With the resurgence of interest in letterpress a lot of people are looking to buy small, tabletop presses to use for personal projects. I think it’s great that designers are getting their hands dirty and learning how fun and inspiring a small press can be.
But you need to know what you’re buying and who you’re buying it from!
I’ve recently had 2 different clients come to me with presses that they purchased that were not in working order. While I don’t like to slag anybody, I cannot in good conscience let it slide. There is a guy on the East Coast with a company called Excelsior Press. I would highly suggest that if you’re looking to buy a press that you may want to find someone else to work with.
The high amount of interest has driven the cost of the presses quite high and it pains me to think of ‘newbies’ been taken advantage of. Do your research, take a class, talk to someone who owns a press.
Here is a great resource for those of you interested in getting started. keep in mind that some of the users on the site are at the same level as you and some are ‘old timers’ like myself. People are willing to help you out. I know you may want to jump in with both feet but take your time…a press is an investment!
http://www.briarpress.org/
Letterpress should be a fun creative time and it kills me to have to tell a client that the press they have won’t work and it will take a new part and more money to get fixed.
Caveat Emptor!