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Set up or operate various types of printing machines, such as offset, letterset, intaglio, or gravure presses or screen printers to produce print on paper or other materials.
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Watch a video to learn more about this career
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Employment of printing machine operators is projected to decline moderately through 2016, as newer printing presses require fewer operators. Despite this, job opportunities are expected to be favorable because a large number of these workers are expected to retire over the next decade. The best opportunities will be available to skilled operators.
Employment change. Employment of printing machine operators is expected to decline moderately by six percent over the 2006-16 decade even as the output of printed materials is expected to increase. Employment will fall because of increasing automation in the printing industry and because of the outsourcing of some production to foreign countries.
Book and magazine circulation will increase as school enrollments rise and niche publications continue to enjoy success. Additional growth will also come from the increasing ability of the printing industry to profitably print smaller quantities, which should widen the market for printed materials as production costs decline.
Commercial printing will continue to be driven by increased expenditures for print advertising materials. New marketing techniques are leading advertisers to increase spending on messages targeted to specific audiences, and should continue to require the printing of a wide variety of catalogs, direct mail enclosures, newspaper inserts, and other kinds of print advertising.
However, employment will not grow at the same pace as output because increased use of new computerized printing equipment will require fewer operators. This will especially be true with the increasing automation of the large printing presses used in the newspaper industry. In addition, some companies are lowering their printing costs by having their work printed out of the country when it does not need to be completed quickly. New business practices within the publishing industry, such as printing-on-demand and electronic publishing, will reduce the size of print runs, further moderating output.
Job prospects. Opportunities for employment in printing machine operation should be favorable. Retirements of older printing machine operators and the need for workers trained on increasingly computerized printing equipment will create many job openings over the next decade. For example, small printing jobs will increasingly be run on sophisticated high-speed digital printing equipment that requires a complex set of operator skills, such as knowledge of database management software. Those who complete postsecondary training programs in printing and who are comfortable with computers will have the best employment opportunities.
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Printing machine operators held about 198,000 jobs in 2006. Half of all operator jobs were in printing and related support activities. Paper manufacturers and newspaper publishers also were large employers. Additional jobs were in advertising agencies, employment services firms, and colleges and universities that do their own printing.
The printing and newspaper publishing industries are two of the most geographically dispersed in the United States. While printing machine operators can find jobs throughout the country, large numbers of jobs are concentrated in large printing centers such as Chicago, Los Angeles-Long Beach, New York, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, DC.
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Job Zone 2 - Some preparation
In these occupations you can often use your knowledge and skills to help others.
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Overall Experience
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Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience maybe helpful in
these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a drywall installer
could benefit from experience in installing dry wall, but an inexperienced
person could learn the job fairly easily.
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Education
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These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some
vocational training or job related course work. In some cases, you may need an
associate's or bachelor's degree.
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Job Training
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Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of
working with experienced employees.
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Examples
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Drywall installers, fire inspectors, flight attendants, pharmacy technicians,
retail salespersons, and bank tellers.
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| 1. | Bindery Workers | |
| 2. | Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers | |
| 3. | Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service | |
| 4. | Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | |
| 5. | Office Machine Operators, Except Computer | |
| 6. | Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers | |
| 7. | Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | |
| 8. | Photographic Process Workers | |
| 9. | Photographic Processing Machine Operators | |
| 10. | Prepress Technicians and Workers | |
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Details about apprenticeships and other training opportunities may be obtained from local employers, such as newspapers and printing shops, local offices of the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, local affiliates of Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, or local offices of the State employment service.
For general information about printing machine operators, contact:
- Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 1900 L St. NW., Washington, DC 20036-5007.
For information on careers and training in printing and the graphic arts contact:
- NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing Publishing, and Converting Technologies, 1899 Preston White Dr., Reston, VA 20191-4367. Internet: http://www.npes.org/education/index.html
- Printing Industry of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, 200 Deer Run Rd., Sewickley, PA 15143.
- Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation, 1899 Preston White Dr., Reston, VA 20191-5468. Internet: http://www.makeyourmark.org
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Sources: O*Net data version 12.0
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Department of Labor
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