advice on buying secondhand roland sp300

[Graham Shand]

Olly, even with the cold laminator included, the price is steep, given that it needs a service and parts, I purchased one about three months ago which was much cheaper than the one you have been offered, the one I purchased was in very good condition, and loads of media, ink etc, there are great machines so once they are up and working
( bomb proof). The machine is a real work horse, being able to contour cut has added a lot of possibilities and to produce more products, canvas, banner, vinyl printing, stickers etc. Versa works can be a steep learning curve, but there is plenty of help on this forum and you tube, setting up profiles for the media you will be using is also a learning curve, but once you get there, it is worth all the effort.

[Olly MacDonald]

cheers Graham will see if i can get better price , i guess not knowing places to look , this one seemed quite good , maybe being on here i will be better placed to find right deal. included is job lot of consumables and also pack of inks.
I think being here on this forum definatly feels the right place to get the help and advice i need to make right choices so maybe dont need to rush just yet , ill keep you posted on my progress

[Martin Pearson]

When was the last time it was run because you could be looking at new heads if the ink has dried up in them. That would be on top of the service that Graham has said it will need.
If your already on the limit of your budget that will put you way over.

[Alan Drury]

If I were looking for a second hand machine I would speak to some of the dealers and see what they had in as trade ins. They might be a little more expensive than on the open market but at least you would have a bit of a safety net in terms of their condition and probably some form of warranty. What appears a bargain printer can easily turn into a money bit if parts and an engineer visit becomes necessary.
Alan D

[David Rogers]

I’ve found through experience of buying several used goods that the phrase "it only needs…." to be optimistic at best.

It the cleaning station / ink feed (pump, caps, dampers & wipers) need replaced then it’s likely to have had a knock-on effect on the heads – and at £1k + fitting for a set of duff ones the ‘bargain’, well, you get the idea.

It’s also a bit rich for a non-warranted / non-working 5 year old example.

As suggested, try round the dealers for a used machine with a 3/6 month warranty…might be a little more but the peace of mind is worth it.

[Chris Wool]

david said it all really

speak to these people its what they do

http://www.vts-service.co.uk/home

[David Rogers]

Try these boys too – used them in the past.

http://www.signmaster.co.uk/

[Olly MacDonald]

cheers dave , chriss i’ve been talking with the dealers you’s quoted and hopefully got something sorted out , i spoke again with the guy i’d contacted and talked more about the roland , its been running up to present day , says heads are fine, and discussed getting a roland engineer to do a warranty check on it , before purchase
Although buying through dealership is more pricey , as you said it gives me way more confidence and would also get fully refurbed machine and 2 days training and install
….until they realise that its the highlands i live so apparently not the Uk lol
going to way up my options , cant thank you all enough , and will keep you informed of how were getting on

[David Rogers]

http://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.p … highlight=

from a fellow member.

not sure if it’s got any software etc (allow another £700 for a ‘used’ RIP package)

[Olly MacDonald]

cheers Dave . cant reply to that add , as dont have right membership yet , will get
that tmro thanks