New to You

Refurbished equipment enables tight-budgeted in-plants to enhance their services and grow business.

By Gretchen A. Peck

When North Broward Hospital District's graphic communications department decided to upgrade its press capabilities, Director Dick Raveson didn't focus on the sparkling new presses decorating the manufacturers' showrooms. His eye was drawn to the used equipment market, where he found a pair of MAN Roland presses just right for his Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in-plant.

"There's no need for me to go out and spend $2.5 million if I don't need that kind of firepower," Raveson says. "Not that we wouldn't like a new press, but meeting the needs of the organization is our main concern. That $2.5 million could be spent on other things, like MRI equipment. Those are the types of dilemmas we face."

Many other in-plants face them as well; they know they can provide their parent organizations with better service by adding equipment, but justifying the cost of brand new gear is often difficult. The refurbished marketplace gives them a cost-effective way to accomplish this.

Take Iowa State University Printing Services. When the 41-employee in-plant needed a new press, it chose a refurbished Heidelberg SM52.

Manager Gary Boyd says the Ames, Iowa-based shop needed a press that would fulfill some lofty requirements: an upgrade in technology; an improvement in turnaround time and quality; and improved productivity through more efficient operator control.

With that in mind, Boyd began researching the refurbished market to get a better feel for what was available and what it might cost. He also kept his eyes peeled on trade journals, began talks with his existing suppliers and visited a few other printers to see how certain press models were performing.

"As a public institution that must utilize sealed bid responses for most equipment acquisitions, negotiations after bid opening is not permitted, [so it was] very important that all our research was completed up front, before the equipment bid specifications are developed," Boyd explains.

In Ft. Lauderdale, Raveson says the North Broward Hospital District's in-plant has purchased quite a few pieces of used pressroom and finishing equipment in recent years, including the two MAN Roland presses.

"We're still running them, day in and day out," Raveson remarks. "One of them, I bought at an auction; and the other one, I bought through a [colleague] who has experience repairing them."

Buying refurbished equipment isn't just for in-plants, either. Commercial printers like EuroGrafix, in Altamonte Springs, Fla., have money concerns, as well.

"We didn't have the funds to spend on a new press," admits Scott Johnson, president. "We had to find a machine that fit our budget—that was what it basically boiled down to."

Once Johnson had determined his budget—he'd allotted about $70,000 to a press—he turned to some old friends in the industry to help him begin his quest for finding the right solution.

"I started with my local contacts, like the company that sells me my plates," Johnson says. "We also talked to our Heidelberg rep, who we ultimately purchased the machine from."

Eurografix has a solid relationship with Heidelberg, according to Johnson. He'd purchased two new presses from the manufacturer in the past—a two-color GTO and a Quickmaster. When he told his rep what type of machine he was looking for to add capacity to his shop, Heidelberg came back with a solution within his budget.

"They came back to us with a machine that came out of one of their training centers," Johnson recalls. "It was a press that had been used to train mechanics on how to repair them, take them apart, and put them back together again.

"When it came to us, it was dry-iced—meaning, they'd blasted it to get rid of all the oil. It had been repainted and wrapped in Cosmoline. It looked like a brand new machine, except the counter read 46 million," Johnson says.

A Map for Your Quest

Many manufacturers of pressroom and finishing systems run trade-in programs through which they buy back previously sold machines, rehab them and resell them for a fraction of the cost of a newer model.

"Heidelberg will come out and take away an old machine for you, and set up the new one," remarks Johnson. "When they brought out our new press, they moved our other two presses, to give us room for the larger piece of equipment. That was all negotiated in the price."

Depending on the supplier from which you buy a refurbished piece of equipment, and the type of equipment you're buying, you may have some leverage in price and service negotiations.

As part of the EuroGrafix-Heidelberg deal, Johnson says he negotiated a parts credit worth several thousand dollars.

