Presses

Let­ter­press Print­ing Machines (and nev­er Let­ter­presses!) were made to cater for almost every need: from tiny cards to news­pa­pers and posters. I’ve chosen a rather arbit­rary sys­tem to group them: small presses; platen presses; iron hand presses and cyl­in­der presses.

Have a look around: you might be able to select your next press or learn a little more about the equip­ment you have.

Small Presses

Presses that can be moved and oper­ated by hand

Platen Presses

Presses that use a ‘clam shell’ approach

Cylinder and Proofing Presses

Presses using a cyl­in­der to impress the paper on the forme

Finding a Press

How to find your­self a print­ing press

Installing and Caring for Letterpress Machines

Installing a new let­ter­press machine; and look­ing after it

Maintaining Letterpress Machines

Look­ing after your press and the tools you’ll need