Unit Group

7381 Printing press operators

Printing press operators set up and operate sheet and web-fed presses to print text, illustrations and designs on a wide variety of materials such as paper, plastic, glass, leather and metal. They are employed by commercial printing companies; newspapers, magazines, and other publishing companies; and establishments in the public and private sectors that have in-house printing departments.

Example Titles

apprentice pressman/woman
assistant pressman/woman
first pressman/woman
flexographic press operator
offset press operator
printing press operator
rotogravure pressman/woman – printing

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Main duties

Printing press operators perform some or all of the following duties:

• Review job orders to determine job specifications such as production time, colour sequence and quantities required, and advise press crew of these specifications

• Mount plates or cylinders and make necessary adjustments

• Fill ink fountains and take measurements, make adjustments and determine settings to control colour and viscosity

• Set up press and check samples for ink coverage, alignment and registration

• Monitor regular press runs for quality and consistency using computer control console and make adjustments as required

• Remove and clean plates and cylinders at end of press run

• Direct activities of press crew and ensure that safety procedures are adhered to.

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.

• Completion of a college program in printing technology
  or
  A combination of on-the-job training and specialized high school, college or industry courses is usually required.

• Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in Québec.

Additional information

• Progression to supervisory positions, such as pressroom supervisor, is possible with experience.

Classified elsewhere

• Operators of laser printers, colour and large copiers and printing machines (in 9471 Plateless printing equipment operators )
• Screen printing artisans (in 5244 Artisans and craftspersons )
• Supervisors, printing and related occupations (7303)
• Textile printers (in 9441 Textile fibre and yarn, hide and pelt processing machine operators and workers )

Classification Structure - 7