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While Ipex may have shown a promising future for investment and spending in the industry, compared with other countries, the UK secondhand machinery market remains slow.

"There have been sales, but most are going abroad as a lot of people are still struggling to secure finances for equipment," says Phil Cunningham, director at used offset press dealer BBR Graphics. 

As a result the overseas market remains the mainstay of used kit sales with dealers exporting everywhere, from China to mainland Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

During Ipex, secondhand dealers enjoyed rapid sales. For example, dealer DPM sold more than £1.8m worth of used presses at the show, including four machines that it bought from a Heidelberg agent, and sold them within two days of the show. Coming out of the recession, those that are buying new equipment are being careful about how they spend and what they invest in. As a result, many choose to invest in used equipment so they aren’t waiting for the shows, such as Ipex, to make decisions.

Shortfall in used kit
While the recession might deliver some new machines on the used market as a result of company closures, the drop in demand for new kit will affect dealers in the future. This will be due to a shortfall in used machines coming onto the market. If people aren’t buying new machines, then they are not letting go of their old presses. And, according to Cunningham, the future of the secondhand market will see the more experienced dealers weathering the storm.

"It will be a survival of the fittest and it will be the people who do it right, who have the right expertise and experience that are left," he says.

Cunningham advises printers looking to make a purchase to go and see the machine and to conduct thorough research on the supplier.

"They should make sure they know how to install the machine correctly and if the price seems too good to be true then there is probably a catch somewhere," he adds.

These are people within the industry who are not concerned with repeat business and may disappear after selling you faulty goods. Try to buy from a firm that specialises in a particular product, this way its engineers will be on call for after sales care and have the knowledge to solve any issues that may arise.

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WHAT'S NEW IN USED EQUIPMENT DEALERS
?    In April, Polestar Chantry bought a secondhand M600 web press that was previously housed at Lexicon Press’s Northampton site. Owned by asset-based lender Close Print Finance, it was not included in The Print Factory London (1991) assets sold by the administrator to Lexicon
?    Finishing specialist Thirty One saved £100,000 by opting for a second-hand stitching line in April. The two-year-old Bristol company bought a Muller Martini BravoPlus from Integrated Manufacturing Solutions
?    Black Lion Press invested around £200,000 in a secondhand B3 Heidelberg Printmaster in March. The commercial printer installed the five-colour press following what it called "a very busy start to the year"
? The Magazine Printing Company responded to a need for greater capacity by investing in an eight-colour secondhand Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 in April. It hoped the installation of its third eight-colour Heidelberg would allow the north London-based company to print around 240 titles, while handling work more efficiently