dedicated to the proposition that a woman's place is in the print shop

First Press Recommendations?

Hi Ladies!

This is my first post—forgive me if it's not in the right spot. ;)

I am SO looking forward to being a part of this community!

I am on the hunt for my first letterpress! However, I'm not looking to open a print shop. I am a graphic designer, and run my own small design business, so I am only looking to print things I design for my clients.

My clients usually need anywhere from 50 pieces to 250 pieces max. I design business cards, note cards, post cards, and thank you notes—essentially, stationary pieces. Any larger pieces or runs, I would hire another shop to do for me. The biggest dimension I would ever want to print is 5x5 or MAYBE 3x8.

I thought a nice table top press would suit these needs? Do any of you gals have recommendations on what a first good press would be?

Renee :)

Tags: letterpress, press, recommendations, table, top

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jessica C. White on February 19, 2013 at 10:00pm

Hi Renee,

The first presses that come to mind are the C&P Pilot or the Adana table-top platens. But it might be worth your while to dig a little deeper about what's the best press for you, for now and one that you can continue using into the future. I'd suggest you take a look at this article at Letterpress Commons - http://letterpresscommons.com/acquiring-a-press/ - which takes a lot of variables into consideration. Good luck!

Jessica

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Permalink Reply by Renee Swigert on February 20, 2013 at 4:10pm

That you very much; I will check out that website!

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Permalink Reply by Tiffany Smith on February 22, 2013 at 10:20am

As another graphic designer using letterpress printing to expand her business, I'd recommend going for a C&P Pilot as well. Yes, it's an investment of about $2500, which is a lot, but if you're going to cough up that much for a press, get a Pilot instead of a Kelsey. You'll get to love your press and then want to do more with it (as in bigger pieces), and a Pilot has a decent printable area and can be capable of a decent impression.

Speaking of Pilots, this is an insanely good deal I just saw on Briar Press:

http://www.briarpress.org/33350

We own two Pilots, both "rescued" in varying condition, and are still in the process of cleaning and repairing them. Totally worth the investment.