An injector system includes, in combination, an injector and a syringe for injecting fluid into a patient. The syringe includes a body, a plunger movably disposed within the body, and an encoding device providing syringe information. The injector includes a motor, a controller operably associated with the motor, a sensor operably associated with the controller and operable to read the encoded syringe information provided by the encoding device, a drive member powered by the motor and operable to automatically advance and engage the plunger when the syringe is mounted on the injector, and a plunger engagement detection device operable to indicate when the drive member of the injector has engaged the plunger of the syringe.