A couple of weeks ago, I came across a posting for a Sigwalt Ideal #5 which is a tabletop press similar to a pilot. I love my pilot but, what I really like about the Sigwalt is that the platen has open sides so there isn’t a paper size restriction as on the pilot. This also makes it easy to add and remove packing without prying the bars open. The press is also in great condition, with all visible gold painted embellishments. There are several tabletop Sigwalts in the “Ideal” series and can get confusing to which one you might have so I have compiled a list that will help you. The Sigwalt company made presses from the 1900’s to around 1962.

Ideal No. 2, 3×5
Ideal No. 3, 4×6 (60lbs)
Ideal No. 4, 5×7.5 (90lbs)
Ideal No. 5, 6×9 (125lbs)

I wasn’t able to take a picture of my new press but as soon as I do, I will be sure to post it. In the meantime, here is a “stand in” picture from Oriscus.

I always wanted to know if there was a company out there making new table top presses. Recently, there has been a high demand for table top presses such as the C&P Pilot, Kelsey, Hohner, Sigwalt, Adana and the like. I know there is something nostalgic and sentimental with these old cast iron presses but, it would be kind of nice to have one that is sparkling and new and not to mention lighter. While searching the internet, I came across a company in Japan, who makes new Adana table top presses http://www.robundo.com/adana/news/018.html. I thought this was a beautiful machine and wanted to share it with other letterpress enthusiasts. (I think the price for this machine new is about $4000 US dollars).