What does a printing worker do?

What is a Printing Worker?

A printing worker is someone who produces printed material in three stages: prepress, press, and binding/finishing. They review specifications, identify and fix problems with printing equipment, and assemble pages. Prepress technicians usually work in quiet areas, while printing press operators and print binding and finishing workers work in noisy settings.

What does a Printing Worker do?

Printing workers typically do the following:

• Arrange pages so that materials can be printed
• Operate laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates
• Review job orders to determine quantities to be printed, paper specifications, colours, and special printing instructions
• Feed paper through press cylinders and adjust equipment controls
• Collect and inspect random samples during print runs to identify any needed adjustments
• Bind new books, using hand tools such as bone folders, knives, hammers, or brass binding tools
• Cut material to specified dimensions, fitting and gluing material to binder boards by hand or machine
• Compress sewed or glued sets of pages, called 'signatures', using hand presses or smashing machines

What is the workplace of a Printing Worker like?

Prepress technicians usually work in quiet areas. Printing press operators and print binding and finishing workers work in noisy settings. Press operators' jobs may require considerable lifting, standing, and carrying. Binding often resembles an assembly line in which workers do tedious, repetitive tasks, such as folding and trimming leaflets or newspaper inserts.

Most printing workers work full time. Weekend and holiday hours may be necessary to meet production schedules. For example, newspaper printing may need to take place at night.