does anyone make a brand new press?

You can get a C&P for that budget.

There really aren’t any presses in production that are suitable for letterpress, so vintage is the way to go.
A press could be custom made by a skilled machinest, but this would be way out of yours and most people’s budget.
If you are having a hard time finding what you need, and are anxious to print, check out this month’s issue of ReadyMade magazine (if you are not familiar with ReadyMade, it is about all things DIY). It gives instructions on how to build your own table top press out of stuff you can get from the hardware store, for a cost of about $100.
Keep in mind that the design is extremely basic, and would only be suitable for slow, patient, hobby printing, with inking and registration all done by hand, but hey, there you go.
I believe a similar press was built by a Briar Press blogger about 6 months ago and was posted somewhere on the site. Check the archives.
If you are not feeling handy, be patient and you vintage find will come along eventually.

There is no way you could make a new press today for less than that. I would suggest you try posting an ad locally on Craigslist and in the paper seeking a small press. A press that sells for a grand on eBay may only cost $50 if purchased elsewhere.

Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY

I think you can still get Kluge presses new, though only large production models mostly for foil stamping.

And you’d need to add at least one zero to the end of that $500 ;)

A tip I was given many churches and schools used to have their own presses and now they’re just in storage. It never hurts to ask around.

Kluge will make a press based around a stamper for $35,000, last I heard. I think the Rose intro site had that number.

A company in Japan is also making Adana tabletops for $4,000 or so. There was a thread a while ago…

I have looked briefly at how much it would cost to make a repro C&P Pilot or a simple flatbed cylinder (think Vandercook No. 1 with grippers). I will be talking to my machinist uncle over Christmas, but in volume production of a thousand units with outsourced (Taiwan, India, or high-end China) casting & machining and domestic assembly/production/QC, I don’t think it could be done for less then several thousand dollars per press.

Alex, another thing you might try, is to talk to some local print shops (old, well established printshops). Old printers that have been friends for years keep in touch with each other and know where shops are being broken up and when their long time comrades are retiring.

My father established our shop in 1954 and and his friends from back in the day (now 75 - 85 years old) are consistantly trying to give away thier equipment. The old timers don’t think the letterpress equipment is worth anything, and we take from them all we can store and use for nothing or next to nothing. But more tragically, much of their equipment and type get junked without anybody knowing. This just happened a month ago with a perfect C & P. Out it went. *sniff*

So make some visits and do some networking. The equipment is out there. I promise. These old shop owners aren’t computer savvy and chuckle when I tell them about the popularity of letterpress. They don’t believe me. It’s up to us to find them, because they aren’t looking for us, they are looking for scrap yards that will pick up.

Agreed. Make in known to local printshop, even newer ones, that your looking for anything to be had. Leave business cards. They’ll find you eventually. Printing is surprisingly a very “small” industry. It seems everyone knows someone at a dozen other shops.

Updated. I echo Lammy’s one comment about churches and schools, especially when it comes to schools.

I scored my Craftsmen Superior WITH custom cabinet, built-in type case & drawers, type, and oodles of goodies at a school surplus warehouse. It’s in exceptionally good condition and the price was a pure blessing: only $100.00!

Look around in school surplus warehouses and you just might get lucky, too!

Brandtjen & Kluge, Inc. still sells letterpresses.

Having said that, in looking at this web site, it saddens me to see postings about injuries as a result of hand feeding a press.

No Kluge press should ever be hand fed.

No Kluge press should be operated without current guarding in place.

Kluge presses built prior to 1960 can not be properly guarded and should be taken out of use and destroyed.

Regarding new Platen Presses after the style of Chandler and Price.
I googled some place in India, and they manufacture the complete range of CP from the smallest to the big ‘uns.
Very well priced, but one never knows how well finished. When I get home to night I’ll look for my email from them and put up the details for you to seach.
William Amer, Pressed Letters, Australia
Hand and Machine Compositor, Printer

New Chandler and Price Platens, from India:
www.acmemachinery.com
go to
press and print finishing machines
go to
platen printing machinery

This is an amazing site, never knew CP’s had so many attachments/
William Amer, Pressed Letters, Australia