Education · 1 of 5

The path

Nobody is hired to run a press on day one. You get hired near one and work your way to the console.

1. 1

   High school diploma

   Grade 12

   Math, shop and any graphic arts class. Color vision matters more here than grades do.

2. 2

   Get hired as a helper

   Straight after high school

   Press helper, feeder, bindery hand or material handler. Apply directly to packaging plants and commercial printers.

3. 3

   Learn the machine

   1 to 3 years

   Makeready, plate hanging, ink and water balance, registration, color matching, and washing up. This is where the trade actually lives.

4. 4

   Registered apprenticeship, where offered

   2 to 4 years

   There are two dozen registered apprenticeship titles in this trade, including Offset Press Operator and Web-Press Operator, all of them paid.

5. 5

   Run your own shift

   After you are signed off

   You own the press, the quality and the schedule for those hours, and you train the helper behind you.