The New York Post last night tentatively settled on a new contract with striking pressmen, a Post attorney announced after eight hours of bargaining yesterday.

If the pressmen's union ratifies the contract the newspaper could be back on the newsstands by Wednesday.

Last week the Post pulled out of joint contract talks with New York City's two other major newspapers, the New York Times and the Daily News.

The Post agreement is expected to pressure the other two papers to settle with the pressmen and other unions that have either joined the seven-week strike or have refused to cross picket lines.

Newspaper deliveries, one of the striking unions considered important in maintaining the walkout, settled with all three papers on Friday.

On Saturday, Post publisher Rupert Murdoch, who is also president of the Publishers Association of New York City, telephoned the head of the printer's union, William Kennedy.

Kennedy, who was meeting with officials of the Times and News at the time, agreed to set up a meeting on Sunday, the first weekend bargaining session since the strike began on August 9.

The three papers have a combined circulation of 3.3 million copies daily, and employ 10,000 workers in all.