My name is Sergiusz Woropaj. Many of you have known me for many years as the branch manager of Heidelberger Druckmachinen Osteuropa Vertriebs GmbH, as well as the regional manager of ROEPA for CIS and Eastern Europe.

Working with printing equipment for many years, I have observed how a buyer behaves during a transaction. If their representative comes to see the machine they have selected, they pay attention to the control elements of the printing process, the dot gain, and ask to see the machine running at high speed. As a result, he learns more about the ‘perfection’ of the print shop’s technological process than about the mechanical condition of the machine.

Drawing conclusions about the condition of the equipment in this way is like choosing a used car by colour, without bothering to check the compression in the engine.

For most future users, this is probably enough. Meanwhile, the customer can never tell by eye how worn out the machine is inside. It may be running on its last legs right now before you buy it, and then you may have to invest a decent amount of money in a general refurbishment of the equipment.

Meanwhile, an experienced specialist is able to identify traces of unsuccessful dismantling or poor quality repairs even with a limited inspection. Sometimes it is better for the buyer to abandon the deal than to undertake a long restoration process, depriving himself of the opportunity to earn money.

The inspection programme was developed together with Alex Bryzgalov, one of Heidelberg’s most renowned and experienced print instructors in Eastern Europe. Before we start work, we make sure we get to know our customer’s needs, find out what kind of work they will print, at what speed and under what conditions. We then include the parameters that will be important for them in the test.