Q: I am trying to print using a solid resin ribbon in my DTC printer, and I keep getting a "No Ribbon Installed" error. I can see the ribbon is there, why can't my printer?

A: Printers needs sensors to tell them what ribbons are installed. For the DTC 500 series, optical sensors read the spaces between color panels to determine what kind of color ribbon is present. Resin ribbons use a radio chip in the tube of the supply spool of ribbon to tell the printer a resin ribbon is installed. The printer uses a very low power radio signal to bounce off the chip--so low in power that if it is too far away from the sensor in the hub, it won't work!

When this problem shows up, check out the ribbon supply spool at the right side of the printer. There should be a plug in the spool, near the large hub of the printer. If it isn't there, or isn't close to the end of the spool, push the plug down or take a plug from another, used ribbon of this type and stick it in the spool. This should fix this kind of error, unless the tiny transmitter in the printer has gone bad. In that case, contact an authorized Fargo service center (like us!) for repairs.