Nice to see the doomsday crew is hard at work.  We are constantly bombarded with narrow visioned media.  On one side, we have the “sky is falling” naysayer and on the other we have the group telling us that we’re simply in a dip.  Usually, the latter is from some Mutual Fund who has seen their funds crash and burn along with the get-rich-quick Nasdaq.

My father always said that nothing was free that that in order to enjoy the fruits of your hard work it must be earned.  I think, we have now started to realize this and hope we can go beyond a short ten-year span without forgetting it.

The world of print has been hard hit in recent times, and this has had an impact on the values of all goods and services.  Our world of printing machinery saw values of equipment fall continuously since the spring of 2000.  This devaluation has been a by-product of the general economy.  There are other reasons, too.  New equipment prices plummeted and have continued so even after the dollar weakened against the Euro and the Yen.  We have seen what this has meant to the likes of Heidelberg and MAN Roland, and it’s devastating.  The effect on used equipment has been the same.

The situation now is that new and used equipment is sold at an all time low.  There is also a movement by manufacturers to strip down equipment and sell a cheaper less automated machine.  Strange for an industry stressing the need to automate in order to prosper.

My view is that automation, although important, starts with digital workflow up to the press.  Automation on the press has to include plate loading, presets, and wash-ups.  These are all available with used machines and are continually provided reconditioned by HGE.  Since the early 90’s, manufacturers have been shipping presses with automation.

Investing in an HGE reconditioned machine represents real value and with savings of well over $1 million for a six-color press with coater, it’s easy to see where the smart money is.  Not only are the monthly payments slashed but also you have the ability to pay off the press faster.  The best part is there is little reduction in productivity.

So why not consider the path less traveled and find out how HGE can provide a product that looks and runs like new.