Our printing press movers in Ottawa take presses and print-finishing equipment out of one building and into another: offset and digital presses, flexo and label presses, folders, cutters, inserters and complete bindery lines. We rig, separate, skid, truck and set each machine, working with the press manufacturer’s technician, who disconnects the press before the move and recommissions it after.
We plan press moves for commercial and security printers, in-plant print rooms in offices, universities and hospitals, sign and display shops, and packaging and label converters, from the east-end business parks to Kanata and the Ottawa Valley.
We cover Ottawa, ON and the surrounding area, and we haul presses across the river to and from Gatineau.
- Industrial only: presses and print-finishing machinery for businesses; we do not move homes, offices or office copiers.
- One crew from rigging to restart: rigging, transport, set-in-place, levelling and millwright installation.
- Answers in 2–4 business hours: send the press details and photos for a quote.
- Ottawa and the Valley: the whole city, from Kanata to Orléans, plus Arnprior, Carleton Place, Kemptville and Rockland.
For a first number, try the Heavy Lifting & Moving Calculator: it returns a rough price range.
or give a call +1-613-699-2692
How We Move a Printing Press in Ottawa
We run every press move through the same seven steps, whether it is one digital press crossing town or a multi-unit offset press leaving a plant:
- Walk-through: we look at the press, its feeder, delivery and any inline finishing, then measure doors, aisles, dock and floor at the old and new sites.
- Teardown plan: with the OEM technician we agree where the press comes apart, how each section is supported and which trailer carries it.
- Your preparation: your staff finish the last job and empty ink fountains, solvents, coatings and paper; your licensed electricians cut and lock out the power.
- Separation and rigging: the OEM disconnects drives and controls, and our riggers take the sections apart with gantries, toe jacks and rated slings.
- Skidding and loading: each section rolls on skates to the dock or is lifted by a heavy-capacity forklift, then is blocked, chained and tarped on its trailer.
- Haul and permits: we route around the downtown peak-hour ban and posted bridges, with City and MTO permits when a section is oversize.
- Placement and restart: sections go onto the prepared foundation, are levelled and lined up, and the OEM recommissions the press and prints test sheets.
Before the Split: What Your Plant and the OEM Prepare
- OEM or press mechanic: photographs, marks and disconnects the press, and later recommissions it and signs it off.
- Licensed electricians: disconnect and reconnect power; Ontario requires a Licensed Electrical Contractor for electrical work done for hire (O. Reg. 570/05).
- Your contractor: builds or repairs the foundation, pit or trench and sets the anchor bolts at the new site.
- Your staff: empty ink, solvents, coatings and paper, and plan the print schedule around the downtime.
- Our crew: printing press rigging, separation, skidding, loading, transport, set-in-place and levelling.
Equipment Our Press Crew Uses
- Machinery skates and dollies for rolling sections across the pressroom floor
- Hydraulic gantries and toe jacks to lift units where there is no overhead crane
- Jack-and-roll systems for the heaviest sections
- Heavy-capacity forklifts to load and unload at the dock
- Trailers matched to each section, including low-deck trailers for tall units
- Crane lifts, when a job needs one, with our crane or a partner crane
Press Transport and Permits in Ottawa
Under the City’s Over-Dimensional Vehicles By-law 2003-497, a truck and load that meets or exceeds 4.15 m high, 2.6 m wide, 21 m long or 63,500 kg needs an over-dimensional vehicle permit. The City lists three business days for a single-trip permit and 10 for a super load, and the permit is not valid on posted roads and bridges or during load-restriction periods.
Downtown, over-dimensional loads may not move from 7 to 9:30 a.m. or from 3:30 to 6 p.m., and between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. downtown moves are subject to the City’s escort requirements. The NCC parkways are closed to commercial vehicles, so press loads are routed on city streets and Highways 417 and 416, which need an MTO permit applied for at least 5 business days ahead.
