Shipping question

[Jim Hill]

I have found a Roland Versacamm printer I would like to purchase and I have a few questions about the best way to ship it.

The person selling the printer has the originial container the printer was shipped in when it was new.

Instead of just calling shipping companies I wanted to hear from others who have shipped printers and find out which companines they used and if they were happy with the results.

These printers are fragile and I want to be sure it gets here in one piece.

Thanks Jim Hill

 

[Gino]

How far away is it in miles and time, realistically ??

 

[SAS]

They need to flush the lines and heads, put the head clamp or brace back on it. If I was going to buy a used printer I would pick it up. I would not buy one that was to far away to drive.

 

[Pacific Coast Sign]

Flush the lines
Lock the heads in place
Box correctly
Insure for the FULL amount of the printer with shipper

Cheers!

 

[The Equipment Guy]

Make sure they lock down the head and use ALL original packaging they can possibly find. Insurance is not worth a bent penny if they can claim that it was not packaged correctly.

Ask the seller to get you a quote on having an Authorized Roland dealer in their area do the shut down and packing. It might be worth your while.

Craig

 

[Jim Hill]

Thanks for the great advice.

I have gotten a few prices and they are all over the lot so far.

They range from $250 to over $600 and trying to figure out which one would handle it with kid gloves is not easy. They all talk a good game.

I also talked with a friend who had been in the trucking business his whole life moving freight and he told me he would find a mover who would pick it up and do a good job. This is what this guy does everyday for a living and he knows the drivers he uses on a personal basis.

As far as the packing the owner has the crate it came in when it was new and told me they will flush all the lines and make sure the head cannot move. He also told me he will put extra padding all around it.

The owner sounds like he knows whats he's doing doing and he is a Roland Certified Tech.

I was really looking for the name of any trucking company others may have used in the past that did a good job for them.

Someone said they would not buy a printer unless they could drive and pick it up and if it was not over 1000 miles away and have a few feet of snow on the ground I would take my van and do just that.

Thanks Jim Hill

 

[The Equipment Guy]

Hi Jim,

I do move a fair bit of equipment. Most local stuff I try to hire a few guys and do it myself. Between truck rental, fuel charges and hourly pay for the guys it can cost not much less than what you have been quoted, as a matter of fact $250 sounds like a terminal to terminal type trucking charge and not much of a "hands on" type price. So all of your prices seem ok...I would still suggest the route of contacting the dealers in your area and the sellers area and find out who they use. I mean these guys have multiple experiences vs. asking the opinions of a bunch of folks who may have shipped one or two printers, being end users rather than sellers.

That being said, I have the name of a guy in Atlanta who does what I do there, he may have a suggestion...if you email me I can send you his info.

Craig

 

[Gino]

We sold a unit to someone in Florida. We're in Pennsylvania.

It was cheaper and safer for them to him to fly up, rent a U-Haul and we tied everything down and prepped the unit for shipping and it cost them two days rental and gas plus the airfare one way. That was far cheaper for them and they still are using the unit to this day without any problems.

I would do it myself it I were you. Taking chances with so many variables on a used machine just ain't safe. A new machine for the factory.... it's on them to get it to you. Now, you're depending on too many people doing something right.... or wrong and you end up paying and you'll still be without a unit.

 

[ddarlak]

i have done both, fly and uhaul back and ship. by far shipping is the easiest and cheapest, but i did lose one printer due to the shipper running a forklift thru the side of it. took me over a year to get settled. if packaged correctly and you don't choose the cheapest shipper, you'll do fine....

 

[sfr table hockey]

I have had two printers now shipped up here in Canada from the States and one was the original cardboard crate, the other a wooden crate, and then packed onto a pallet. From the depot I picked them up and both were in good shape. The big thing is if it is a direct shipment, once on the truck. Each time it changes trucks is when you have a chance of damage. Cost was a little over $1000 for crate and shipping.

 

[phototec]

Win-Win

When my Roland SP540 was delivered to Texas from Roland in Calif., it came in a big cardboard box with Styrofoam blocks and smaller card board boxes inside, all was strapped down on a wood pallet, so I guess yours will be the same, since the guy still has the original shipping box. The shipping was only $300 from Calif. to Texas by a freight company called Conway, they even had a lift gate on the rear of the trailer because I didn't have a shipping dock, the driver used the lift gate to lower the printer to the ground.

However, when I purchased my used Seal 54 laminator from a guy in New Jersey, the best price I could get was $860 from a shipper on the east coast (Teamsters?), so me and the wife decide to take a mini vacation and drove to NJ with a 10' utility trailer. We drove the 1,600 miles in three days stopping in Nashville to see the Grand Old Opry and other tourist spots along the way.

