Has anyone spotted that Howtek 4500 on eBay?

[Emre Yildirim]

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=howtek&category0=

The current bid (or the lack thereof) is cheaper than a Microtek 1800f. There's no reserve either. I would totally bid on it if I lived close to New Orleans :(

Is there a place other than eBay where one could buy a used drum scanner?

[Jack Flesher]

Well I WAS going to try and snipe it.......

;),

[Emre Yildirim]

That's awfully cheap...is this what they usually sell for used? I thought these things cost like $30,000...

[tim atherton]

hmmm- you know all those cars that are being sold all over the US that spent a lot of time underwater in N.O...? :-)

[darr]

"The current bid (or the lack thereof) is cheaper than a Microtek 1800f."

hmm, you can get a new 1800f for $899.95 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=MIAS1800F&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=264643)

[Michael Chmilar]

Doing a search for Howtek in completed auctions shows one that did not sell with a starting price of $3000. A Howtek 4000 sold for $511.

A 4500 in good condition typically sells in the $1000-2000 range.

[Michael Chmilar]

If you search for "used prepress" equipment, you will find some places that sell refurbished drum scanners. Typically, the prices are much higher than ebay auctions.



You are getting some "peace of mind" as the scanner should be in working condition, and any marginal components fixed or replaced. However, it may be that the dealers just buy used scanners, check that they are functioning, and sell them, without truly "refurbishing" them. As always, caveat emptor.

[Ted Harris]

Amen Michael! As an example the 4000 that sold for around 500 had one cxracked drum and one drum with 'blemishes' that the seller represented stillworked ok for 5x7's but that was only if they were very carefully positioned. A new drum is several thousand and getting the old one refurbed still more than the price of the scanner. You can get good deals on eBay on drum scanners but you need to be very careful and know exactly what you are doing or you can get badly burned. You can also get lucky but it is a pretty expensive dice toss. Remember that you are dealignwith a piece of equipment that sold new well into five figures and the cost of replacement parts reflects that new price. This can also hold true for some of the fantastic bargains on Durst and other high end enlargers.

[bglick]

A small repair typically $2 - 3K, A big repair, $5 - 7k. The parts I beleive are now only sold by Aztek, and their parts price to build one of these scanners would probably be $30k today. If it works, and you get some use out of it, for those prices, you can't complaing. Also, software runs $1500 - $2k and only available for mac mac for trident, and pc based for Aztek. just a few tid bits you should be aware of... also, drums can run $300 - $1k based on condition... also, its hard to mount without a drum mounting station... $300 - $1200 new....

Sometimes it really is opening a can of worms...

[Brian Ellis]

There's four days left in the auction, the serious bidding will start when there's about four seconds left. What's shown now doesn't mean anything in terms of the actual selling price.

[QT Luong]

When I was in the market for a drum scanner (no more) I found a lot of stuff at attractive prices by typing the name of the model and a word like "used", "refurbished", "for sale" in Google. Most of it was from companies that cater to the pre-press market. It was often sold with a limited warranty of a couple of months, so at least you were sure to get something that works.

[Jim collum]

i picked up a nice d4500 for about 2K. excellent condition and works like a dream. Drums are expensive, and i've been trying to find a used one myself (refurb is about $1200, new about $1800). I've been using silverfast with mine and have been happy with the results

[Marco Frigerio]

Ciao Emre
here you can find refurbished drum and high end flatbed scanners:

www.genesis-equipment.com (http://www.genesis-equipment.com)

Btw, I was offered by the owner of "my" lab his Howtek 4000D, I found few informations on the web, anyone has experience with this scanner, pros and cons?

Thank you

Ciao

Marco

[Kevin Hicks]

Yeah, I bought a Howtek D4000 on Ebay that was supposed to be working fine. When it arrived (after very expensive shipping) the door was broken and I have never been able to get it to work. The folks at Aztek are very nice, but told me it basically wasn't worth fixing.

Buyer beware...

[Larry Gebhardt]

Kevin, do you still have the D4000? I could use one for parts.

[Kevin Hicks]

Larry,

I'm still scratching my head about what to do with it. That might be a good idea though. Drop me an email.

-Kevin

[marlok1]

I have a Howtek model D4000 Cosmyk 860 in perfect working order serial # D31621 HC I am located in the West Valley California area and want to sell this piece,,any takers ??? my e-mail address is marlok1@aol.com,please inbox me for pictures...

[digidom]

i picked up a nice d4500 for about 2K. excellent condition and works like a dream. Drums are expensive, and i've been trying to find a used one myself (refurb is about $1200, new about $1800). I've been using silverfast with mine and have been happy with the results

Hi Jim,

I have a spare drum for the 4500 if you are interested. Excellent condition and with a mounting station if you need one.

[Kirk Gittings]

You are responding to a 6 year old post. You would probably be better off sending him a direct message.

[marlok1]

I have a Howtek 4500 for sale in excellent working condition but needs the drum,I am asking 500.00 for the unit,I am located in West Hills CA contact me at marlok1@aol.com