I talked to the factory and found out that gear models are actually ideal for them to manufacture. The reason is that they mold all of the plastic parts in the factory but they can’t manufacture the foam. All of the foam they use has to be imported from another country and this increases the manufacturing difficulty and cost of the final ribbon cartridge.
Companies that make make authorized ribbon cartridges (and other consumables) use a reference design from the printer manufacturer. In this case C.Itoh (not Apple) would be the likely originator of the original reference designs. The foam vs gear issue would have been just as relevant in the 80s and 90s. As a matter of fact it was probably even more of an issue then since they were being mass produced and any cost increase would impact profits all the way down the chain. I believe that with quite a bit of money on the line that if a 4C-GEAR was viable it would have been done.
It appears as if there was some technical reason that 4C-GEAR is not an ideal design. I figure that if the manufacturers of the ImageWriter, who were actual printer engineers, decided not to use such a design that they must have a reason. Remember that the 4C is twice as tall and it’s possible that the additional height of the ribbon could cause problems with binding or possibly require more force to turn than C.Itoh engineers thought was ideal for the motor on the print head. These are just guesses. At any rate, trying to oversee the creation of a 4C-GEAR model would take quite a bit of time and money and it’s not clear if there is a real benefit at this point. It’s true that the foam used in the old stock of 4C-FOAM was a problem. We may have the same problem with these in a decade or two but there are probably bigger concerns by then. I just don’t know.
In the meantime, we do now have brand new color ribbons for the ImageWriter and for the next few years we can look forward to bringing back full color dot matrix printing to the classic Mac. I should have the Trading Post ad up this weekend.
