Category: Press and typeface identification
Later topic: what press is this
Earlier topic: 15 line Hamilton Type

I can’t find anything about this press

Hello everyone,

I’m a graphic designer looking to start a wedding stationery business in the U.K. and branch out into letterpress. I’m going to look at a couple of letterpress machines today. An Adana 5” x 3” and a larger locally made press that I can find nothing about. It was made by the Dalton Engineering Company in Blyth, Northumberland. Not sure when it was made or if I will be able to find replacement parts or how much I should offer for the two machines. Here’s a link to some pics.

http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac253/Typesetter/Printing%20Equipment...

I would love to hear any advice you might might have on what price to offer.

Thanks very much.

Log in to reply   5 replies so far

I wouldn’t hesitate and go for the Dalton Engineeering Company’s machine. An Adana 5x3 is a cute machine, but you can’t print a lot on it. The green press in the photo looks to me a more robust press and will probably be a good press to start off with. Get in touch with St Bride’s in London, they will probably be able to give you more information on the manufacturer. Good luck.

And yes, a price. £300 would be a reasonable price.

Depending on how much they want for them, I’d buy both.

The dalton looks to be around an 8x5 inch chase size (so a larger printing size), but there is no chase in the picture so you’ll have to make one, or else try and buy one, which could take some time.
Otherwise it looks complete.

As long as you want it as a functional item rather than an authentic antique you can get parts frabricated or else bodge it yourself if you are handy. If you can make it print then it is a working printer.

The adana 5x3 is a very small press, but they work well.
You can print without the chase, increasing the print size slightly, which if you were going to be printing from mag’ plates etc would be good to do.
Get a base made up to fit the chase holder.

having 2 small presses means you can have one set up for scoring etc.

In terms of offering a price you can get 5x3s on ebay for around £30 if you are prepared to pick up or around £70 (which is steep) for those offering shipping (which costs about £20)

There was a golding press very, very similar to the dalton that didn’t sell recently, starting bid of £99 collection only.
That could have been a bargain.

You may need new rollers which could run to about £40 a set ( a bit less for the 5x3), but you can get started by hand inking anyway.

for reference:
An adana 8x5 in good condition with accessories can be had for under £300.

How much can you spend?

Good luck

Thomas was writing as I was, so i didn’t see his replies.

Thanks very much for the advice, it’s been very helpful. I think I will probably get both. It’s a retirement sale, so I think the chases are available too and lots of other accessories. I don’t want to spend more than £500 on everything, so I’ll just get the Dalton if I have to. Looking forward to getting started.