"That was the deal breaker for us, because another supplier wasn't able to offer us an incentive," he recalls. "That's why we liked dealing with the manufacturer of the machine. They can often negotiate parts and services credits."

"If you work with companies like Heidelberg, MAN Roland, Komori —any of the big manufacturers," Raveson suggests, "you'll get a machine that they've refurbished and will warranty. You may have to negotiate the warranty, but usually, they're willing to give you one."

When buying through an auction or another print business, "you get it as is," Raveson adds. "I once went to see a press in Jacksonville. A printer there had gone belly up. All of the equipment they were selling was still on their floor, but none of it was running. In that case, you had to make some assumptions."

Having a press mechanic check out a piece of equipment is a good idea, Raveson asserts, "at least for potential big problems, like crushed cylinders. You can assume, however, that things like rollers will need replacing and other parts refitted."

"In the past four to five years, used equipment dealers have multiplied like rabbits," notes Carmine Festa, product manager, print finishing, at Muller Martini. "If a customer is contemplating a refurbished or rebuilt piece of equipment, there is no better place than an authorized rebuilding shop."

Muller Martini rebuilds and refurbishes a range of finishing solutions—most of which are acquired through customer trade-in deals—everything from binding systems to trimmers, conveyors to stackers. Some of this manufacturer's rehabbed equipment is posted on its Web site, but Festa says the best resource is a manufacturer's sales managers.

Deciding where—and from whom—to buy is simple, suggests Johnson, of EuroGrafix: "Start with whomever you have a relationship with. Who do you work with on a regular basis? Who do you trust?"

Would he go down the refurbished route again?

"In a heartbeat," Johnson remarks. "I'll probably never look at a new piece of equipment unless it gives me a tangible competitive edge, technology-wise. That would probably be the only reason why I'd consider a new piece of equipment. And I'd always buy a refurbished press, rather than a used one that was straight off someone else's shop floor."

Pre-owned Equipment Resources

Amtrade Corp. Printing Machinery: www.amtrade-corp.com

Pre-owned prepress, press, bindery and converting equipment.

Crown Litho: www.crownlithoinc.com

Pre-owned press, bindery equipment.

DoveBid: www.dovebid.com

Links to printing equipment auctions.

The Graphic Arts Exchange: www.graphicartsexchange.com

Pre-owned prepress, press, xerographic, bindery, mailing equipment.

Hancock Printing Equipment: www.hancockprintingequip.com

Pre-owned prepress, press and bindery equipment.

Heidelberg USA: www.us.heidelberg.com

Refurbished equipment. Search for "Remarketed Equipment."

Komori: www.komoriused.com

Pre-owned presses.

LDR International:

www.ldr.com/specials

Pre-owned offset and digital presses, prepress systems, finishing equipment.

MAN Roland:

www.manroland.com/prod/prod5.asp

Pre-owned equipment.

Muller Martini:

www.mullermartiniusa.com

Used equipment (link on home page).

PrintCities:

www.printcities.com

Pre-owned offset and bindery gear.

Press Sale: www.presssale.seagull.net

Pre-owned sheetfed, web presses.

PressXchange: www.pressxchange.com

Used prepress, sheetfed and bindery equipment.

Print & Finishing Equipment, Inc.: www.pfequip.com/inventory.html

Pre-owned prepress, press and finishing equipment.

Printing Impressions: http://db.napco.com/usedequip/equipmentsearch.htm

Database of refurbished printing gear.

Printing Industry Exchange: www.printindustry.com

Pre-owned prepress, press and finishing equipment.

Quad/Graphics: http://equipment.qg.com

Pre-owned press, bindery equipment.

Select Machinery:

www.selectmachinery.com

Refurbished press and bindery equipment (specializing in Didde presses).

TPX Online: www.tpxcnex.com

Pre-owned printing/bindery gear.

Worldwide Equipment Locators: http://wwequipmentlocators.com

Pre-owned press and bindery gear.

Xerox: www.xerox.com

Search under "Pre-owned."