Buying a Used Komori Offset Printing Machine? Run This 6-Step Checklist

I've run a commercial print shop since 2016, and I've made enough equipment-buying mistakes to fill a training manual. In my first year, I bought a used Komori offset printing machine that looked like a great deal on paper—and looked a lot worse after I paid for parts, training, and downtime. Then I added a Roland wide format printer based on "potential jobs" that mostly didn't materialize. After that, I spent another year figuring out where laser printers actually fit into a shop that already had an offset press.

This is the checklist I now run every time we evaluate equipment. If you're a print shop owner or production manager considering any major machine purchase—especially a used Komori offset press—work through it before you sign anything. It's six steps, and it takes about two hours of honest paperwork. That's cheap compared to a $40,000 mistake.

Step 1: List your actual jobs from the last 12 months—and the ones you lost

This sounds obvious, but I didn't do it. I bought based on what I thought our shop was doing, not what we were actually running.

Go through every finished job in the last year and sort them by run length, sheet size, stock, and turnaround time promised. Then do the same for the jobs you lost. Ask your sales staff for the reasons. In my case, we were losing short-run color work because our setup time was killing us, not because of print quality. Our average run was about 800 sheets—but the Komori I bought was a long-run workhorse. I learned that after the purchase, not before.

If you do direct mail, also sort by USPS mail class. USPS defines a letter as 3.5″ × 5″ up to 6.125″ × 11.5″, and a large envelope (flat) up to 12″ × 15″ (source: USPS Business Mail 101, pe.usps.com/businessmail101). That determines envelope sizes, paper weight choices, and postage—which changes which jobs are profitable on which machine.

Step 2: Know how each technology actually makes money

Before you buy, understand the basic mechanics and where each technology is economically strong. Three types cover most commercial shops.

How does a laser printer work—and when should it win?

A laser printer works by charging a photosensitive drum with static electricity, then using a laser to discharge specific areas so toner particles stick only where they should. Heat and pressure fuse the toner to the paper. No plate, no ink-water balance, no makeready. So for short runs—a few hundred business cards or flyers—a laser printer is actually faster and cheaper per job, even though the per-sheet cost is higher than offset.

Toner for printer consumables is the real cost. I want to say we pay about $0.04 per black-and-white page and $0.12–0.18 per color page at typical coverage. Don't quote me on those exact numbers—it depends on the model and whether you use OEM or compatible toner. Calculate your actual cost per usable sheet, including waste, before comparing to offset.

Offset only wins when the run is long enough to spread plate cost and makeready time across many sheets. A 500-sheet, 4-color flyer usually belongs on a digital path. A 10,000-sheet brochure belongs on the press.

Wide format: the Roland question

A Roland wide format printer is for jobs that don't fit on an offset press: banners, vehicle graphics, trade show displays, large posters. I bought ours because a customer hinted at a big banner contract. The contract fell through. The machine did earn money on smaller wide format jobs, but not enough to justify the purchase in year one.

The hidden costs are finishing: laminating, mounting, cutting, grommets. A used wide format printer can still require $15,000–30,000 in finishing equipment and floor space to be useful.

Step 3: Check parts availability before you check the press

What most people don't realize is that two identical used Komori presses can have very different real operating costs depending on parts availability. A press in great condition is useless if a wear part has a six-week lead time—or gets discontinued.

Before you spend a dollar, call at least three komori printing press parts suppliers and ask:

• Do you stock wear parts (rollers, grippers, blanket cylinders, ink pumps) for this model?
• What's the typical lead time?
• What about electronics, like a KHS control board?

I skipped this step entirely in 2017 and ended up paying rush freight from Japan for a part that should have been available locally. It cost roughly $1,800 extra and 11 days of downtime. Actually, I want to say it was closer to $2,300 when I add the technician's travel time. Either way, an expensive lesson.

Also check the press's running hours, maintenance log, and impression cylinder condition. If the seller won't allow an independent technician to inspect it, walk away.

Step 4: Calculate real cost per sheet—including everything

Setup fees in commercial printing typically include plate making at $15–50 per color, custom Pantone color at $25–75, and die cutting at $50–200 depending on complexity. Based on publicly listed prices from major online printers, January 2025; actual quotes vary. Many online printers bundle these into their listed price; offset shops usually list them separately. Know which one you're looking at.

For a used Komori offset press, your cost per job also includes makeready time, waste sheets during setup, ink, blankets, chemistry, and maintenance per impression. For a laser printer, it includes toner, drum replacement, and electricity. A machine that prints 75 pages per minute is fast, but it's not a press. The economic break-even usually lands somewhere between 500 and 2,000 sheets, depending on your labor rates and consumables pricing. Calculate your own number and write it on a whiteboard. It prevents a lot of arguments.

One more thing: if your shop advertises "recyclable" or "sustainable" options, the FTC Green Guides (ftc.gov) require those claims to be substantiated. That's a conversation worth having once with your sales team, not improvising on every job.

Step 5: Budget for training, support, and a site trip

Here's something vendors won't tell you directly: the machine is never the full cost. I've seen shops buy a used Komori press and watch it sit idle because nobody on staff knew how to run it.

Everything I'd read about the Komori KHS Hyper System said setup automation saves 15–20 minutes per job. In practice, it saved that—once our operator spent about four weeks working with it. Until then, it saved maybe five minutes.

Budget for operator training, a first-year service contract, a starter spare parts kit, and downtime. I recommend assuming six down days per year for an older used press. If that's unacceptable, look at a newer unit.

Step 6: Run a "dry week" before you commit

This is the counterintuitive step that most people skip. Before you buy, take your busiest week of job tickets from last year and simulate it on the machine you're considering, using its rated speed and setup times. Account for sheet size limits, paper weight capabilities, and finishing bottlenecks.

If I'd done this with the wide format printer, I'd have noticed our big banner contract required a width we couldn't handle, and our finishing would have added two days to every job. We'd have passed on the purchase or bought a smaller used machine.

The dry week takes about two hours with a spreadsheet. It turns a gut decision into a go/no-go decision.

Common mistakes I still see (and made)

Now the reminders, because I need them as much as anyone:

• Buying a machine for a job you don't have yet. Hope isn't a business plan.
• Comparing purchase prices instead of cost per delivered sheet.
• Ignoring floor space, power, and compressed air requirements. A press that doesn't fit isn't a bargain.
• Assuming the previous owner's settings and workflows will transfer. They won't.
• Skipping the paperwork. If a supplier won't give you running hours, a maintenance log, or parts lead times in writing, that's a red flag.

If you're expanding your shop's capabilities, the equipment is the easy part. Verification is what separates a good purchase from a money pit.

I still run this checklist before every major equipment decision. It took me $60,000 and three bad buying decisions to write it. You can have it for free.