Printing Press Operators

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High Risk
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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
1.9/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

69% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): This occupation shows a significant risk of end-to-end replacement by automation. Many core parts of the role may be structured, repeatable, software-driven, or physically predictable enough for AI, machines, or robotic systems to take over. If you work in this area, it may be worth exploring safer related careers or moving towards more human-centred responsibilities.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
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Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
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Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
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Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
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Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
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Show 1 more strength

Communicating with people outside the organization

Quite important
Why this matters
Represents the organization to customers, the public, or government—handling questions, concerns, and relationship-building through conversations, writing, calls, or email.
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What users think

Based on 76 votes

69% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted that it's probable this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 69% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Printing Press Operators will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Printing Press Operators was $45,160 ($22 per hour).

The median annual wage for Printing Press Operators was 8.8% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Printing Press Operators' job openings is expected to decline 8.1% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 145,110 people employed as 'Printing Press Operators' within the United States.

This represents around 0.09% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Printing Press Operators'.

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What people are saying (6)

Leave a comment
AM (Low)
10 Sep 2025 16:52
First of all, when receiving documents from many source, it often has to be reconstructed, turned, reduced, quality improved. No 2 documents are equals. There is also the pleasing look of the final product. Will it serve its purpose, to what clientele it goes. There is a human eye needed for that.
Tejas Virani (Highly likely)
18 Sep 2023 00:30
Expensive wages
In-consistent performance
Limited work hours
High performance machine
Hoop Jones
27 Dec 2019 07:29
Already digital printing is being implemented on traditional printing presses. The press operators have to make a few clicks and maintain the digital printing head. Certainly within the next decade this will be the new standard.
Siligrapher (Low)
05 Jan 2022 05:00
Digital printing is a gimmick for sales. Low-quality prints that don't last. Quality prints are done with plastisol or waterbased. This isn't changing.
Flip
08 Oct 2025 12:57
As a press operator digital printing is only good for short run custom jobs. There's no digital press that can put out the quantity that roto or flexo can.
John A. (Moderate)
26 Jun 2019 01:57
As a printer I see various operations and systems being narrowed down to be run by a small team of maybe 1-4 people for one press that for the most part automatically does everything.
Leave a reply about this occupation
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Job description

Set up and operate digital, letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, or other printing machines. Includes short-run offset printing presses.

O*NET-SOC code: 51-5112.00