Leader film on a ribbon supply roll

1. A ribbon supply comprising:

a supply spool;

unused ribbon material wound onto the supply spool;

a tack down bond that prevents unwinding of a majority of the unused ribbon material from the supply spool;

the unused ribbon material includes a first end and a second end, the first end is fixed to the supply spool, and the tack down bond is positioned closer to the second end than to the first end; and

a leader film that extends from the tack down bond, the leader film has a length that allows connection of the leader film to a take-up spool without detaching the tack down bond.

2. The ribbon supply of claim 1 , wherein the leader film is formed from a material that is different than the unused ribbon material.

3. The ribbon supply of claim 1 , wherein the leader film has a thickness of from about 0.5 mil to about 2.0 mil.

4. The ribbon supply of claim 3 , wherein the leader film has a thickness of about 1.0 mil.

5. The ribbon supply of claim 1 , wherein the leader film is formed from polyester.

6. The ribbon supply of claim 1 , wherein the unused ribbon material is a print ribbon, a retransfer film, a laminate ribbon, a topcoat ribbon, a cleaning ribbon, a holographic film, an embossed character tipping/topping foil, or an indent foil.

7. The ribbon supply of claim 1 , wherein the unused ribbon material is a monochromatic print-ribbon or a print ribbon with multi-color panels.

8. A ribbon supply comprising:

a supply spool;

a ribbon material wound onto the supply spool;

a tack down bond that prevents unwinding of the ribbon material from the supply spool; and

a leader film that extends from the tack down bond, the leader film has a length that allows connection of the leader film to a take-up spool without detaching the tack down bond;

wherein the ribbon material has a width, and the tack down bond extends the entire width of the ribbon material.