We frequently have used, demo, or refurbished film recorders/slide makers, scanners, and photo quality color printers in stock, at discounted prices. In particular, we specialize in Lasergraphics film recorders. We also carry current driver software for owners of Agfa (QCR, PCR/II, Procolor, Alto, Forte), Lasergraphics (LFR/Plus, Personal LFR/Plus/Pro, LFR-X, Mark II/III/V/VI), Montage (FR1 and FR2), Mirus (Turbo/II, Galleria), and Polaroid (Digital Palette CI3000/5000 & HR6000, ProPalette 7000/8000) film recorders for customers who have already purchased one of these film recorders - see our film recorders page for more information.
Following are our current offerings. However, before you purchase a used film recorder from us or anybody else, see the cautions immediately following our sale products first!
This film recorder/slide maker is the immediately previous Lasergraphics model. It was superceded by the Personal LFR Pro model in November of 2001. The only major difference between this unit and the Personal LFR Pro is that the Pro is slightly faster (roughly 40 secs/slide vs. 60 secs/slide for the Personal LFR Plus). This unit has both SCSI and parallel (printer) input ports, for connection to either a Windows PC (via SCSI or parallel/printer) or Macintosh (via SCSI only), and also includes the latest Lasergraphics Windows or Macintosh driver software. It is compatible with current Windows operating Systems, including Windows 2000 and Windows XP, and with Mac OS9 (not OS X), and with all modern computers with parallel printer port, or built-in SCSI port or separate SCSI card installed (Adaptec 2906 or equivalent recommended), including Macintosh G3/G4. 90 Day Warranty (see our Warranty section for details of our Warranty on used/demo equipment).
There is a lot of used computer equipment, including film recorders/slide makers, scanners, and color printers, available on eBay and other internet sites. However, virtually ALL of this equipment is untested, and comes with no Warranty. The descriptions usually say something like "The power light comes on when I turn on the switch, but beyond that I know nothing about it and I have no way of testing it further, so sold AS IS". Some will offer a DOA Warranty, that is, if the power light doesn't come on when you get it, you can send it back for a refund, but this is a far cry from a real operational Warranty. Other used equipment companies don't actually warrant the equipment they sell, they just guarantee that you can buy a Warranty/Maintenance contract from the manufacturer. These Warranty/Maintenance contracts can cost thousands of dollars, especially for older equipment, so almost nobody buys them, and you end up with NO warranty.
In addition, almost all this equipment also comes without any driver software, interface hardware, or cables to actually operate it. This is particularly true of film recorders. It is sad how many calls and emails we get from people who have just bought a film recorder on the internet for a few hundred dollars and want to get it running, and they are shocked to find out that the software and/or required interface board to run it costs $1000-$2000 or more, or worse yet, that the only driver software available is for DOS or Mac OS6 only, or even that the software and/or required interface board is not available at any price for any operating system! They have just purchased a very expensive paperweight! Many of the ads for this used equipment say that "the driver software is downloadable from the manufacturer's web site". This is absolutely untrue! NO current driver software for any film recorder is downloadable for free from any manufacturer's web site. All that is downloadable from their web sites are patches to the driver software, but you must first have a paid copy of the driver software to install the patches. Some commonly encountered hardware and software restrictions are:
Polaroid. Polaroid declared bankruptcy on October 12, 2001, and announced that they would be disposing of or eliminating their film recorder operation. Consequently the future for Polaroid film recorders is up in the air. The first Polaroid "Palette" film recorders were screen-copy devices, designed to copy the original low-resolution IBM CGA and EGA monitor screens to film. These are now completely useless, since they are not compatible with any modern monitor resolution (VGA or above). Next came the "Digital Palette" series (CI-3000, CI-5000, HR-6000), and most recently the "ProPalette" series (7000 and 8000). These models are compatible with most modern computers and operating systems. Driver software for Polaroid Digital Palette and ProPalette film recorders is available for most models, and costs close to $1000! This software is produced by third parties, not Polaroid, and is definitely NOT downloadable from Polaroid's web site. Driver software for the Digital Palette Model CI-3000 is available under Windows 95 and 98 only, not under Windows NT4/2000/XP or under any Macintosh operating system. For a complete description of Polaroid film recorders, including driver software available, click here.
Agfa/Matrix. Agfa quit the film recorder business in 1998, but some models are still available used, and driver software and repairs are still available. Driver software for Agfa film recorders costs $995-$1995. In addition, earlier Agfa/Matrix models (PCR, QCR, QCR-D, QCR-Z) have only a GPIB (IEEE488) hardware interface, and therefore require a special GPIB card (approximately $500) inserted in the computer and a special GPIB cable (another $50-$100). For a complete description of software support for Agfa film recorders, click here.
Lasergraphics. Lasergraphics is still very much in business. However, many early Lasergraphics film recorders are no longer supported by current Lasergraphics driver software. Also, many early Lasergraphics film recorders sold for connection to a DOS/Windows PC required a special card (Rascol/Rascol II) installed in the PC, and later ones had only a Centronics-type parallel hardware interface, and so can only be connected to a Windows PC, not a Macintosh. And some early Lasergraphics models with SCSI interface are not compatible with PowerMacs/G3's/G4's. For a description of Lasergraphics film recorders, click here.
Mirus Industries. Mirus Corporation is officially out of business, although repairs and driver software are still available for some models. There is no driver software available for the original Mirus (non-"Turbo") film recorder. The only software available to drive the Mirus Turbo under Windows is discontinued but still available, only runs under Windows 3.1, 95, or NT 3.51 (no Windows 98, NT4, 2000, or XP), and costs $395. Driver software for other Mirus models, including the Turbo II and Galleria, is available under Windows 98, Me, NT4, 2000, and XP, and costs close to $1000. For a complete description of software support for Mirus film recorders, click here.
Presentation Technologies/Montage Graphics: there is no current software available to drive a Presentation Technologies Montage FR1 film recorder under Windows, and no Windows PC interface cards available for the FR1 either. Current driver software is available for only certain serial numbers of Presentation Technologies/Montage FR2 film recorders. For the Montage FR1 on the Macintosh, and for the Montage FR2's on either Windows or Mac for which is currently available driver software, the software costs $995-$1995. For a complete description of software support for Montage film recorders, click here.
Before you buy any used film recorder/slide maker on the internet or elsewhere, check out our above listed web pages to see if the item you are buying can even operate under any modern computer operating system, and if so, how much it will cost you to get the software and/or interface hardware to get it running.
On the other hand, ALL used/demo/refurbished equipment sold by the Computer Graphics Group has been thoroughly tested, and comes with driver software to run it and a full operational Warranty, typically from 60 days to ONE YEAR!. The software alone is frequently worth $400-$2000, and interface boards if required can run from $500 to $2000. Instead of throwing away $100-$500 on a paperweight, buy a guaranteed product that will work right out of the box, and is fully Warranted!