Abstract: The aim of the invention is to monitor the operating condition of a press, especially a packing press (1) while preventing the machine parts that are involved in the relative movements from fretting. Said aim is achieved by a) detecting amplitudes of vibrations during the time and/or a distance of a relative movement occurring between at least one compressor (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) and/or a door (5.1) and the press case (2.2) within a cycle that lasts from the beginning to the end of the compression process and the ejection of the pressed article, and predefining an admissible oscillation amplitude of the entire press within the control mechanism (16.2) as a “normal condition” for increments of the duration and/or the distance of the relative movements; b) generating an “alert value” lying above the maximum value established for the normal condition and a shut-off value lying above the alert value; c) inputting both threshold values of the alert value and the shut-off value in the control mechanism (16.