Useful Tips for the Used Press Buyer

THE PRIMARY PRO of purchasing a pre-owned offset press is, indisputably, price. Savings can be tremendous, “half or more compared to the cost of a new press,” according to NAPL’s Ray Prince. Sometimes pre-owned is the only option, especially for an in-plant with limited financial resources.

“The University of Michigan recently had a tight budget for an additional duplicator type of press,” relates Clyde Tillman, founder of Press-Access, a seller of pre-owned printing equipment. “By buying used, they were able to get a very nice late model Heidelberg PQM 46-2 with the automation they really wanted.” Tillman also points out that “buying used ensures that the value of the equipment depreciates at about the same rate as your tax depreciation.”

In addition, an in-plant can get more bang for its buck.

“We bought a used press with a platemaker for the same cost as a new stand-alone platemaker,” notes Chris Anderson, a press operator at North Dakota State University’s in-plant.

Buying used allowed the University of Oklahoma (OU) to expand its capabilities to include four-over-four color printing.

“Had we chosen a straight six-color press instead, we would have been better off than we were,” acknowledges OU’s John Sarantakos. “But the eight-color press has allowed us to get ahead of our growth curve and provide additional capacity for further growth.”

When contemplating the wisdom of a pre-owned press purchase, “the trick is matching up your needs with what that press can actually do,” asserts Prince. He recommends assessing productivity, run length, volume and quality needs before making any decisions.

“The point is that our used press is great for what we do,” Anderson concurs. “If we were a three-shift-a-day operation, we might have considered buying new, but we’re a one-shift-a-day plant and our equipment meets our needs.”

If you believe that a used press will meet your needs, too, check out these tips from a quartet of industry veterans with the experience and expertise to help you make your purchasing decision a success.

Desperately Seeking Seller? Be Picky

Sarantakos: The best tip I can provide is to look to your colleagues and discuss their experiences with sellers. One of the advantages of being an in-plant printer is that our “brothers” and “sisters” in the field are not competitors, so the free flow of advice and recommendations is commonplace. It is critical to find a respected dealer that has a track record you are comfortable with.

Prince: The safest way to buy a press is from the manufacturer, where the press has been refurbished, reconditioned and comes with a warranty. If you want to go through a dealer, do your due diligence. Start talking to printers that have purchased from that dealer.

Tillman: Unfortunately, there have been enough bad dealers in our industry to make everyone wary of buying used. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Always do your homework. Check references. Ask for a complete customer list. I would also ask the dealer to provide a reference for a deal that didn’t go so well initially. This is used equipment; it is impossible for all deals to go smoothly. The real question is: How were the issues handled? Did the dealer stick with it until everything was working properly? Verify everything.

Age Matters: Use Parts Smarts

Anderson: Make sure that the press is of the same era as what’s available now. One press may cost $5,000 more than another, but if it is four years newer, it could be worth the price in terms of parts availability.

Prince: Sheetfed presses up to a 40? size generally see about 15 years of use, and then parts—electronic parts in particular—become unavailable. High-quality printers will take a press out of service after 10 to 12 years, and a very high-quality printer might retire a press after about eight years. In terms of use, buying a press with 450 millions impressions is not too good—that press is worn out. Try to find a press that is five years old or younger with fewer than 70 million impressions.

Meet the Press

Prince: Never buy a press ‘sight unseen.’ It’s hard to believe that someone would, but I’ve seen it happen. I also have seen a buyer who saw a press taken apart in a warehouse, and went ahead and bought it.

Test the Press

Sarantakos: Run test sheets and be on site for the test run, if possible. The GATF print test sheet is a standard, but you can develop your own with specific colors and images that are important to your operation. Red flags are slur, doubling, excessive dot gain and inconsistent color. Remember that there are many causes for these issues and they may not be press related, but rather [due to] a poorly set up press or a sloppy operator. Talk to the press person off to the side. He or she will tell you far more than anyone else about the machine.

