Printing Press Operators
On the Job
Printing Press Operators operate a variety of printing machines. These include digital, letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, or other types of printing machines that are designed to print large quantities of pages.
Physical Demands 
This career requires time standing, walking, or running.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Operate cutting equipment.
- Operate photographic developing or print production equipment.
- Inspected printed materials or other images to verify quality.
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
- Lubricate production equipment.
- Record operational or production data.
- Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.
- Collect samples of materials or products for testing.
- Feed materials or products into or through equipment.
Typical Working Conditions
- Exposure to contaminants (like gases or odors).
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- Standing.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Frequent decision-making.
- Frequent contact with others.
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- Exposure to hazardous equipment.
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
