ESP Certified Partners

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  How can you offer your equipment at such affordable prices? Am I giving up any quality by purchasing ESP?

Q.  Normally ESP can provide me with a very competitive price, but I recently got a quote from a competitor and their price was about the same. Why isn't there much difference?

Q.  What does ESP offer for technical support and equipment maintenance programs?

Q.  Why don't ESP's machines have computer enhanced diagnostics?

Q. Why don’t you offer all the features or "bells & whistles" that your competitors offer?

Q. The overall weight of your machines are lighter than others in the industry, but are they rugged enough for high-volume production?

Q. Do belt drive unwinds leave marks on the forms?

Q. If I wanted to run my application Box Feed to Roll Rewind, will the ESP300 Roll Rewind Processor break the perfs as it is being rewound?

Q. Do your Unwind or Rewind processors have a built-in splicing station?

Q. Are ESP machines microprocessor controlled?

Q. Do ESP machines meet all the required safety certifications for sales worldwide?

Q. Why don’t the ESP400 and 300 Roll Processors have wheels?

Q. Does the Roll/Box Feed Solution require a lot of space?

Q. Your ESP300 Rewind and ESP400 Unwind Processors require air to inflate the roll core shafts. What if I do not have compresses air in my facility?

Q. Why doesn't your ESP300 Rewind or ESP400 Unwind Processors  have arms to lift rolls into place?

Q. How much room do I need to maneuver the ESP12 cart?

Q. How safe is moving and lifting rolls of paper with the ESP12?

Q:   How can you offer your equipment at such affordable prices? Am I giving up any quality by purchasing ESP?

A. ESP uses only the highest quality frame materials and parts to build our equipment. Our machines are not built cheaper, they are built smarter. By using automated production procedures, we have reduced both production time as well as production costs. This enables us to pass the savings along to our customers. Not only that, but we price our machines based on cost plus profit, NOT what the market will bear. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, we at ESP can confidently say that our growth is due to the quality of products and services we offer.

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Q: Normally ESP can provide me with a very competitive price, but I recently got a quote from a competitor and their price was about the same. Why isn't there much difference?

A.   Be sure that the proposals are for the same equipment.   Are they quoting new or used machines? Occasionally a better price can be offered if the quote is for used (or demo) machines.  ESP quotes new equipment unless the customer specifies otherwise.  We always appreciate the opportunity to bid for your business; however, to provide you with a fair proposal, we need to know if we are quoting the same solution and whether it is new, demo, or used.  In some cases, we can also offer an attractive price for used or demo equipment.

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Q: What does ESP offer for technical support and equipment maintenance programs?

A. ESP offers several options for maintenance and technical support:

  1. Most major printer vendors (IBM, OCE, Nipson, etc.) have certified ESP’s products for maintenance. Please contact ESP for more information on which vendors offer these services and for the contact person at that company.

    ESP offers training classes at ESP's headquarters in Burlington, CT, for your maintenance staff. Many customers self-maintain our full product line. We can arrange for access to our 24 hour technical support number for urgent issues and for less urgent issues, our technical support staff can be reached via email (techsupport@espcorp.com) or our main number (860)675-6443 during business hours.

  2. ESP’s equipment can be maintained by several third-party service organizations. If you have a third-party service company that you are currently working with, ESP can send them information about our training class at ESP.

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Q: Why don't ESP's machines have computer enhanced diagnostics?

A. The answer is "simple." Our troubleshooting methods are simple. Even an inexperienced technician can diagnose most problems in no time. With the aid of our technical support staff helping via phone, we are confident that 99% of problems can be fixed with minimal downtime.

The addition of fancy and over-engineered computerized diagnostics adds cost to machines. This cost is transferred to you – the customer. We would rather put the extra money and engineering efforts into making a product that does not break and developing ways to produce machines at a cost savings to the customer.

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Q: Why don’t you offer all the features or "bells & whistles" that your competitors offer?

A. ESP does not want a customer to pay for features they do not need.  We designed our machines to be modular so that we can configure them to suit our customer's specific needs. In fact, we do offer the same features and options as our competitors; we just do not include them on our "basic" machine. This gives us the flexability to customize a machine to do exactly what YOU require, at an affordable cost. The bottom line = your bottom line!

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Q: The overall weight of your machines is lighter than others in the industry; are they rugged enough for high-volume production?

A. Our machines are rated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL)  to hold up to 1,200 lbs. of rolled paper. To qualify for this rating, we have to be able to support 4 times that amount, or 4,800 lbs. However, at the time of testing, we didn’t have a 4,800 lb. weight in our facilities. What we did have, was a piece of machinery weighing 7,800 lbs.! We placed the 7,800 lb. weight on the core shaft of an ESP machine. The machine did not even flex! Ask any of our competitors if they can do the same with their machines.

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Q: Do belt-drive unwinds leave marks on the forms?

A. Belt-drive (or surface-drive) is a proven technology that is used by many different manufacturers.   ESP uses a 2" wide non-marring belt to ensure solid contact with the paper without leaving marks on the form.

