Tecsa tabletop press - ever heard of it?

I found a press for sale, but I have never heard of “Pacsa.” It has a 10 1/4 x 7 1/4 printing area. Does anyone know anything about this press? The owner said that the size of the parts are universal even though it’s not a commercial brand. Any input would be appreciated!

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I don’t see any grippers, not a big problem, but there is no chase, when you measure the inside of the chase, that is the size of your press. you must have measured either the bed or the platen (where the paper goes). You might have a hard time finding parts.

The owner said there is a chase, just not pictured. She also told me what the printable area was, but I didn’t ask where she got her measurements.

My main concern is that I won’t be able to find replacement parts if something breaks. I’m not sure what grippers are. I’ve never owned a press so I’m not exactly knowledgable about what to look for when buying one.

If you keep within the limitation of its build you should not break anything . There are many references here as to the strength or the press ability , a good rule of thumb is to not try heavy impression with more than 1/4 to 1/3 of the area of the platen , roughly that would equate to a full page of A5 sheet of type or a solid that was not greater than 5”x4” with a couple of lines of type around it. This may seem quite restrictive but in reality most work for a machine this size would never be more than that area anyhow because you would hardly print great big reversed images on such a machine and type does not equate to any great area in relation to a solid .

Looks very much like a Craftsman Press I restored lat year.
Maybe made by Craftsman, sold by another company?

It does look Craftsmen-esque…. but it is a little different than the ones I’ve seen. There were several companies who made similar presses through the years. If it is in good shape, then it’s worth looking at…. but be sure it has a chase before you buy it.

Peter is right about staying within it’s limitations. All presses have them, and if you work within them you’ll be much happier. It may actually be more than 1/3rd of the platen area….. or possibly a little less. As you work with it and learn it’s ways, you’ll soon know what it can and can’t do well.

Thanks for the feedback! If it is a Craftsman, will it be easy to find replacement rollers? They need to be recovered. What about other parts?

The only thing I’ve been able to find online about Pacsa is this website and I have no idea if the 2 companies are related: http://www.pacsa.es/.

Also, what would you pay for it? I don’t want to get ripped off! :)

There are many companies selling rollers so you should have no trouble gettingthem, they cost around $100 each. you have the old rollers and trucks so it will be easier to get them recast. These presses can go for big money, i’ve seen them for over $2000, i sold mine about 6 years ago for $400, i just got another craftsman last summer for free. Craftsman is still in business here in Massachusetts, they don’t make presses of parts anymore but i heard they still have some parts in their inventory.

Thanks dickg.

Turns out the name is Tecsa, not Pacsa. I decided not to buy it though.