I finally found a Canadian source for good quality typewriter ribbons: Toronto Typewriters. I ordered a Big 3 Combo a couple of weeks ago, and it arrived yesterday.

The “Big 3” are a black, a black/red, and a purple; I installed the purple and it’s like I have a new typewriter:

That’s a line from Marlene on the Wall, by Suzanne Vega that’s always stuck with me since I first heard it:

Even if I am in love with you
All this to say, what’s it to you?
Observe the blood, the rose tattoo
Of the fingerprints on me from you