moving a printer on a long journey

[Robert Lambie]

I have never had to move a machine other than workshop to workshop.
I would imagine that anything that can move, should be locked down. As you say the heads, and there is a process to this.
I imagine removing the waste bottle, ink carts and anything else like that. I would also do a complete flush of inks.
anything that wiggles, moves, shakes, put a bit of masking tape around it to stop movement and vibration.
lift the whole printer off the stand as they are top heavy and could easily flip over if not strapped down correct.
ide rest the machine onto, and tape too a thick polystyrene sheet, again to reduce vibration. cover with bubble wrap and tape that up too protect from anything, if not air-born dust on the back of van/truck.
really just common sense i think.

I would imagine some of the professional technicians that use this site maybe give you better guidance on how to transport your machine.

[Allister wells]

thats my thoughts Robert
i read reports of emptying ink ..some say leave it
the thing that worries me is it going to dry out n block up etc ? its not something i do everyday
the machine will be well wrapped up etc i worked my ass off to buy this and feel its neccessary to move forward with the times

[Martyn Heath]

When i purchased my machine i picked it up which was a few hundred miles away.

I left the machine on the stand, strapped it inside the old trusty transit van, head carriage was cable tied and ink cartridges removed. Also the take up system was secured.

All went well just extremely heavy and difficult to move especially up and down steps.

[Phill Fenton]

My old Cadet (nee Roland sp300) has a head locking device – I assume all other Roland machines have something similar.
Mine is attached to the rear of the machine to avoid it ever being lost

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[Allister wells]

quote Martyn Heath:

When i purchased my machine i picked it up which was a few hundred miles away.

I left the machine on the stand, strapped it inside the old trusty transit van, head carriage was cable tied and ink cartridges removed. Also the take up system was secured.

All went well just extremely heavy and difficult to move especially up and down steps.

martyn did you flush the machine etc or just like you said secured head n pulled cartridges …got to the other end unpacked unsecured stuck cartridges in and away again?

[Martyn Heath]

quote Allister Wells:

quote Martyn Heath:

When i purchased my machine i picked it up which was a few hundred miles away.

I left the machine on the stand, strapped it inside the old trusty transit van, head carriage was cable tied and ink cartridges removed. Also the take up system was secured.

All went well just extremely heavy and difficult to move especially up and down steps.

martyn did you flush the machine etc or just like you said secured head n pulled cartridges …got to the other end unpacked unsecured stuck cartridges in and away again?

No i didnt flush inks. Sounds overkill to me. Yep plugged it in and off it went no problems. I would say most important thing is securing moving parts and making sure its rock solid in the vehicle.

[Mat Drake]

I’ve relocated a lot of these printers. I prefer to move them with inks installed, or with dummy cartridges, or empty cartridges, so the ink system is sealed. Carriage/heads must be secured with the ‘head lock’ usually stowed somewhere on the underside of the printer. Remove all the ink from the drain bottle. If you can locate the drain pipes after the pumps, pinch with bulldogs clips, or similar, to further seal the system. If the van carrying the printer is going to be parked with the printer inside, make sure the cartridge bay end is not higher than the print heads to avoid the risk of the ink siphoning.

If you have any concerns flush the ink stream. I don’t because of the success I’ve had with the above method, and because of the problems I occasionally get refiling.

We provide a prep for transport and recommission service, but unless you want the reassurance that the printer has been prepared by someone who’s moved them before, I’d save your money.

Disclaimer: It’s your call! Hope my experiences help you with your decision and I hope the move goes well.

[Allister wells]

quote Mat Drake:

I’ve relocated a lot of these printers. I prefer to move them with inks installed, or with dummy cartridges, or empty cartridges, so the ink system is sealed. Carriage/heads must be secured with the ‘head lock’ usually stowed somewhere on the underside of the printer. Remove all the ink from the drain bottle. If you can locate the drain pipes after the pumps, pinch with bulldogs clips, or similar, to further seal the system. If the van carrying the printer is going to be parked with the printer inside, make sure the cartridge bay end is not higher than the print heads to avoid the risk of the ink siphoning.

If you have any concerns flush the ink stream. I don’t because of the success I’ve had with the above method, and because of the problems I occasionally get refiling.

We provide a prep for transport and recommission service, but unless you want the reassurance that the printer has been prepared by someone who’s moved them before, I’d save your money.

Disclaimer: It’s your call! Hope my experiences help you with your decision and I hope the move goes well.

thanks for your advice matt so it looks like ill be securing the print head tape the cartriges just for extra piece of mind wrap well and maybe slightly raise oposite end of machine from inks and strap down and all should be ok

[Allister wells]

well managed to get the printer moved over the weekend ..printhead locked cartridges secured etc …brought back n fired back up no problems seems i was panicing for nothing …the engineer who helped me just put the machine in head soak before we moved it