Best Typewriter Ribbons for 2026

The Smith Corona 21000 is Smith Corona's own correctable cassette ribbon, sold in a two-pack. It is the ribbon we have the deepest price record for in this category, which also tells you it is widely stocked. As a correctable film ribbon it prints crisp characters and works with lift-off correction, but each cassette is single-pass, so heavy typists go through them faster than fabric ribbons.

Smith Corona electronic typewriters use several cassette types, so match the ribbon number in your manual or on your old cassette before ordering.

ShopSavvy has logged 940 prices for it from 110 retailers since April 2021. The median was $10.99; the five prices we recorded between July and October 2026 had a median of $15.50.

6.7

Overall Score: 6.7/10

Consumer:6.7/10

📖 Read TLDR Review to learn more →

This correctable film ribbon fits the IBM Selectric II and III and is sold as compatible with the SC-783 / NUKB86HY ribbon those machines take. The seller notes that Selectric ribbons must be paired with a matching correction tape to fix mistakes, so order the tape with it if you need it.

Amazon owners rate it 4.3 out of 5 across 149 ratings recorded by ShopSavvy.

ShopSavvy has 11 prices for it from 5 retailers, recorded in September and October 2024, with a median of $9.41; the cheapest listing then was $9.44 at Walmart.

The Brother 1030 is Brother's correctable ribbon for its daisy-wheel electronic typewriters, two cassettes per pack. Like other correctable film ribbons it gives clean, even type and works with lift-off correction tape, at the cost of being single-pass.

Brother made many daisy-wheel models over the years and not all use the 1030 cassette, so confirm the ribbon number for your model first.

ShopSavvy has 152 price observations for it from 9 retailers between December 2021 and June 2023, with a median of $13.61. We have no more recent prices, so check current listings.

7.3

Overall Score: 7.3/10

Consumer:7.3/10

📖 Read TLDR Review to learn more →

The Tenare universal ribbon is a four-pack of black nylon ribbon on twin spools, sold as compatible with most manual typewriters that take spools with a 5 mm center hole. Four pairs in one pack makes it an inexpensive way to keep a manual machine running, and nylon ribbon can be used for many passes before it fades.

Universal spools don't fit every typewriter; if yours uses proprietary spools, wind the new ribbon onto your originals.

Amazon owners rate it 4.3 out of 5 across 894 ratings recorded by ShopSavvy. We have two prices for it, $13.09 and $13.89, from September and October 2024.

The FJA Products 7-color pack puts seven colors of half-inch fabric ribbon on 2-inch twin spools, with 48 feet of ribbon per spool set according to the seller, which makes and packs them in the USA. It is the pick if you want to type in something other than black on a manual typewriter.

It costs more than a black universal ribbon, and colored inks are usually lighter on the page than black.

Amazon owners rate it 4.3 out of 5 across 33 ratings recorded by ShopSavvy. Both prices we recorded, in September and October 2024, were $39.99.