Opinion/Price on Encad Printers

[jtrainor56]

I am looking at an auction for an Encad Novajet 630 and Novajet Pro 60E. Can I get opinions, good or bad and what to expect to pay for these. This is through an international auction company and these are located locally. Started this morning and there is only 25 hours open for bidding so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Joe

 

[Letterbox Mike]

My oppinion only is you should probably be paid to take it off someone's hands, not the other way around, these printers were great in their day, and can still be made to print very well, but unless you have alot (and by alot, I mean infinite) of patience and are somewhat mechanically inclined (a tinkerer) you'll probably do allright with one, but if you're lookign for a printer you can set up, plug in, and click print, you'd do well to look elsewhere.

That said, I threw away a Pro 600e about 3 years ago because I couldn't get someone to give me $250 for it (and it was maintained and in great working order), so I'd probably not pay much more than 250-500 for it.

 

[eric t]

Just be prepared to drop around $1000 into it....It will need new cartridges, ink, bearings, trailing cable, lines flushed, and probably a mother board to get it to run right and cheap parts are hard to find but show up on ebay

 

[Raulrdz]

I have a 600e just made $1000 on 16x20 posters using dye ink. The ink is inexpensive (global print supply). They also have parts, but be forewarned these printers are infamous for heads dying from one day to the next and clogs are plenty. I just working up to a newer printer, maybe a new HP or a used Roland. Encads are built like tanks and are pretty much user serviceable, but they are like a boat, maintenance...maintenance and more maintenance. If your looking for dye and pigment ink printers I would suggest the HP Z3100 or the Epson.

 

[grafixhenk]

I loved our 42e before it got smashed 2 days ago by a caved in roof. Ours payed for itself years ago and always was making a couple of bucks every month, cleaning and priming is always needed. The brass bushings need to be replaced on a regular base, which will prevent 90% of errors(at least in our case)

 

[Techman]

Just be prepared to drop around $1000 into it....It will need new cartridges, ink, bearings, trailing cable, lines flushed, and probably a mother board to get it to run right and cheap parts are hard to find but show up on ebay
Reply With Quote

I doubt that.

I still use my encad 600. It will sit over a week many times. It starts right up every time. Just a simple prime and its off to the races. I get carts and ink from ebay for over half off. The ink cost is so low that its almost invisible.
The head bushings are about 10 bux on ebay. However since I learned how to keep the rail clean and rinse out the bushings with Rapid Remover I haven't changed one in over a year.


OH yes, My encad 600e printer went thru katrina , is banged up, the end covers are all broke off. But it runs just fine.

As for bidding on it.. I wouldn't bid more than $500.

 

[grafixhenk]

Wow, yours survived Katrina. Mine did not survive this storm in Oklahoma. Of course a partial roof and a branch with ice weighing about 400 pounds pretty much destroyed it. This puppy is smashed! And of course with our insurance deductable it sucks!

 

[Letterbox Mike]

I doubt that.
quote]

I don't doubt it. When I bought my 600e used I had to buy so many parts i easily dumped over a grand into it (this was 4-5 years ago now). If you're buying one new it's more than likely going to need an overhaul/rebuild. Alot of tedious work, alot of little nickle and dime parts, etc.. And if yours is sitting for a week you're extremely lucky, I've never heard of anyone successfully letting an encad sit that long on a regular basis without significant clogging or head failures. Mine (most really) required 15-30 minutes of tedious priming and cleaning before printing in the morning, but when it printed, it printed well and it's easy to make good money with one. Keyword is when it printed.

 

[jtrainor56]

The auction ended and the winning bid for both units was $504.00.
There was no guarantee if they worked but I've been in IT for 25 years, as well as worked as a mechanic, OTR owner operator and did some assembly of circuit boards. Figured I could have gotten at least one of these working. Anyway, thanks for all of the input, I appreciate all your opinions.

 

[studio10]

Encad 750

I still use Encad NovaJet 750 for CAD and indoor posters.
For parts, ink ... look at www.globalprintsupply.com
Here is new Encad from China, but I don't have experience about it www.signstech.com

 

[Bogie]

Who ran the auction? Was it that bird-kinda outfit?

 

[Ken]

I haven't heard too many good things about encad machines . but I would go with Techman's advice..
Ken

 

[Bogie]

Well, I flogged heck out of a Novajet Pro (36") for a few years... Gotta use a RIP to get decent color, and it was still an indoor printer.