Finally buying a printer....

[SellersSign&Design]

...and I have a few questions. After searching for over a year, I am going to pick up a 42" L25500 next week. I decided that latex would be the best option for me since the printer may only run 2-3 days a week, and laminating immediately after printing would be helpful. I will be using Flexi 11 to run it. The current owner says it has very low usage, is in perfect condition and has just had the 3rd service done. Now for the questions:
- From what I have read, there aren't many things to look for when buying used HP Latex machines. I am going to have him run several print tests, but is there any thing else I should be looking at?
- I will have an 8 hour drive to bring it home. It will be in an enclosed trailer. Is there anything that needs to be done prior to moving/hauling it? I'm used to moving my Gerber Edge which has a long checklist of things that need to be done before it can be moved.
- Until I finish building my new shop, this printer will probably have to stay in a garage that isn't heated or cooled. The spec sheet says it can be safely stored in temperatures down to -13 degrees, which we shouldn't see here in North Carolina. I realize it will be more picky about the operating temperatures, but should I worry about keeping it in a garage?

Any other helpful information about this printer would be greatly appreciated!

 

[StarSign]

The encoder strip, is it dirty?
Printhead carriage warped?

 

[Kwiksigns]

When we bought our first hp 9000, we got it from Georgia and brought it back to Maryland. When we were taking it out, I remember the carriage sliding across and slamming into the other side of the printer. Luckily nothing happened, but scared the s out of me thinking it was broken. I would make sure the carriage is secured.

 

[Gino]

Don't know what to tell ya about packing it up, but congrats on the new machine...... you'll like it.

Usually you park the head, tape down various things that could let loose and clean the lines out. Kinda like winterizing a house up north, if you're not gonna use it.

 

[Suz]

Congrats, sounds like a good machine. Yes, be sure to do test prints. Run some of your own color charts and run materials you plan to use. You can find out how much use the current print heads have had by reading the info at the panel on the machine. Oh, make sure to remove the ink waste bucket and the ink cartridges before you travel. Strap it down good, lock the wheels, drive careful. I know, duh, right? LOL. Good luck.

 

[SellersSign&Design]

Thank you all for the help! I am currently headed back home with the printer in the trailer. It was everything the guy claimed it was, only 16,000 feet of usage and it just had the 3rd service done on it. The first issues I ran into was the stand "wracking"... we used about 8 straps to tie it down but somehow the stand still flexed to the right. We re strapped it and got that secured, and now after stopping to check it again there was a puddle of ink under the right side, dripping from under the right side near where the stand meets the actual printer. Any ideas on where that could be coming from? I'm guessing maybe the cap station? I did miss one step that you all told me to do... I did not remove the ink cartridges, hopefully that didn't damage anything.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Does he have to box still that the printer came in. You can get very detailed instructions on how to ship the printer. Contact HP. It's going to involve packing it back into the box though. You would need all the foam and cardboard it came with. Biggest area for something to happen is you slam on breaks and the legs break. I would make sure to strap everywhere if you aren't going to repackage.