Set-In-Place, Levelling and Restart
At the new site we set each section on its marks, shim and level it, line it up with its neighbour and, where the OEM asks, our millwrights bolt the sections back together. The OEM then reconnects drives, air and controls and runs test sheets. Ask the OEM for its recommissioning dates early, because the restart date depends on them.
or give a call +1-613-699-2692
Presses and Print Equipment We Move in Ottawa
Printing has deep roots in Ottawa: the Lowe-Martin Group was founded in the city in 1908 and offers sheetfed offset, digital and security printing from its Hunt Club Road headquarters, and in 2019 it sold its web-printing business, which became part of Dollco Print Solutions Group. Sales and consolidations like that are one reason presses change buildings. Our crew moves:
- Offset printing equipment: sheetfed and web offset presses with coaters, feeders and deliveries, separated into sections for the move
- Digital printing equipment: toner and inkjet production presses and their finishers, moved upright and protected
- Large format printing equipment: roll and flatbed printers and cutting tables for sign and display work
- Flexo and label presses: narrow-web and wide-web presses for packaging and label converters
- Bindery and mailing lines: folders, guillotine cutters, stitchers, perfect binders and inserters
- Screen printing: automatic screen printing presses and conveyor dryers
Industries We Serve in Ottawa
Commercial and security printers, in-plant print rooms, direct-mail houses, sign and display printers, and packaging and label converters. Outside printing, the same crew moves equipment for the telecom, semiconductor, defence and advanced-manufacturing firms that Invest Ottawa lists among the city’s key sectors.
Bindery and Finishing Lines
A finishing line has to come back up in the order it ran, so we photograph and tag each folder, cutter, stitcher and conveyor before it is disconnected, and set each one back on its marks at the new site.
or give a call +1-613-699-2692
Printing Press Moving Cost in Ottawa: What Affects the Price
Every press move is priced on its own, after we have the press details or have seen the site. What drives the number:
- Press size and build: number of units, section weights, coaters, perfecting and inline finishing
- Teardown depth: how far the press must come apart, and who handles the mechanical disconnect
- Building access: dock or grade-level doors, freight elevators, floor loading and pits
- Lifting method: skates, gantries, jack-and-roll or a crane lift (our crane or a partner crane), with crane time included in your quote
- Route and permits: distance, City and MTO permits, downtown time windows and escorts
- Schedule: evening or weekend work so the press is down for as few shifts as possible
Comparing quotes? Check that each one covers rigging, transport, set-in-place and levelling, and get the OEM’s recommissioning price separately. Estimates are free, quotes are in Canadian dollars (CAD), and we accept cash, debit and credit cards and bank transfers.
Why Ottawa Print Shops Hire Us
- One crew from teardown to restart: the people who rig the press also truck it and set it, so nothing falls between contractors.
- OEM coordination: we plan the separation with the manufacturer’s technician and work to their marks.
- Lifting without a building crane: gantries, toe jacks, skates and jack-and-roll suit pressrooms with low ceilings.
- Ottawa permits and timing handled: over-dimensional permits, downtown windows and escorts arranged for you.
- Storage between sites can be arranged when the new building is not ready.
- Quick replies: quotes within 2–4 business hours.
A good fit: pressroom moves inside a building, moves to a new plant, consolidations, closures, and presses sold to a buyer elsewhere in Canada or in the United States.
Not a fit: print jobs and print services, office printers, photocopy machines and plotters, fine art and antiques for homes, office or household moves, press repair and parts, the history of the printing press, and printing press operator jobs.
Specialty Rigging and Machinery Moving in Ottawa
Beyond the pressroom, our crew handles specialty rigging and machinery moving across Ottawa: machine tools, lab and production equipment, generators and switchgear, and loading or unloading at the dock. See heavy equipment movers in Ottawa, industrial rigging services in Ottawa, or heavy equipment loading and unloading in Ottawa for dock work on its own. For moves elsewhere in the province, see machinery movers across Ontario.
or give a call +1-613-699-2692
Areas We Cover in Ottawa and Nearby
Our Ottawa press movers work in every part of the city, including the business parks named in the City’s industrial land surveys: Kanata North and Kanata South, Stittsville, Bells Corners, Merivale and South Merivale, Colonnade, the airport lands, Hawthorne-Stevenage, Sheffield, Canotek, Taylor Creek and the Carp Road corridor. Outside the city we cover Arnprior, Almonte, Carleton Place, Kemptville, Rockland, Russell, Embrun and Casselman.
Presses can also be hauled across the river to and from Gatineau. For moves toward Kingston, or a press in Kanata, see printing press movers in Kingston and printing press movers in Kanata.
