What do you do when "Fixya" just can't fix you? When "Yahoo Answers" doesn't? You come to me, that's right. And now another series in Things You Can't Find on the Internet.... TZ tape. Labels are very handy, are they not? You can label your drawers, cupboards, bins, and kids! (or their stuff). But what do you do when the label printer doesn't work and you just paid $15 for a new tape cartridge? 
Fix it.
That's what I thought, at least. I tried the internet, wasn't any help.... well the usual places weren't. So I went right to source. I tracked down the patent for TZ tape. If you want to look at the patent yourself, then go to uspto.gov and find #6,520,696 by Brother Industries LTD, Nagoya, JPY. Filed Feb. 18, 2003. Sheet 7 shows the money shot - the routing of the tape, toner ribbon, and laminate.
In the picture above, I've separated the toner ribbon from the clear laminate so you can see it better. This is in the bottom of the photo, in the middle. This is where the printing magic takes place. The label printing machine uses heat to transfer some of the toner from the toner ribbon in a specific pattern (of a letter of the alphabet) onto the clear tape in this area. This is the area the print head makes contact. You see, I needed to know how the TZ tape cartridge worked so I could fix it. I lost one in the process, so here I am to save you money, and make your life easier.
You might be wondering how I got the cartridge apart. That is the easy part! just cut the white tape on the side and remove the cover. Be sure the bottom of the cartridge (the part with the higher walls) stays on a table the whole time. It will give you stability so you don't jostle everything loose and have to play pick-up later. The only thing holding the cover on are pins that go into holes, and a snap clamp. This is located on the laminate spool and to undo it, simply insert a pair of tweezers from the bottom side and squeeze the clips together and push it up. Then carefully go around the perimeter, slowly lifting the cover off.
P.S. if these instructions are helpful, then please click on all the ads on my website. And/or leave a comment. I prefer the clicks though, I might see a few cents from that!
Check out the comments - they also offer additional information. And if you have anything to add, please do. Thousands of people will read it!
Fix it.That's what I thought, at least. I tried the internet, wasn't any help.... well the usual places weren't. So I went right to source. I tracked down the patent for TZ tape. If you want to look at the patent yourself, then go to uspto.gov and find #6,520,696 by Brother Industries LTD, Nagoya, JPY. Filed Feb. 18, 2003. Sheet 7 shows the money shot - the routing of the tape, toner ribbon, and laminate.
In the picture above, I've separated the toner ribbon from the clear laminate so you can see it better. This is in the bottom of the photo, in the middle. This is where the printing magic takes place. The label printing machine uses heat to transfer some of the toner from the toner ribbon in a specific pattern (of a letter of the alphabet) onto the clear tape in this area. This is the area the print head makes contact. You see, I needed to know how the TZ tape cartridge worked so I could fix it. I lost one in the process, so here I am to save you money, and make your life easier.
In my case, the toner ribbon got caught on the clear laminate tape and started to come out inbetween the white tape and the clear laminate. You might have a different problem, but seeing how these things works will empower you to fix your labeling woe's. I personally cut the extra loose, but then the toner ribbon wouldn't go onto the takeup spool (its the grey one that you are supposed to wind up tight before you insert the cartridge - I didn't wind it enough, hence the 3 hours I've spent on this project!). So I fed it up and around on the clear plastic tape that is wound around the toner take up spool.
(I used tweezers and pulled on the toner ribbon). When it was directly under the center of the blue colored circle in the photo above, I tacked on a little super glue, careful to make sure the tapes were centered on each other. That way I made sure it was on its way to the take up spool. And when I load it back onto the printer, I'll make sure its wound tight this time!
(I used tweezers and pulled on the toner ribbon). When it was directly under the center of the blue colored circle in the photo above, I tacked on a little super glue, careful to make sure the tapes were centered on each other. That way I made sure it was on its way to the take up spool. And when I load it back onto the printer, I'll make sure its wound tight this time!You might be wondering how I got the cartridge apart. That is the easy part! just cut the white tape on the side and remove the cover. Be sure the bottom of the cartridge (the part with the higher walls) stays on a table the whole time. It will give you stability so you don't jostle everything loose and have to play pick-up later. The only thing holding the cover on are pins that go into holes, and a snap clamp. This is located on the laminate spool and to undo it, simply insert a pair of tweezers from the bottom side and squeeze the clips together and push it up. Then carefully go around the perimeter, slowly lifting the cover off.P.S. if these instructions are helpful, then please click on all the ads on my website. And/or leave a comment. I prefer the clicks though, I might see a few cents from that!
Check out the comments - they also offer additional information. And if you have anything to add, please do. Thousands of people will read it!
