Printing and converting equipment appraisals.
A printing equipment appraisal from Lukes & Lukes is an independent, USPAP-compliant opinion of value for the pressroom and bindery: offset, digital and flexographic presses, converting lines, and finishing such as cutters, folders and stitchers.
Many digital presses sit under click-charge or lease agreements where the manufacturer still owns the machine, so we confirm what the shop actually owns before we value anything. Each owned asset is then priced by process, format, impressions or click count, condition and its resale market. Built to withstand lender, SBA, IRS, audit and legal review.
What we appraise
The pressroom and bindery.
We appraise the full print operation, from a single press to an integrated plant, and we price each asset on its own used market, not as a percentage of what it cost new.
- Offset: sheetfed and web offset presses, by size, units and condition.
- Digital: production inkjet and toner presses and wide-format.
- Flexo and converting: flexographic presses, laminators, coaters and slitters.
- Bindery and finishing: cutters, folders, stitchers, perfect binders and die-cutters.
- Prepress and support: platesetters, RIPs and material handling.
What drives the value
Ownership first, then the offset-to-digital shift.
Many digital presses are placed under click-charge or cost-per-impression agreements where the manufacturer effectively owns the machine, so those are not the shop's assets and we confirm ownership before valuing them.
On value, the shift to digital dominates: demand for older offset has fallen, so a sound sheetfed or web offset press may carry modest resale value, while a current production digital press holds more, subject to impressions or click count and print-head life. Format and unit count set the class; bindery and finishing are more durable and trade on a steadier market.
Which value applies
The right premise for the situation.
The same plant carries different numbers depending on why you need the appraisal. We determine and defend the premise your situation requires.
Common questions
Answers, up front.
What do you read off a press during the inspection?
Impression or click count, print-head life on a digital machine, the configuration of units, coater and perfector, and the service record. Those are the numbers a buyer asks for first, so they go in the report rather than a general condition grade.
What ownership documents should be ready before we start?
Lease schedules and click-charge or service agreements for every digital press. A good share of those machines are effectively the manufacturer's, and settling what the shop owns before anyone values it is the shortest path to a number that survives review.
Is the bindery appraised on the same visit?
Yes, and on its own schedule. Cutters, folders, stitchers and binders trade on a steadier used market than presses do, so blending them into one shop total hides the part of the collateral that holds up best.
Will a bank accept a printing equipment value that looks low?
It will if the evidence is there, and printing is the class where that matters most. The report shows the spread between continued use and orderly liquidation and cites the completed sales behind it, rather than asserting a figure. USPAP-compliant, signed by a CMEA.
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