When buying used printing equipment, think about how much you trust the seller of the used press. Often, even the owner does not always know how the printer has treated the machine entrusted to him. Our detailed report will help you avoid many problems.
Printers often get bogged down in routine and don’t notice how they remain on the sidelines of history with their old Dominant. But don’t be in a hurry to shut down. We’ll work out a development plan for you, or help you get out of the game with dignity.
Have you decided to sell your equipment? Send it to us and get a chance for a free inspection! Together with our partner, ROEPA, we will help you sell your equipment with a condition report for as much as possible. Contact us and we’ll explain how it works.
Following the inspection, the customer will receive a certificate of inspection as well as a detailed report on each of the assemblies in PDF. Photos and videos will be available at the link.
In order to maintain confidentiality, the certificate is issued by machine model and serial number, without reference to the name of the printing house and the place of inspection. If the customer is a seller, he is free to pass the certificate to his potential buyer without disclosing the location of the machine.
The purchaser can request the authenticity of the issued certificate from us on the website. In doing so, we maintain the confidentiality of all parties.
In its long life, a popular used printing machinery like Heidelberg CD 102 or CD 74 changes several owners. Like a traveller, it may visit different countries or even continents. We cannot know how the previous owners dismantled the machine or how it was transported. Every disassembly and subsequent reassembly of a printing machine is a serious stress on the machinery.
I remember a Heidelberg CD 74 machine where the floor reinforcement was not made all around the machine. The machine was standing correctly, but its delivery would bounce when the speed was increased. Excessive vibration led to spontaneous loosening of nuts and uneven wear of gears!
Needless to say, this error leads to increased wear and tear on any machine, regardless of the manufacturer. No matter whether it’s a Heidelberg CD 102 or even Manroland Evolution, an incorrectly installed new machine quickly becomes a wreck. The owner thinks he got an unreliable machine and should look for an excellent Heidelberg XL 105, for example, which is sure to be more reliable.
Once the decision to sell is made, the owner usually stops investing in its condition. The equipment may be on the market for six months, or even longer. All this time, the machine is still holding up thanks to the reliability of the brand and the care of the staff.
When considering offers to buy offset printing machines on the secondary market, a buyer has to understand how much this machine deserves to be bought.
The key point before buying a printing machine is to assess its technical condition. Obviously, it is impossible to carry out a complete diagnosis of all assemblies, units, peripherals in a few hours. This would require several days and the availability of specialised equipment. In addition, prolonged shutdown of a printing machine in a print shop is not possible for commercial reasons.
So, what’s a buyer to do if they have a couple of hours to inspect a printing machine? All he can do is check the equipment visually, or with a printed test obtained from the internet.
But the problem is 99% of the tests that a potential buyer brings with him are intended to control the parameters that lie in the field of technology (control of dot gain, SLUR/doubling, trapping, streakmarks), etc. and are not an objective factor in assessing the technical (in particular, mechanical) condition of the printing press.
These printing of these control elements will tell you a lot about the technological process in a particular printing house, about the humidity conditions, about the selected inks and the qualification of the printer, but not about the real condition of the sheet-fed system of the printing machine.
Would a potential buyer be able to identify indirect equipment problems, such as those related to the flooring of a print shop?
Definitely not – the customer will see no more than 30 per cent of what our expert will notice. Whether you are purchasing a Heidelberg CD 102, Manroland 700 or KOMORI Lithrone on Pressxchange or Roepa.com, our inspection requires minimal time and money, but allows us to assess the situation objectively. We start by assessing the condition of the cylinders and a sheet transfer unit. It is very important to determine the condition of the sheet feed system, but on machines such as the Heidelberg SM 102-2-P, we should pay additional attention to the perfecting unit.
The Heidelberg service manual clearly states: the operator must turn the perfector back and forth at least once every fortnight. When trying to shift a mechanism clogged with a mixture of paper dust and oil, it can easily be broken. Many printers ignore this. And for a new owner, it can be a serious problem.
Traces of previous dismantling also matter. We have encountered situations where negligent service technicians have lost the calibrated plates that set the distance between sections. If the Heidelberg SM74 machine is dismantled into parts of 2 printing units, the Heidelberg CD74 or XL75 is disassembled unit by unit. The loss of one of the plates can lead to uneven installation and damage to the gears. The machine will soon no longer hold register.
In addition, the condition of peripheral devices should be checked. AirStar compressors on Heidelberg machines rarely live longer than ten years. A new AlсoSmart alcohol dispenser for a Heidelberg CD102 machine costs around 5K euros. Repairing a Heidelberg Axis Control can cost tens of thousands of euros. And so on. Wouldn’t it be better to pass these costs on to the seller? Just compare these expenses with the cost of our inspection and make the right decision. Your risk is inappropriate here.
In the field of printing since 1989. After technical school for printing, worked for a while on letterpress and offset printing presses.
Higher technological education at the Moscow State University of Printing (1998).
Professional trainings at Heidelberg Print Media Academy (Germany, 2005-2007). In particular, participating in special technical trainings on Heidelberg CD 74, XL 75, Heidelberg CD 102 and Heidelberg SM 52 printing machines (Heidelberg technical center, Germany) and on Polar cutting systems (Polar-Mohr, Hofheim am Taunus).
The sales rep, and later Head of a branch office of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Osteuropa Vertriebs GmbH (Austria) (1997-2010).
Regional Sales Manager of H. Roesinger & Partner (France) (from 2011).
You want to buy any machine for printing industry and have already found a suitable offer from a dealer. However, you don’t know what has happened to the machine in the past and what is hiding inside behind the beautiful pictures. Look at the pictures we took these pictures in different locations over a period of several months. All these, and many other problems after payment become the buyer’s headache.
The seller will definitely show you what you want to see. However, when you pay the money and the machine arrives at your print shop, there may be many troubles you didn’t even realise were there. Cinderella’s beautiful carriage turns into an unmoving pumpkin, and now you’ll have to think about where to get the money for repairs.
Book our independent inspection of the used machine before you pay for it. Our inspection reduces the risk of costly repairs in the future.
