HP encoder strip

I don't know if this has been brought up here before but I just had
my HP printer apart because the head was banging at the end of it's
stroke. The problem was the linear encoder strip was dirty. This
strip looks like a mylar strip about 5/16 wide and about 15" long
and it has very fine lines on it (too small to count without
magnification). I am wondering if this might be a replacement part
that could be purchased? If so it might be a great start for a short
(about 13") dro.

Mike