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Question Do old printers still have value?

B

Bryce I

I'm Brie
A few questions about moving on from an older printer. Full Rant below:

1- what is the expected life span of a Roland printer/cutter, when used heavily, but taken care of?

2- Is there a market for old printers? In some ways they seem like vehicles. In a lot of ways the old ones were superior machines- "they don't make them like they used to", but also, the old ones are always breaking down, like this awesome '88 jeep comanche I bought a few years ago. Was super fun to tool around in, but I quickly learned you need to be a DIY mechanic to keep it on the road (I'm not). My gearhead buddy has it now, and he replaces parts on it all the time, is always working on it, and loves it.

3- How does one go about selling a used printer?

Does anyone on here have experience with selling/buying an older printer? We have this machine that the boss started the company with (Roland Soljet XC-540) sitting in the corner gathering dust (figuratively speaking I do wipe it down regularly). My first year working here (the printer was about 10 then) it would print great for a few weeks then something would breakdown. We've replaced scan motor, filters, tubing, encoder, all kinds of stuff. Since then we've invested into newer truevis machines, and don't have the time or wherewithal to be constantly trouble shooting issues on the old one. Currently it's giving a "pinchroll error- invalid right position" message when you hit setup, even though the pinch rollers are in the correct place. Haven't printed anything on it in a year. I just clean the heads and wipe it down weekly.
The thing has paid for itself many times over. My boss is more concerned with getting it out of here before it loses any lingering value, than seeing a big payday from selling it. These soljets were like $30,000 new, and if someone walked in today with the means to get it out of here, and offered a couple grand for it, he wouldn't hesitate.
Is there a community of folks in the digital printing world, like my friend with the jeep, who enjoy fixing/refurbishing old printers instead of investing into new ones?
 
V

victor bogdanov

Active Member
1. I have a Roland VS series printer from 2012 that is still printing today it probably averaged 6hr print time each workday for the last 10 years. I can't believe it still works. Only repairs so far are new printhead and scan motor.

I was thinking about selling it as I have 2 truvis and a colorado 1650 now but haven't got around to trying to sell it.
 
L

LarryB

New Member
I sold my Roland XC540 III for $2500 a couple months ago. Needed a couple of print heads. Posted on Ebay and found a local buyer.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
It's not worth a dime, until you find someone to buy it. Ours has served us well and 'knock on wood' it will continue to do so. Bought ours in 2004 I believe and it's printing and cutting as strong as ever.
 
Notarealsignguy

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
I put my semi-non working roland on craigslist for $300 just to get rid of it. It was gone in a few days. There isn't much value in old printers especially now with how cheap you can buy a new one and get financing.
 
rjssigns

rjssigns

Active Member
If the printer has been sitting without power the only value is in parting it out. And that can be way more trouble than it's worth.

Almost three years ago I sold my SP540V for $2800. C/K head was starting to go but I didn't hide that fact from the buyer and demo'ed prints on various material for him. He was stoked to get it.
 
jfiscus

jfiscus

Rap Master
There's not much value at all to older machines, especially to anything approaching 10 years old. There's not much manufacturer support (drivers), tech support, or parts/ink availability for many of them, and those that still have it will be phased out over the next few years. Really it is best to sell it for parts to someone else still using one, if you can find an interested party.
 
M

Michael-Nola

I print things. It is very exciting.
Based on my experience of price shopping:
Industrial machines usually see a 20% resale value after 10 year depreciation. Low-end machines usually ask for a 5-10% resale value after 10 year depreciation - and rarely get it.
Industrial machines hold their value very well until the next generation release. Low-end machines lose their value instantly since they're all the same generation.

When you're talking bottom-tier machines, they're worth almost nothing 2-3 years later. They ARE good machines and will truck through profit, they're just designed as a disposable class. Forget condition and cost, a Roland 5 years ago runs high quality graphics at what ... 50 or even 25 sqfph? Actual redesigns and upgrades are nonexistent - those builds were all designed over 20 years ago. New designs run 2-3x that speed - even Chinese ones. That's really where used, old designs lose their value, on speed and projected mileage. Industrial units like Vutek, Inca, Durst, Agfa, etc can retail for say $250-500k and be worth $50-250k 10 years later, depending on the build. They're still ready for multi-meter wide output at 500-1000 square feet per hour. Not a great return, but that's what it is.

Entry level units? Forget it on resale. The real trick is to purchase an entry-level unit that is not just a new machine, but a new DESIGN. Not just some old toaster still being sold after 20 years :) That part takes homework and experience.

That allll said. This is exactly why most wise printers will run everything they have into the dirt and exploded. It's already set up, calibrated, loaded, orders coming in, paid off, just RUN IT! There's no money to be made on used cheapo printers. But you're making plenty of automated margin on keeping it going! Sell it for $3k? Or print $3k a week off of it sitting there? Up to you.
 
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