After meeting the seller and getting a first hand demo and instructions on the laminator, they help us load it onto the trailer, covered it with a tarp and strapped it down with tie-down straps. If I was picking up a printer, I would have rented a closed-in U-haul trailer in NJ for the one way trip back to TX.

We had a few extra days there which we spent in New York seeing the sights, Empire State building, statue of Liberty, etc., then drove back to TX.

Staying at Motel-6's and driving to NJ and back to Texas in 8 days, spending about $800 for the trip (Fuel, eats, lodging, etc), which would have gone to the shipper, so instead we had what we called a mini-vacation.

Oh, didn't mention the trip was in November of 2008, and driving though Tenn and the smoky mountains was beautiful. We had never seen the changing leaves, it was a great trip all the way and what I like to think of as a win-win situation.

Bottom, line, I got to check out the used equipment in person, received a on-hands demo, I loaded and transported the laminator and didn't run a forklift into it, and had a nice little vacation with the money that would have gone to a shipping company (who handle the stuff like gorillas).

 

[The Equipment Guy]

Phototec...that sounds like it turned into the best of all worlds! I love it when things turn out like that.

Craig

 

[phototec]

Phototec...that sounds like it turned into the best of all worlds! I love it when things turn out like that.

Craig

Me too, It was just hard to swallow paying some shipper in NJ $860, and we have never been to the east coast, or at least my wife hasn't been. So, the idea came to me to make the trip, and yes, it took the full week round trip, however it worked out well and we still talk about, it was like paying ourselves to do the shipping.


Can't wait till I make the next major used purchase, maybe something in Florida, we could take the grandson to Disney World, lol.

 

[The Equipment Guy]

Hey, Toronto is always nice in the winter (ok maybe not)

Craig

 

[JESSE WALKER]

I did a trip similar to Phototec, though not as far. I bought a sp300V and 40" plotter from Blackicefx here on the forums. Im in Houston, he is in New mex...so i drove to New Mexico, rented a enclosed uhaul..strapped it down and headed to arizona. Drove through the mountains to get to chandler arizona in some purty darn cold weather. The uhaul trailer kind of sucked bc it was soo bouncy with only having the printer in it.

In CHandler I picked up a tshirt shop. literally lol. conveyor dryer,press, and anything you can think of. This loaded the trailer down quite a bit but still, not enough.

bouncing down I-10 back to houston had me very nervous. When I got back home and unloaded the printer..the first thing I noticed was the clear protective door on the printer had come loose. a few screws actually backed out. SCARY. I thought, wow what else could be missing. well, I put the door back on, set it up and realized for some reason there was no ink.SCARY again! next day air in ink. load it. do 3 test prints and a manual cleaning. Prints GREAT.

I guess these machines are not as fragile as I thought. BUT having said that, even though the trip was a looot of fun, I dont think I would handle it the same way. If I had to do it all over, I would have boxed up the printer and not just loaded it up and strap the base down. My main concern about having a shipping company handle it was that they are not always careful. I also like to meet the people i buy from and im very glad I did as they were great people!!

I know this is a long and rambling first post. I usually lurk. BUT if it was me, id say drive to get the printer and enjoy the road trip! I cant tell you how much we saw, how fun it was to meet people along the way, and overall just how nice it was as a whole.
Best of luck to you!
-Jesse

 

[Jim Hill]

Jesse Walker

I have a good friend who owns a U-Haul dealership and we have talked about different ways of shipping the printer.

My friend owned a trucking company with about 30 semi's at one time and still has a ton of contacts for shipping stuff all over the country so he is working right now trying to find a moving van coming towards Florida.

You are a brave person putting a printer in a U-Haul trailer. I am glad it got there in one piece.

I worked part time for a race team that ran in the Nascar Craftman Truck series for about 10 years and even with a 53' semi with a Freightliner cab some the roads in this country really wrecked a few very expense tool boxes.

Worst road by far were in PA.
Getting to Pocono on route 80 was like being on some country road.

We went from Florida to the west coast a numer of times and it always was interesting when you open the side door and take a look at everything you thought you had really strapped down well all over the place and that trailer had air ride suspention on it.

Sorry to get side tracked but getting back to shipping the printer my friend said we should look for a moving can coming south. He feels that might be the safe route to take.

I have gotten fright quotes from different trucking companies and have along with UPS and I don't mind sending a little more money to make sure it gets here safe.

That's why I wanted to ask everyone else how they had their printer shipped.

Would a Roland Versacamm SP-300 that was put back into the crate it came in fit in a full size Chevrolet van? What do you think the demensions might be?

Thanks Jim