Tillman: You should pull dry solids and breakaways to make sure cylinders are fine. Pull blankets and make sure there is no excessive rust. Pick out your hardest job on your hardest stock and have it printed on the press you are considering. Look for things that the seller may be hiding, like running a small sheet on a 40? press. Insist on a full sheet. Be wary if someone is printing a thick stock. Insist on testing on 80- or 100-lb. gloss.

Anderson: When you test, check for general wear, of course, and registration. Run something with a tight line register and then run it back through to see if it holds. Look for gear chatter: If you start to see a corrugated look, that indicates gear wear. Listen for loose bearings. Check for swelling of rubber rollers. Check ink wells. Our dealer hadn’t put a water system on yet, so they installed what we requested. You can test and get sample copies, but the press still doesn’t go through what it goes through in your production shop.

Test Again—On Your Own Turf

Prince: You need to do a full, thorough test with the press under power. Ideally, testing should be done by an independent third party, and requires three full days of hard work. A press must pass our test, not only on the floor where it is, but on the buyer’s floor too, before completing the purchase. That testing should be done 30 days after the press is installed and running production. That way, you truly know the press before you buy it.

Contracts that Provide and Protect

Anderson: It is absolutely key to get a good warranty for parts and labor. The agreement should also cover installation: whose responsibility is it to get the press into the shop, who’s going to pay for the forklift and the rigging, who is expected to do the actual installation? Also determine startup supplies: who’s supplying the blankets, sheet separators and cleanup blades?

Sarantakos: Be sure to spell out exactly what is to be refurbished. Include everything. We made sure the press had new perfecting jacket and rollers; these are big dollar items. In addition, we had a parts-and-labor guarantee for 90 days following the acceptance of the unit. Arrange for complete and extensive training. Even if your press persons are long-time operators, make sure that they train on everything.

Tillman: Make sure that it is in your contract that the dealer provides clear title, free and clear of any liens and encumbrances.

Prince: You can put in all the contract language you want, but if the seller is not honest, then how do you write a contract for a crook? The most important safeguard is the testing. In many cases, a printer did everything else right, but didn’t test properly, and then ended up with a press that doesn’t print worth a darn.

Don’t Show Them (All) the Money

Anderson: Find out when the seller will expect payment. If you can, have the press up and running first, then the seller will certainly be more responsive to service calls.

Tillman: Hold-out money is always critical to ensure that you get what is promised. If a dealer asks for 80 to 90 percent of the money up front, the firm does not have the money to pay for the press. If the dealer has to use your money to buy the machine, how could that dealer reimburse you if it cannot deliver? A good dealer has the ability to sell a machine with a maximum of 50 percent down with balance due in progress payments upon delivery, installation and training.

Prince: Withhold 25 to 50 percent of the price until the press passes all tests on your shop floor. Money talks.

Sarantakos: Don’t pay for the machine until you are completely satisfied with the installation and operation. We ran the press for almost a month before final acceptance. This didn’t make the dealer happy, but too bad.

Prepare for Post-Installation Imperfection

Sarantakos: For the most part, you can expect problems. There will be mechanical issues, learning curve problems and general mayhem. But buying used or new, there will be problems. Plan ahead and be flexible. Whenever you add capacity, the tendency is to oversell and over promise. Remember, it will be months before you are at full speed.

Tillman: There are wonderful advantages to buying used, but things can go wrong that take time to fix. Hopefully, you have purchased your machine with a warranty ensuring that any issues are the responsibility of the dealer. Be patient. If you are holding money, the dealer will be motivated to get it finished as soon as possible. The best advice I can give to anyone buying new or used: Don’t get overzealous booking your new machine until it is installed. Arrange to run work outside or on other equipment. Prepare to be delayed, and then be glad if you are not. Let the dealer finish the job fully before you schedule work for the press. IPG

Looking for a place to start your used press search? Try here: usedequipment.ipgonline.com