I love my Conrad press! I have the E12; I just recieved it a week and a half ago. My largest plate right now is 8 by 10 and it works very nicely with a 2″ border around the edge… if you’re ever looking to go bigger than 8 inches in width, though, I’d lean towards the E15. Setup and installation was much easier than I expected, and the press works really well…. as well as any of the larger models I’ve used.

Be forewarned that a Conrad order seems to take about 3 to 4 months to arrive, as they build them to order. If this is an issue for you, I’d consider choosing one that wouldn’t, like the Blick presses. Lots of folks have those and seem quite pleased with them, as well.

Happy press hunting! Let us know what you pick, and how it works out!

You might want to look into the Takach presses. They are pricey but definitely high quality. I got spoiled using them and find my little Blick press doesn’t compare (though I love my little Blick press).

They have excellent gear ratio… pulling an intaglio is like cutting butter with a hot knife… The construction is high quality and they are very accomodating. My next press will be a Takach (if we can ever sell our house here and move back to the mainland).

These presses have excellent re-sale value and, on occasion, Takach has a used model available.

Diane

… I’ve never used a small Takach press, but the big ones are delish.

Beth… The tabletop model is every bit as sophisticated and smooth as the large floor models… just smaller but not ‘cheap’ in quality.

When I say I’ll get a Takach I do mean the tabletop. In fact, I’m off to Albuquerque in two weeks and thinking that I might just need the used one (if no one else has gotten to it first)!!!

Diane

Hey Kyle,

Just wanted to put my vote in for Whelan Press. About a year and a half ago I went through all the research and checked out all the different brands and ended up going with a Whelan Xpress. It has been just amazing and the owner, Mel Whelan is awesome to deal with. As well, it’s very easy to move around in my space and features a fixed bed, which will never warp. He shipped it to Canada and I had it within a month. Very cool!

Just my .02!

Good luck with the decision-

Shawn

P.S. I just realized you said “Tabletop” press! Sorry about that! They do have a smaller “Uberpress” though which is very cool, too.