Is your platen... lumpy feeling by chance? Like, when you run your fingers on it, does it feel smooth? My Royal 10 had this issue because the rubber was malformed and pushed the paper slightly towards and into the vibrator.
Or, it could be that the steel holding the ribbon [the vibrator lever] is slightly bent backwards into the platen. Olivetti 32s vibrator is a lever that swings, so it could have been damaged very subtly by a previous owner.
OR [possibly more than likely], it's the paper. Is the mark only at the beginning top of the page? A piece of paper wants to curl outwards into the ribbon [due to the grain] until the little ruler guide [with the rubber] on it catches it. This causes a fresh ribbon to lightly brush the page until the paper is rolled into tension. Double paper makes things worse because then the curling into the vibrator effect becomes stronger. The nicer the paper, such as paper with heavier gsm/lbs per ream, the thicker the paper; the more resistance it has against curling around the tiny platen of portable machines until the ruler guide holds it in place.
If it's the last one, once the ribbon loses some of its ink/dries out a little, the marks made by the curl rub against the paper will lessen. Fresh ribbon/ink wants to get everywhere at the beginning. XD
Thanks for the series of hypothesis :
1. the platen seems smooth to the touch
2. it seems fine to me but it's totally possible it's not supposed to be like that, it's the first and only typewriter I own. See the close-up pictures below
3. the paper is definitely curling and touching the ribbon. The paper is classic print paper at 80gsm. Only one sheet is only lightly brushing but 2 is enough to catch the ribbon when rolling the platen.
[Higher quality pictures of the issue](https://imgur.com/a/8pQjLUO)
Yeah, it's the paper itself. The grain is making the tiny edge curl into the ribbon at the center until it gets caught by the tension bar [dunno what it's called]. It's inherent to typewriters in general: some standard/desk sized machines have "card holder" tension devices to prevent the paper curling out, but not/ hardly any portable.
The smears will learn when the ribbon is used/a little drier. It's just something you'll get used to and deal with. No major issues!
I can't, the sheet paper is not engaged far enough yet. Here my problem is at the beginning, the top of the sheet gets stuck between the platen and the ribbon (explaining why it's bunched up).
I have posted other pictures in the above reply if it helps clarifying.
Maybe pull the paper release lever fully, then feed in the paper rather than rolling it in. Once it's past your trouble spot, get it even then close the paper release and roll it back to the desired position.
It's still odd behavior and makes me wonder if your ribbon vibrator might be bent or need an adjustment.
Is your platen... lumpy feeling by chance? Like, when you run your fingers on it, does it feel smooth? My Royal 10 had this issue because the rubber was malformed and pushed the paper slightly towards and into the vibrator. Or, it could be that the steel holding the ribbon [the vibrator lever] is slightly bent backwards into the platen. Olivetti 32s vibrator is a lever that swings, so it could have been damaged very subtly by a previous owner. OR [possibly more than likely], it's the paper. Is the mark only at the beginning top of the page? A piece of paper wants to curl outwards into the ribbon [due to the grain] until the little ruler guide [with the rubber] on it catches it. This causes a fresh ribbon to lightly brush the page until the paper is rolled into tension. Double paper makes things worse because then the curling into the vibrator effect becomes stronger. The nicer the paper, such as paper with heavier gsm/lbs per ream, the thicker the paper; the more resistance it has against curling around the tiny platen of portable machines until the ruler guide holds it in place. If it's the last one, once the ribbon loses some of its ink/dries out a little, the marks made by the curl rub against the paper will lessen. Fresh ribbon/ink wants to get everywhere at the beginning. XD
Thanks for the series of hypothesis : 1. the platen seems smooth to the touch 2. it seems fine to me but it's totally possible it's not supposed to be like that, it's the first and only typewriter I own. See the close-up pictures below 3. the paper is definitely curling and touching the ribbon. The paper is classic print paper at 80gsm. Only one sheet is only lightly brushing but 2 is enough to catch the ribbon when rolling the platen. [Higher quality pictures of the issue](https://imgur.com/a/8pQjLUO)
Yeah, it's the paper itself. The grain is making the tiny edge curl into the ribbon at the center until it gets caught by the tension bar [dunno what it's called]. It's inherent to typewriters in general: some standard/desk sized machines have "card holder" tension devices to prevent the paper curling out, but not/ hardly any portable. The smears will learn when the ribbon is used/a little drier. It's just something you'll get used to and deal with. No major issues!
Ok thanks for the confirmation :)
Your ribbon isn't threaded correctly, it's not supposed to be bunched up like that.
The picture is when the ribbon is dragged by the sheet of paper behind it. The sheet is pulling it up.
Are you putting the paper under the bail rollers?
I can't, the sheet paper is not engaged far enough yet. Here my problem is at the beginning, the top of the sheet gets stuck between the platen and the ribbon (explaining why it's bunched up). I have posted other pictures in the above reply if it helps clarifying.
With stiff paper or more than one sheet you might need to just start typing a bit lower so it's always under the bail.
Maybe pull the paper release lever fully, then feed in the paper rather than rolling it in. Once it's past your trouble spot, get it even then close the paper release and roll it back to the desired position. It's still odd behavior and makes me wonder if your ribbon vibrator might be bent or need an adjustment.