Best degree programs for Printing Press Operators, ranked by enrollment
4 college programs and 34 schools train Printing Press Operators. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $45,780 median wage, 144,260 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
4 college programs at 34 schools train printing press operators, graduating 487 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production. The job pays a median of $45,780 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About printing press operators
Set up and operate digital, letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, or other printing machines. Includes short-run offset printing presses.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
4 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 10.0305 | 252 | 51.7% | 19 | $25,121 | $26,958 |
| 2 | Graphic Communications, Othermain feeder CIP 10.0399 | 170 | 34.9% | 10 | $25,121 | $26,958 |
| 3 | Printing Managementmain feeder CIP 10.0302 | 56 | 11.5% | 3 | $25,121 | $26,958 |
| 4 | Printing Press Operatormain feeder CIP 10.0307 | 9 | 1.8% | 2 | $25,121 | $26,958 |
Top 34 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What printing press operators earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohiomoderate | $45,760 | 7,500 | 1.46× | 3 | 106 |
| Michiganmoderate | $45,280 | 5,110 | 1.25× | 3 | 42 |
| Alabamalimited | $36,670 | 2,160 | 1.10× | 2 | 40 |
| Kansaslimited | $41,890 | 2,640 | 1.98× | 2 | 38 |
| New Jerseylimited | $50,430 | 4,180 | 1.05× | 1 | 34 |
| New Yorklimited | $47,860 | 6,700 | 0.75× | 2 | 30 |
| Texaslimited | $42,550 | 9,110 | 0.70× | 2 | 27 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $47,330 | 8,120 | 2.97× | 3 | 26 |
| Minnesotalimited | $48,560 | 4,960 | 1.81× | 1 | 24 |
| Illinoislimited | $46,260 | 9,550 | 1.69× | 1 | 22 |
| Californiamoderate | $46,110 | 12,320 | 0.73× | 4 | 21 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $47,010 | 7,150 | 1.27× | 1 | 17 |
| Floridalimited | $41,180 | 7,060 | 0.77× | 1 | 13 |
| Hawaiilimited | $45,390 | 350 | 0.60× | 1 | 8 |
| West Virginialimited | $41,200 | 470 | 0.72× | 1 | 7 |
| Missourilimited | $46,130 | 3,460 | 1.27× | 2 | 5 |
| Arizonalimited | $42,950 | 2,400 | 0.80× | 1 | 3 |
| Georgialimited | $41,520 | 4,220 | 0.93× | 1 | 2 |
| Arkansaslimited | $46,470 | 1,760 | 1.46× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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.
Skills
- Monitoring3.3
- Active Listening3.1
- Critical Thinking3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Active Learning2.9
- Writing2.4
- Mathematics2.1
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical3.8
- Production and Processing3.7
- Customer and Personal Service2.9
- English Language2.8
- Computers and Electronics2.8
- Mathematics2.7
Abilities
- Near Vision4.0
- Control Precision3.5
- Problem Sensitivity3.4
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.3
- Manual Dexterity3.3
- Finger Dexterity3.1
Core activities
- Controlling Machines and Processes4.6
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
- Getting Information4.2
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work4.2
- Scheduling Work and Activities4.0
- Handling and Moving Objects4.0
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Printing Press Operator
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 4 majors mapped to Printing Press Operators4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 10.0302Printing Management
- 10.0305Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production
- 10.0307Printing Press Operator
- 10.0399Graphic Communications, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Printing Press Operator?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production, which awarded 252 degrees in 2024-25, 51.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Printing Press Operator?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Graphic Communications. Together they graduate about 487 people a year.
How much do printing press operators earn?+
The median is $45,780 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $33,330 at the 10th percentile to $63,520 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for printing press operators growing?+
BLS projects a -8.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 13,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
34 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do printing press operators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Printer, Pressman, Press Operator, Printing Press Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-5112.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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