A used labeling machine is a good buy or an expensive mistake, and the difference is almost never visible in the listing photograph. What decides it is whether the parts are still available and whether the machine was ever right for the job you are about to give it.
The surplus and auction sites are the place to browse used listings. What we add is the part a listing cannot tell you: we assess a machine before you buy it, we arrange refurbishment on the machines worth bringing back, and we service whatever you end up with, whoever sold it.
Marapack Services sells and services labeling, print and apply and coding equipment from a base in the Pacific Northwest, and we are the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems. Before you pay for a used machine, book an equipment audit so the machine and the line it is going onto get checked together, or call 253-709-5566 with the serial number.
Is a used labeling machine a good buy?
A used labeling machine is a good buy when three things hold: the wear parts are still available, the machine was specified for a job like yours, and the cost of bringing it back still leaves a real saving over new. Check all three before you look at the price, because the price means little without them.
1. Are the parts still available
This is the check that ends deals, and it is the cheapest one to make. Every applicator is a machine with wear parts: a peeler bar, sensors, belts, bearings, a peel plate, drives. If those are still made, or still substitutable, the machine has a future. If they are not, you are buying a machine with a fixed remaining life and no way to know how much of it is left.
For an Altech machine this check is quick, because we can look parts up against the serial number. Marapack Services is an independent company, not Altech S.r.l. and not ALTech US. We are the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, which is what makes a parts availability check a phone call rather than a research project. Our page on Altech parts availability has the fuller answer.
For Label-Aire, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It machines, we service them and can tell you what we know, which is more than a listing will. We stock parts for PackLeader, some Label-Aire and Tach-It machines; CTM machines we service without stocking their parts. If you are weighing one brand against another, our applicator brand comparison sets out how Altech, Label-Aire and CTM differ.
2. Was it ever right for the job you are giving it
A frequent failure with used equipment is not wear. It is that the machine was specified for somebody else's line.
Label length sets the head, and a head specified for short labels does not run long ones because it was cheap. The application method has to suit your surface: a tamp applicator bought off a line running flat presented cases will not behave on a curved clamshell. Speed is a function of label length, gap and application method, not a number on a plate.
Get those three checked against your line before you buy, not after it arrives. Our page on new label applicators covers how the head, the label and the method fit together.
3. What is it going to cost to bring back
Almost every used machine needs something. The realistic list is short and predictable: peeler bar, label and product sensors, belts, bearings, peel plate, and on a print and apply system a printhead and platen.
None of those are expensive individually. All of them together on a machine bought at a bargain price can add up to more than the difference to a new one, and the way you avoid finding that out afterwards is to have somebody price the refurbishment before you commit.
How can we help with a used or refurbished labeling machine?
We help in four ways: a pre-purchase assessment of a machine you found anywhere, refurbishment we arrange for a mechanically sound machine, sourcing when used makes sense for your application, and service afterwards on Altech, Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It machines, whoever sold them to you.
Pre purchase assessment
You found a machine. Send us the make, model, serial number, photographs and the listing details, and tell us what line it is going on. We will tell you what we can establish about parts availability, whether the machine suits your application, and what we would expect it to need. Where we can see it in person, better.
This is where a used purchase is won or lost, and it applies to machines bought from anybody: an auction, a surplus dealer, a plant closure, or another packer.
Refurbishment
A mechanically sound machine that is tired is a good candidate. A refurbishment we arrange covers wear parts replaced, sensors refurbished or renewed, drives and belts checked, the label path set up properly, the applicator aligned, recipes rebuilt, and the machine commissioned on your product.
We arrange refurbishment of print engines and label sensors at a fixed price per unit rather than time and materials, which is what makes the arithmetic on a refurbishment decidable in advance.
Sourcing
If you know what you want and it does not need to be new, tell us. We will watch for it, and we will tell you when the used market for that particular machine is thin enough that a new one is the better answer. For low volume applications, entry level new equipment such as a label dispenser is often close enough in price that used stops making sense.
Support afterwards
This is the part used equipment buyers tend to think about late. A machine bought used has no supplier relationship attached to it. We service Altech, Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It machines whether we sold them or not, so a used purchase does not have to mean an unsupported one. Our page on labeler repair and field service covers how a service call runs, and a preventive maintenance plan is how you hold a refurbished machine close to where the refurbishment left it.
What should you inspect on a used labeling machine?
Inspect the serial plate first, then the peeler bar and peel plate, the label path, the sensors, the drives, the applicator, the pneumatics, the electrical cabinet and the control interface, and on a print and apply system the print engine. Photograph everything, and ask what the machine came off and why it is being sold.
