What is an enclosed paper roll and is it necessary?

Have you ever wondered why Monroe calculators last so much longer than the competition?

Well today, I'm going to let you in on our (not so secret) secret...

All heavy-duty Monroe calculators (8130X, 8145X and UltimateX) are built with a standard, enclosed paper roll. No other calculator in the industry has this feature.

What is an enclosed paper roll?

When we say "enclosed paper roll" we mean that the paper roll is stored internally, within the calculator's body. It sits directly behind the calculator's printer and feeds through the printer, the same as a standard printing calculator. The big difference is that the calculator's casing extends to cover the paper roll, whereas an external paper roll rests outside of the calculator's body. This unique feature protects the paper roll from the external environment. You can see this difference highlighted in the comparison images below.

Our Monroe 2020PlusX has an external paper roll 

Our Monroe UltimateX has the enclosed paper roll

How does an enclosed paper roll benefit you?

The most expensive component of a printing calculator is the printer. Unfortunately, it is also the most likely component to fail, since it's an electro-mechanical mechanism. 

The most common cause of printer failure is dust and dirt collecting on the paper roll and falling into the print mechanism as the paper is fed through the printer. The dust combines with the ink and can cause the print wheel to "gum" up. When this happens, the printer will start to print half digits or sometimes, no digits at all, causing errors in your audit trail and forcing you to redo the work. The damage this causes is often irreparable and means you need to replace the calculator.

The enclosed paper roll helps solve this problem by preventing external dust and debris from getting on the paper roll. While this may not seem like a huge deal, it dramatically increases the calculator's quality of print and working-life. And it's one of the differences that helps make a Monroe a Monroe. 

The next leading cause of printer failure is the use of poor-quality paper. Paper rolls themselves generate dust that has the same effect on calculator printers. We always recommend using Monroe paper rolls, as we provide low-dusting 15 and 20lb. bond paper that helps extend your calculator's working-life.

Printer failure is the leading cause of premature calculator deaths around the world. So the next time you are shopping for a printing calculator, help us fight-back against premature calculator deaths by choosing one of our heavy-duty models. Your choice can make a difference.