Hey all, I’m eyeing a used Prograf-1000 that a local photographer is selling. They bought it three years ago, it’s been used for “less than 50 prints,” and has sat idle for the last 18 months.
Any specific things I can ask or look for on this? At minimum, I’d want to witness a test print. From looking online it seems this model is pretty darn bulletproof even after sitting idle for several months… but 18 months is certainly up there!
These are going for $999 after a mail in rebate so I’m hoping to get them down to a pretty good price, if I move forward.
The B&H price is $999 after $300 rebate for brand new unit with ink set and 1 year limited warranty. ($1,299 MSRP)
Canon Product Page. Be sure to read the reviews; some good, some not so good.
Is the seller local to you? If so, I suggest you thoroughly inspect and run printing tests with the paper(s) you normally use. Something that old, that has sat unused for that long may have hidden issues.
Good luck. I hope it works out for you @Michael_Rung.
–P
Yep, I already pointed out the current price to the seller. I’ve read a fair number of consumer and professional reviews and feel fairly comfortable about the purchase of that model… the time spent sitting is my big concern. They are local, though, so I would have the opportunity to check it out and run tests.
@Michael_Rung, It appears you are pretty confident that model printer will work for you. That’s a good thing.
Here’s a few things to look for:
If possible, check any belts or rubber rollers to be sure they are not dried out or cracked.
Check if any lubrication points are dry.
Look for any evidence of ink spillage and paper dust.
Look for any signs of corrosion on metal parts.
Make sure differing paper sizes feed properly.
Run a nozzle check and a head cleaning to be sure everything is clear and then run test prints from a couple of your own images and your usual paper(s).
I am not saying the current owner did not take care of the printer, but things can go sideways after a long time has passed.
I recently had to do a multi-day, multi-cycle head cleaning, and a cleaning of the capping station on my older Epson R2400 that had sat for at least a year, maybe longer. It was wasteful of ink, and time. It’s now working great, and I’ve been running a test print every week since that minor epic. Lesson learned!
-P
An Epson sitting that long would absolutely need the print heads replaced or major cleaning like Preston said, but Canon’s seem to be able to sit for long periods of time with no ill effect. It will likely be okay, but Preston’s advice is gold!
@David_Kingham, I was happy the head cleaning/capping station cleaning worked! The printer is very old, so if the head was toast, I would just trash the printer.
@David_Kingham and @Preston_Birdwell, thank you both for your input! Given the age of the ink and the lack of use, I’ve asked them to run a print test of their own and stated I’d want to run a couple of my own in person. Will probably go pretty aggressive on price if all tests out okay (they had it listed for $1000 but said they are flexible… I’m thinking $600 max considering the cost of ink and lack of warranty).
We’ll see what they say! The price on new ones with that rebate is hard to beat right now.
The main thing would be to see a nozzle test that has been produced by the printer. If it’s anything like the the Epson printers I own, there should be a date on the nozzle test just so you know it’s recent. Beyond that, if you end up using the printer a lot, the cost of the printer itself will be trivial. I’ve had two Epson printers similar in size to the Canon you’re looking at. The first one eventually gave out after a LOT of use. I bought it used for about $600, which was close to the value of the ink it had in it.
I would think that the Canon you’re looking at will be just fine so long as it prints a clean nozzle test. It’s really when they have been used to death that most of the problems seem to crop up.
