Buyer be-aware

So, you’ve researched the latest technology in pressroom or prepress equipment, determined your needs, considered the environmental aspects and decided on your purchase.

The immediate impacts of your decision on your business would require careful planning for the installation. Think of how to reduce the disturbance to current workflow as much as possible. Then, there are the extra costs involved, like electrical, water or compressed-air hook up, delivery, installation and staff training. Unless you have negotiated these or some of them into the initial price, they can add up.

Be aware of the warranty conditions, limitations and effective period; why not ask for more? They can only say no. Is there a performance guarantee? Does the stated criteria meet your real world expectations?

You want as seamless a transition into your new (or new to you) piece of equipment as fast as possible, but don’t forget one important and sometimes neglected legal requirement. Under Ontario Regulation 851 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (and other provincial equivalents), a pre-start health and safety review has to be conducted.

Check out section seven in your “little green book” that has to be available and posted in any industrial establishment for full details. Failure to do this before the apparatus is in operation contravenes this regulation. Should it not be done and an accident occurs, subsequently requiring an MOL inspection, it will have serious consequences. Your due diligence defense as an owner, employer or supervisor will be negated no matter how diligent you have been otherwise.

The regulation has a table under section seven that lists all the criteria covering the requirement for conducting and documenting this review. It covers just about all the prepress, pressroom and bindery equipment I can think of, plus lifting devices (eg: cranes, tow motors and fork lift trucks), flammable liquids dispensing and dust collectors that may be added to bindery equipment. As such, a pre-start health and safety review has to be conducted by a professional engineer. So, try to offset this cost during your negotiations with the supplier. They probably have access to professional engineer services that can be included in the deal, though they are not required to do so. If not, it is far better to have it done during the installation as part of your own agenda than that of a Ministry of Labour inspector who will require the device to be shut down while the review is arranged and conducted. If you do need help I can arrange for a review quickly and at a competitive cost.

Back to environmental issues; be wary of “green washing,” if the claims of the supplier include such terms as “environmentally friendly.” What does this mean? Unless it is solar or wind powered and has zero waste or emissions, there will be a negative impact on the environment. For example, it could be a claim such as eco-friendly “waterless printing,” but such a unit can use more energy than a traditional equivalent, creating more green house gas emissions, and just how much water are we saving for the additional costs?
If the new piece of equipment, such as a plate or CTP processor or press dampening system, is to be hooked up to a drain, and only a sanitary sewer drain is permissible, then determine if there is some form of treatment device included. This should not include any device that uses municipal supplied water for dilution purposes. Dilution is not the solution and is stated as a no-no in sewer bylaws.

They vary from municipality to municipality, but they all have limitations and bans on listed pollutants, dyes and pH levels amongst other criteria. Under no circumstances should you hook it up to a storm sewer, as this will probably contravene both municipal bylaws, provincial water resources acts and the federal Fisheries Act – and you do not want to go there. Your choices will be to either collect the effluent for pickup by a licensed waste hauler or investigate the various on site treatment systems on the market.

Another option is to install a closed loop-recycling unit to reduce chemical costs, usage and waste. This can be combined with a treatment system or licensed disposal of the residue. I recommend having your facility effluent tested on an annual basis to see if they meet your local sewer bylaw requirements. This offers both due diligence and peace of mind.

For waste chemical containers or ink/toner cartridges does the supplier or OEM take them back? They should acknowledge their cradle to grave responsibility for them. This will and is starting to become a regulatory requirement. Enjoy your new equipment; I hope it makes a bundle for you.