Need your advice: Thompson Offset machine

Medyo matagal tagal na rin akong nagbabasa dito pero bago pa lang po ako nag register. My name is Romel, from Tacloban City, Leyte. Matagal ko na po gusto pasukin ang printing business pero dahil may kamahalan ang mga equipments, hindi ko magawa. Ang nabili ko lang ay isang entry level na riso machine para sa sarili kong volume printing.

Ngayon, may kaibigan ako abroad na willing mag-invest sa akin. May isang printing press sa Taclobvan na nag-upgrade at ini-offer sa akin ang Thompson for P250,000 including the plate maker; one color at single phase ang line. Wala pa po akong sariling karanasan sa mga ganitong makina except sa nakakausap ko lang na mga nagmamay-ari ng heidelberg offset machine. Ano po ang masasabi nyo tungkol sa makina na Thompson. How about the price, reasonable na ba. Mga 1998 na model yata kung hindi ako nagkamali.

Meron naka-post sa Sulit, mura lang pero nasa Maynila, ang layo dito sa amin, at isa pa, nag-offer ang nagbenta ng service sa makina in case may trouble.

Need your advice, maraming salamat po.

Hi Rommel!

I used to have a Thompson Crown during the early 1980's, which I bought second-hand. It was a good machine. However, I just saw a Heidelberg KOR posted now at Sulit. This is definitely a much much better machine than the Thompson in terms of performance and durability. The price, at 300T, is only 50T more; but I can assure you that you can resell it later on for practically the same price.

By coincidence, the machine is owned by my good friend Rosendo Mejica of Makinaugalingon Press. It is in Iloilo City; so freight cost should be lower. Rosendo also has a forwarding company; so he can probably take care of shipment.

By the way, the feeder system of the KOR can handle more types of jobs than the Thompson. It is also easier to find operators of the KOR than the Thompson, which is kaliwete. Nasa left side ang operator controls, instead of the standard right side. Siguro dahil British yung makina.

Thank you for the response sir presstech. Ang concern ko kasi is the after sales support. I understand Heidelberg is much better than Thompson. Wala pa akong first hand experience to run any kind of offset machine, totally newbie and noob pa talaga. Nakita ko lang ang process pero wala akong hands on experience. I need to operate it myself first para maintindihan ko ang makina. Hindi ko pa rin po alam kung saan bibili ng mga consumables. Sana meron silang ganyan na support, kaya ko bang makuhang pag-aralan ang process for a day or two lang? Kasama na ba ang plate maker sa price na 300K? Ano po ang power supply ng makina (single, 3 phase)?

Sad to say, no newbie can learn to operate an offset machine in just 2 days. I suggest that you hire an good operator for maybe 1 or 2 months to teach you how to operate the machine. Hindi na bale kung mataas ang bayad mo sa kanya, bastat mahusay.

I suggest that you personally inspect both machines. From the pictures alone, the KOR seems to be in better condition than the Thompson. Regarding maintenance, it is easier to find a mechanic for the KOR, kasi maraming gumagamit ng K-line sa Pinas.

Regarding the platemaker, you can ask Rosendo about it.