We have hundreds of unwinds installed all over the world, and we have never had a customer complain about the belt marking the forms. Please feel free to contact us for a list of references that you can call to verify this. With that in mind, consider these advantages when using a belt drive over center drive:

  1. Driving the roll from the outside does not require a large motor or braking system, allowing the ESP roll unwind to run on a standard 110v/15 amp electrical circuit.

  2. There are fewer moving parts in a belt drive system, with no gears to lubricate or brakes to replace, making the overall system easier to maintain.

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Q: If I wanted to run my application Box Feed to Roll Rewind, will the ESP300 Roll Rewind Processor break the perfs as it is being rewound?

A. The ESP300 Roll Rewind Processor makes it easy to run light or heavy perfed forms without the perforations breaking.  Our electronic web tensioning system is operator-adjustable on the fly. This allows you to set the right amount of tension for your forms by increasing or decreasing the web tension at any time during your job, without having to rethread the paper. 

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Q: Do your Unwind or Rewind processors have a built-in splicing station?

A. Many of our customers do not use splicing stations, so we make the splicing station optional.  As in the question above, we do offer most of the features that are required, we just do not include them in our basic machine.  Again, this is one of the ways ESP maintains flexibility when customizing solutions for our clients.

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Q. Are ESP machines microprocessor controlled?

A. Yes, all ESP machines are microprocessor controlled. Our microprocessor technology paves the way for future advancements, including computerized integration for monitoring system status, paper used/left and sheets processed. We build ESP machines with quality construction and ease of use in mind, choosing rugged industrial-grade parts that will withstand a lifetime of use.

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Q. Do ESP machines meet all the required safety certifications for sales worldwide?

A. Yes! ESP machines have been certified for the following: UL, cUL (Canadian UL), CE, VDE and FCC. Also, most major printer vendors offer certified service and support on ESP machines. ESP goes the extra mile to ensure that our equipment can be sold and maintained in the global marketplace.

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Q: Why don’t the ESP400 and 300 Roll Processors have wheels?

A. Portability is a key feature of our machine designs; we do not need wheels. Using a standard pallet jack, you can easily lift and move the machine from all 4 sides, in any direction, even in tight quarters!

Our Unwinds and Rewinds rest solidly on the floor on padded and reinforced steel feet. Considering that large, heavy rolls of paper are constantly being loaded and removed from these machines, it is safer to have the machines rest on padded feet instead of wheels that can slip and cause the machine to move unexpectedly.Should you need to move a machine (such as putting the box feeder in the unwinder’s place), you should consider the ESP800 Roll/Box Feed solution. It’s the perfect solution for shops that constantly switch from roll to box-fed forms. By placing the box feeder next to the unwinder, both machines share the unwinder loop control and printer interfacing. And, once set up, this solution never has to be moved, ending any problems you may have had with moving ESP Pre-processing equipment!

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Q: Does the Roll/Box Feed Solution require a lot of space?

A. Not at all. The box feeder can be mounted on either side of the unwinder unit, and is only 19" wide. Most printers require more room than that around the printer just to open the printer covers and doors for maintenance!

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Q. Your ESP300 Rewind and ESP400 Unwind Processors require air to inflate the roll core shafts. What if I do not have compressed air in my facility?

A. You do not need air. ESP has and option available to add on-board air to inflate the roll core shafts. 

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Q: Why don't your ESP300 Rewind or ESP400 Unwind Processors  have arms to lift rolls into place?

A. ESP takes pride in providing affordable solutions that increase your productivity without sacrifice. This is accomplished by making a mobile cart, the ESP12 Powered Roll Lift/Transport Cart, that moves rolls as well as lifts them onto the machine.

The ESP12 Powered Roll Lift/Transport cart is easy to maneuver and has a self-contained hydraulic system to lift up to 52" diameter x 21" wide rolls. The big advantage of the ESP12 is that one unit can be shared with many machines, reducing overall machine cost. Even companies who manufacture roll processing equipment with roll lifts built on board still sell you a cart to move rolls from storage to the point of use. With the ESP12 you can pick up the roll from storage, bring it into the print center,  and mount it on the machine, in one step, without the roll ever touching the floor.

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Q: How much room do I need to maneuver the ESP12 cart?

A. The ESP12 has 2 fixed wheels in the front and swivel casters in the rear, allowing the cart to spin on its axis. Only 5" longer than a 52" diameter roll, you do not need a lot of room to maneuver the cart.

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Q: How safe is moving and lifting rolls of paper with the ESP12?

A. The ESP12 is one of the safest solutions available for roll handling. Since the ESP12 supports the roll from the core, it is impossible to tip the cart or roll of paper over. Supporting the roll from the bottom (as done by vendors in the industry) can be very dangerous when going around a sharp corner, especially with narrow rolls. Using straps to hold the roll in place still doesn’t solve the problem and adds another step that results in wasted time.

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