Abstract: An apparatus for transferring material wound on a feed spool to a take-up spool such as in a ribbon cassette for a typewriter or word processor. The apparatus includes a base, a centerpost, a feed spool positioned to rotate about the centerpost, a take-up spool, and a generally circular coil spring attached at one end to the centerpost. The outer surface of the spring exerts a frictional drag force on the feed spool which resists rotation of the spool during a transfer procedure. The spring also deforms during the transfer procedure and exerts a force on the spool in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation thereby providing a minimum tension on the material to avoid problems common to conventional cassettes such as jamming.