Shipping Press across country

Shipping it as scrap metal (NMFC Freight Class 70) through a less-than-truckload carrier (maybe through freightquote.com?) is really your only option. It’s difficult to trust a shipping company with a press if it is ground-level pick-up and delivery without a forklift, but a press firmly tied shut, bolted to a proper skid should ship fine if they are dock level deliveries or there are forklifts involved.

I just shipped 2 Ludlows and 2 skids of cabinets across the continent for $2k. I would guess a C&P (depending on size) would cost $700-1000. An 8x12 would be much cheaper than a 12x18.

Thanks so much. I will contact them for a quote.

From painful experience I would urge you to pay extra to have the press fully crated around the skid. You never know what else will loaded on the truck that is carrying your press or how well they will secure it. Best of luck… Neil

Seconded. The terminal box and thermostat on Ludlows are fairly delicate and hang off the back of the machine. During shipment mine was cracked and will now need to be replaced costing me upwards of $300 after shipping. Castings on old platen presses are brittle and sometimes more costly than that to replace.

Just to stress this: if the press needs to go up and down a liftgate (no forklift or loading dock) I would be very wary of shipping it, especially a 10x15 or 12x18.

Thirded (Is that a word?). I had a shipment of aluminum forgings break loose in the delivery truck a couple of months ago. Ten forgings at 200lbs each were sliding all over the inside of the truck most of the day. My parts were fine, but if one of those hit a press I can’t imagine what would happen.

I just received my press a week ago from Oklahoma and it cost $475 and it was insured to $2500. It was a challenge proof press bolted on a pallet delivered into my garage. It was shipped through Central Freight Lines. The insurance is worth it in my book. Only about $40 extra.

Also, it was around 750-800 lbs

Mandy… why would you want to? I’ve seen several C&P’s for sale in Alabama over the last few years, at prices that were probably cheaper than the cost of transporting one that far.

All the letterpress equipment in Houston Texas has been scrapped. The cost of shipping an equipment is two times the cost of the equipment.

Why everyone in Houston scrapped the equipment I do not know.

But, I will keep looking.

To Aaron David’s comments about “All the letterpress equipment in Houston Texas has been scrapped,” I’d suggest another look. I have 31 letterpress customers listed for Houston, not including any of the surrounding towns. There is a huge amount of equipment scattered around the country. It is amazing what continues to surface. The people who regularly visit printing plants are paper salesmen and they typically get past the front desk and are knowledgable about their customers. I had a visit from our Xpedx salesman yesterday—he has been selling paper since 1973 and knows his clients. I suggest getting involved with one’s local printing scene to find out what’s really going on and don’t assume that all the information there is on letterpress is found only on ebay, Briar Press, Craig’s List, or letpress.

fritz

I agree with Fritz.

There are currently a Heidelberg Windmill built in ‘71, Heidelberg KSB built in ‘62, Miehle 29” horizontal and late model Kluge for sale in Houston. I know of these and I am not looking. If you venture to Dallas there are many, many presses for sale. We recently passed on a Vandercook Uni I and 425 in this region. We have added a C&P 10” x 15”, Kluge 10” x 15” and Miehle V50 which all came from this area less than a year ago. We also purchased a J. W. Daughaday Model 3 tabletop from the Dallas Heritage museum in January. Lots of iron in this area. The only thing I think there is not much of is wood type in the region. I think it is all in the Rob Roy Kelly type collection at University of Texas. :) The sources Fritz mentions are certainly not where you want to look for a press unless you want to pay a premium.

ron