Key Cities We Serve Around Ottawa
| City | Province | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | Ontario | Canada |
| Almonte | Ontario | Canada |
| Arnprior | Ontario | Canada |
| Aylmer | Quebec | Canada |
| Buckingham | Quebec | Canada |
| Carleton Place | Ontario | Canada |
| Casselman | Ontario | Canada |
| Embrun | Ontario | Canada |
| Gatineau | Quebec | Canada |
| Greely | Ontario | Canada |
| Kanata | Ontario | Canada |
| Kemptville | Ontario | Canada |
| Richmond | Ontario | Canada |
| Rockland | Ontario | Canada |
| Russell | Ontario | Canada |
| Stittsville | Ontario | Canada |
| Thurso | Quebec | Canada |
or give a call +1-613-699-2692
Have These Ready for an Exact Quote
The more we know before the walk-through, the faster your number comes back. Send these with your quote request:
- The press: make, model, size and number of units, plus any coater or inline finishing
- Section weights, from the manual, the OEM or the nameplate
- Both sites: addresses, dock or grade doors, elevators, ceiling height and floor
- Timing: the last run at the old site and the target restart date
- Your team: who disconnects and recommissions the press, and who prepares the foundation
- Photos: the press from all sides, the finishing equipment and the way out
Other Services in Ottawa
Browse all our services in Ottawa, or pick a related service:
- Heavy Equipment & Machinery Movers in Ottawa, ON
- Heavy & Industrial Rigging Services in Ottawa, ON
- Factory & Plant Relocation Services in Ottawa, ON
- Lab & Medical Equipment Movers in Ottawa, ON
- Forklift Moving Service in Ottawa, ON
- CNC Machine Movers in Ottawa, ON
- Electrical Transformer Moving Services in Ottawa, ON
- Heavy Equipment Loading & Unloading in Ottawa, ON
Location of our sales office:
955 Green Valley Crescent, Ottawa, ON K2C 3K7, Canada 👇
Printing Press Moving in Ottawa: FAQ
There is no flat rate, because presses differ so much. The price follows the number of units and their weights, how far the press must come apart, the access at both buildings, the lifting method, the route and permits, and whether the work runs at night. Our Heavy Lifting and Moving Calculator gives a first range; a site visit gives the exact number.
Treat it as a planned teardown, move and restart. The OEM technician documents and disconnects the press, riggers separate it into sections and move each one on skates or a forklift to a trailer matched to its weight, and the sections are set, levelled and joined on a foundation built for the press. The OEM then recommissions it.
Bent frames and damaged gears from poor lifting points, cylinders knocked out of true, sections set out of level, a foundation or pit that is not ready, and spilled ink or solvent. Delays are a risk too: a missed permit or OEM date can hold up the restart. A written plan, rated rigging and a confirmed OEM schedule prevent most of them.
Only if the loaded truck meets or exceeds 4.15 m high, 2.6 m wide, 21 m long or 63,500 kg. Then the City of Ottawa requires an over-dimensional vehicle permit under By-law 2003-497, which it lists at three business days for a single trip. Highways 417 and 416 need an MTO permit. We prepare and apply for both.
Yes, within the City’s timing rules. Over-dimensional loads may not move in the downtown core from 7 to 9:30 a.m. or from 3:30 to 6 p.m., and between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. downtown moves are subject to escort requirements. NCC parkways are closed to commercial vehicles, so we plan the route on city streets.
Yes, we haul presses and finishing equipment across the river between Ottawa and Gatineau. Rigging and set-in-place on the Quebec side are confirmed job by job before we quote, so tell us both addresses and what has to happen at each end. Moves within Ottawa, Kanata and the Valley towns are part of our regular area.
Yes. For printing press removal from a closing shop, an in-plant print room or a building being emptied, we rig the press out, load it and deliver it to the buyer, a dealer or storage. Give us the removal deadline and the building’s access rules, such as loading-dock hours, and we plan the crew and trucks around them.
Ask each mover how they will split and lift the press, who coordinates with the OEM, which permits the route needs, and whether rigging, transport, set-in-place and levelling are in one price. Ask for a written move plan and dates. A mover that answers these clearly before quoting is a safer choice than the lowest number.
Yes, when it is going to or from a print shop, studio, school or other business address. Cast-iron platen and cylinder presses are top-heavy and brittle, so we lift them at the right points, roll them on skates and crate or block them for the trip. Moves into homes or basements are not a fit for our industrial crew.
No. Office printers, photocopy machines, plotters, fine art and household goods are jobs for office or fine-art movers. Rigging-Busters moves industrial print equipment: offset, digital, flexo and screen presses, bindery and mailing lines, and the heavy machinery around them. If your Ottawa move involves a press or a finishing line, send us the details.
