Printing Press Operators
Set up and operate digital, letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, or other printing machines. Includes short-run offset printing presses.
Most important skills
- Quality Control Analysis
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Chemistry
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Adjust ink fountain flow rates.
- Change press plates, blankets, or cylinders, as required.
- Clean ink fountains, plates, or printing unit cylinders when press runs are completed.
- Clean or oil presses or make minor repairs, using hand tools.
- Collect and inspect random samples during print runs to identify any necessary adjustments.
- Examine job orders to determine quantities to be printed, stock specifications, colors, or special printing instructions.
- Feed paper through press cylinders and adjust feed and tension controls.
- Input production job settings into workstation terminals that control automated printing systems.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Realistic, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (73.2% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (45.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (46.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Printing Press Operators is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 74% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 65% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 50% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 50% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 98% of occupations compared | 85% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 79% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 77% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 56% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 6.19%
- Occasional contact with others: 5.07%
- Contact with others about half the time: 7.36%
- Contact with others most of the time: 43.03%
- Constant contact with others: 38.35%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 33.52%
- Fairly important: 8.83%
- Important: 10.13%
- Very important: 13.92%
- Extremely important: 33.6%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 11.48%
- Important: 11.93%
- Very important: 13.64%
- Extremely important: 62.94%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 16.04%
- Limited freedom: 5.96%
- Some freedom: 26.32%
- A lot of freedom: 51.68%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 5.07%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10.28%
- Every day: 84.65%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 31.36%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 26.69%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.28%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.92%
- Every day: 7.76%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 39.28%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 28.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 3.52%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.65%
- Every day: 13.95%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.2%
- Fairly serious: 36.62%
- Serious: 17.67%
- Very serious: 15.81%
- Extremely serious: 22.7%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 51-5112.00 · SOC 51-5112 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8