If you are looking at a machine yourself, this is the walk around.
The serial plate. Model, serial number and build year. Without these, nothing else can be checked. Photograph the plate before anything else.
The peeler bar and peel plate. The highest wear item. Look for grooving, a worn or rounded peel edge, and whether the bar type suits your product.
The label path. Rollers, guides and dancer arms for wear and free movement. Anything binding is a tension problem waiting to happen.
Sensors. Present, mounted, undamaged, and of a type that suits your label stock. Clear labels on clear containers need sensing built for transparent product, and a machine that never ran clear stock probably does not have it.
Drives. Belts and sprockets for wear, bearings for noise and play, motors and drivers present and undamaged.
The applicator. Pad condition, vacuum holes clear, cylinder movement smooth, air fittings intact. On a tamp, check the stroke is straight.
Pneumatics. Air lines, fittings, valves, filter and regulator. Water damage in a pneumatic system tells you something about where the machine lived.
Electrical. Cabinet condition, corrosion, modifications, and whether the wiring looks like the original or like somebody's field repair.
The control interface. Does it power up, does the screen work, are the formats still stored, and is the software version supported.
On a print and apply system. Print engine model and printed length if the counter is readable, printhead condition, platen wear, ribbon path. Print ten labels if you possibly can and look at them together. Our label applicator troubleshooting guide explains what each print defect points to.
Ask what it came off. What it labeled, how fast, how many hours a year, and why it is being sold. The answer to the last one is frequently the most informative thing available.
When is a used labeling machine a bad idea?
A used labeling machine is a poor fit when you need it running by a fixed date, when your label or product is unusual, when the parts are gone, when it is a print and apply system you have not seen print, and when its price is close to new. In those cases, buy new.
- When you need it running by a date. A used machine plus refurbishment plus commissioning has a schedule you do not fully control, and a pack season does not move. If the window is fixed and close, buy the thing with a lead time you can rely on.
- When the label or the product is unusual. Used machines suit standard requirements. An unusual label size, an awkward surface or a tight space is a specification problem, and buying somebody else's specification to solve it rarely works.
- When parts are gone. Not "hard to find". Gone. At that point the discount is not a discount.
- When it is a print and apply system and you have not seen it print. The print engine is the expensive half and the one that hides its condition.
- When it is close in price to new. At the low end of the range, entry level new equipment is close enough that the risk premium on used stops being worth it. Compare the listing against our new labeling machines before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a used labeling machine cost? It depends on the machine type, its age and condition, whether its parts are still made, and what it needs before it runs on your line. The listing price is only part of the cost: add refurbishment, freight and commissioning. We price the refurbishment side after an assessment rather than guess from a photograph.
What are the different types of labeling machines? Label applicators are heads that fit onto an existing line. Complete labeling machines include wrap around, front and back, top and bottom and linear systems. Print and apply systems print variable data before applying it, pallet labelers handle the pallet, and semi automatic labelers and dispensers serve low volume work. The used market carries all of them.
Do you have used labeling machines in stock right now? Availability changes, and a quick call is more reliable than a web page that might be out of date. Tell us what you are looking for and what line it is going on.
Can you check a machine we found somewhere else? Yes. Send the make, model, serial number and photographs, and tell us what you want it to do. We will tell you what we can establish about parts, suitability and likely refurbishment cost.
What does refurbishment cost? It depends what the machine needs, which is why the assessment comes first. We arrange print engine and sensor refurbishment at a fixed price per unit, so at least that part of the arithmetic is known before you commit.
Is a refurbished machine as good as new? For wear parts replaced and a machine properly commissioned on your product, it will run like the machine it was designed to be. What a refurbishment does not do is reset the life of every remaining component, so we tell you what was replaced and what was not.
Will you service a used machine we bought elsewhere? Yes. Altech, Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It machines are all in scope regardless of where the machine came from.
Where else should we look for used equipment? The surplus and auction marketplaces carry far more listings than we do. What they do not do is tell you whether the machine suits your line or whether the parts still exist. Use them to find machines and use us to check them.
Are you an Altech distributor, or do you just sell used machines? We are the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, and used and refurbished equipment is one part of what we do alongside new equipment, installation, parts and field service.
Send us the machine before you send them the money
A serial number, six photographs and a description of your line. That is enough for us to tell you whether it is a bargain or a project.
Call 253-709-5566 with those details, or have the machine and your line checked before you buy if you want the whole line looked at while we are there.