Printing Press Operators
US occupation · SOC 51-5112
Job titles people report: Digital Press Operator, Flexographic Press Operator, Offset Press Operator, Offset Pressman, Press Operator, Pressman, Printer, Printing Press Operator, Printing Pressman, Web Press Operator
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $45,780
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $37,390 – $55,740
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 144,260
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -8.7%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 12,100
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Set up and operate digital, letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, or other printing machines. Includes short-run offset printing presses.
Main tasks
- Start presses and pull proofs to check for ink coverage and density, alignment, and registration.
- Examine job orders to determine quantities to be printed, stock specifications, colors, or special printing instructions.
- Adjust ink fountain flow rates.
- Verify that paper and ink meet the specifications for a given job.
- Collect and inspect random samples during print runs to identify any necessary adjustments.
- Feed paper through press cylinders and adjust feed and tension controls.
- Monitor automated press operation systems and respond to fault, error, or alert messages.
- Load presses with paper and make necessary adjustments, according to paper size.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 4 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services
- Printing Management
- Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production
- Printing Press Operator
- Graphic Communications, Other
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Prepress Technicians and Workers
$48,690 median · -15.3% projected
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$46,330 median · -10.5% projected
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$52,800 median · -13.2% projected
- Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$50,140 median · -8.3% projected
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$47,180 median · +0.6% projected
- Etchers and Engravers
$43,310 median · -0.7% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk