Refurbished Videojet CIJ Printers and Videojet Ink Printers: 8 FAQs If You're Short on Time

In my role coordinating production equipment for a mid-sized packaging company, I've handled 200+ rush orders in 12 years—including a Saturday call from a plant whose coder died six hours before a shift. This article collects the questions I get most from maintenance managers and procurement folks about Videojet ink printers, refurbished Videojet CIJ printers, and CO2 laser marking. If you're in a hurry, jump to the question that matches your situation.

1. Is a refurbished Videojet CIJ printer as reliable as a new one?

That depends entirely on who did the refurbishing. A true refurbishment isn't a wipe-down and a new label. At minimum, the seller should replace wear items like printheads, filters, and hoses, run the machine with OEM Videojet inks, and print actual test codes before shipping. The old thinking that "refurbished means used junk" comes from an era when resellers sold cleaned-up trade-ins as-is. That's changed. I've installed refurbished Videojet 1510 units that ran for years with no more than routine maintenance. The catch is verification: ask which parts were replaced and whether the refurb report is in writing. (Should mention: confirm whether printheads are actually replaced, not just cleaned.) Put another way: the machine is only as good as the process behind that "refurbished" label.

2. Videojet ink printers or CO2 laser markers—which one do I need?

It comes down to substrate and speed. Videojet ink printers (CIJ) handle flexible films, porous surfaces, and high-speed lines well, because the technology places tiny ink droplets without touching the product. CO2 laser marks are created by etching the surface—no ink, no solvents, no consumables—which is why they suit glass, PET, and coated metals. If your product is a plastic bottle on a fast line, a laser is often the cleaner long-term choice. If you code flexible pouches or wire, CIJ is usually more practical. A detail most buyers overlook: USPS has contrast and placement specifications for barcodes on shipping pieces (pe.usps.com/businessmail101), and your marking method has to meet them consistently. Also, if your packaging carries recyclability claims, the FTC Green Guides (ftc.gov) expect those claims to be substantiated. I'm not a materials engineer, so verify with your film supplier.

3. My line is down and I need a Videojet replacement urgently. What do I do?

Call a supplier who stocks refurbished Videojet CIJ printers rather than waiting for a factory build. Example: in March 2024, a dairy processor's coder failed on a Tuesday afternoon. Factory lead time was 11 days; their line couldn't idle that long. We located a certified refurbished Videojet 1510 at a regional distributor, paid an $850 rush fee on top of the $6,200 unit cost, and a technician had it running by Thursday morning. The plant's alternative was a three-shift backlog worth roughly $40,000. You don't always need a same-day fix, but you need a vendor who commits to exact hours, not "we'll try." Ask about loaner units and whether urgent delivery fees apply.

4. That refurbished Videojet costs half the price of new. What's the catch?

The surprise isn't the price gap between new and refurbished. It's how much hidden cost can ride along with a badly rebuilt machine. I've seen a $3,500 unit generate $6,000 in service calls within nine months because the ink system hadn't been flushed properly and the printhead was cross-contaminated. Most buyers focus on the purchase price and completely miss downtime cost, which routinely dwarfs the machine's price. One 2023 shutdown at a beverage filler cost more than four new coders. Here's the framework we use: run the math with a two-year horizon—ink, parts, service visits, and the probability of a failure at the worst moment. In the cases I've tracked, the lowest quote has cost us more about 60% of the time. A $200 saving turns into a $1,500 problem faster than you'd think.

5. Should I buy a refurbished Videojet direct or through a third-party seller?

Direct from Videojet's certified refurbishment program gets you an OEM warranty and documented calibration—the safest route, in my view. Third-party sellers are cheaper, sometimes dramatically, and a few do outstanding work. The risk isn't that independent suppliers are bad; it's that you can't always tell what you're getting. If a refurbisher shows you a written report with replaced parts and a test run, that tells you a lot. If they can't, you're buying a lottery ticket. We implemented a policy after a 2022 incident: certified refurbishment only, with a written parts list. That policy came from one purchase that cost us more in downtime than the $4,000 we saved on the buy price. A third-party refurbisher who can document original Videojet parts and a full run test is a meaningful exception worth considering.

6. What should I consider when buying a CO2 laser in Chattanooga or Ocala?

The equipment itself is the easy part. The real question is who shows up when the tube or power supply fails mid-shift. I've seen buyers in Chattanooga and Ocala choose a distant supplier to save a few thousand dollars, then wait a week for a service visit. The question everyone asks is "what's the price?" The question they should ask is "what's your response time?" Some regional distributors cover both cities with a mobile technician and keep common spare parts locally. Ask about installation windows too—if a vendor can't deploy inside your planned break, they probably won't respond well in a crisis. I still kick myself for approving a low-priced out-of-state laser years ago. We saved $4,200 on the quote and spent most of it on travel fees and a slow warranty claim. Verify current lead times; laser quotes shift with component availability.

7. A "fractionated CO2 laser" in Atlanta—is that an industrial laser system?

Probably not. A large share of people searching "fractionated CO2 laser Atlanta" are looking for a cosmetic skin-resurfacing procedure, not a production laser. Fractionated medical devices deliver microscopic laser spots to tissue—a different technology from the sealed-tube CO2 markers on a packaging line. Industrial CO2 laser marking uses a focused beam, controlled by a galvo head, to engrave or anneal materials like glass, plastic, and metal. If you run a manufacturing operation near Atlanta and you want a laser for lot codes or branding, look for a supplier offering application testing with your actual materials. And if you're a clinic searching for a service provider, this article isn't what you need—but at least now you know why the results looked so strange.

8. What's your single best piece of advice?

Build your emergency plan before you need it. I know that sounds obvious, but most plants don't realize they had no backup until a coder fails on a Saturday. The projects that hurt are the ones we reacted to at the last minute. Find one supplier who can provide refurbished Videojet CIJ printers, ink, parts, and local service, and ask about standby agreements before you need them. The cost of a spare unit sitting on your shelf is small; the cost of one unplanned shutdown is large. Roughly speaking, an idle filling line can lose thousands of dollars per hour. So treat coding equipment like insurance: you don't need it until you do.

The cheapest strategy isn't "buy budget equipment." It's knowing exactly who will rescue you when the line stops.