Recommend freight shipping companies for presses
I have two presses for sale currently, one C&P 10x15 and one Vandercook SP15, and this is a recurrent question I get:
Can you recommend a freight shipping company to move these presses?
If anyone here has used a reliable service or suspects there may be one, please let me/us know. Out of state, but also throw in your international recommendations. Thank you!
You don’t say what kind or size presses. Unless the presses are fully secured to sturdy pallets and crated there will almost certainly be breakage in the hands of almost any shipping company. There aren’t any I know of that specialize in moving presses except Ed Regan in Indiana, and I do not know if he is still “in the business”, but Ed knows/knew how to transport printing presses safely.
Thanks, @AdLibPres, I just updated the posting with the type of presses I’m talking about. Around the San Francisco Bay Area, the Hicks Brothers used to provide this kind of service, but they seem to have retired from the business.
do a search for ‘machinery movers’ and you should be good to go.
Oof. I’ve heard *so many* stories about people that hired “legitmate movers” who ended up dropping or rolling the press. If possible find people who’ve actually and personally moved printing presses!
M.
The Vandercook SP15 is not that hard to move safely. Disassembly is key. Take the feed table and carriage off the press, take the handle off of the carriage as it is easy to bump it. Strap everything to pallets. I moved mine last summer with a “normal” moving company, no issues. When I originally bought it ten years ago, I moved it myself in the same way in the back of a small van.
The C&P I do not have experience with, I assume it is quite a bit harder to disassemble.
The C&P can be moved safely by almost anyone if it’s bolted to a strong pallet that’s big enough to keep it from tipping*, so at I’d say at least 18-24” wider that the widest part of the press (not the actual feet). It also helps to remove the flywheel and bolt that to its own pallet or frame.
*look up the “stability triangle”
How far does it need to move, and what sort of impediments are in the way (elevator, stairs, truck lift gate/ramp, etc)? Those really figure in to the process and cost.