jobfacts

Printing machine assistants

SOC 2020 8135

Printing machine assistants set and operate letterpress, platen or cylinder, lithographic and photogravure printing machines, photocopiers, office printers, duplication machines and other reprographic equipment.

Also calledPrint operatorPre-press operatorReprographics assistantPrint finisherStamperDuplicating machinistand 149 more titles
Typical full-time pay£29,9002025 Provisional
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month351↓ 12%on last year · 298th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time printing machine assistants earn, 2025
£29,900 typical£25,40025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%£25,400
Median£29,900
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £29,900
South West!£37,300
South East!£33,600
Yorkshire and The Humber!£29,600
East of England!£27,400
North East!£27,300
Wales!£25,500
North WestNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £29,900
South West£37,300 (small sample)
South East£33,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£29,600 (small sample)
East of England£27,400 (small sample)
North East£27,300 (small sample)
Wales£25,500 (small sample)
North WestNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £26,000
  • 2024 £27,400
  • 2025 Provisional£29,900
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 351 jobs for printing machine assistants are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026347
Jul 2026350
Jun 2026319
May 2026376
Apr 2026343
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026345
Jan 2026362
Dec 2025144
Nov 2025369
Oct 2025413
Sept 2025487
Aug 2025427
Jul 2025447
Jun 2025425
May 2025464
Apr 2025354
Mar 2025389
Feb 2025391
Jan 2025377
Dec 2024195
Nov 2024399
Oct 2024481
Sept 2024404
Aug 2024456
Jul 2024486
Jun 2024481
May 2024458
Apr 2024440
Mar 2024341
Feb 2024348
Jan 2024432
Dec 2023270
Nov 2023370
Oct 2023341
Sept 2023391
Aug 2023466
Jul 2023442
Jun 2023574
May 2023504
Apr 2023407
Mar 2023533
Feb 2023454
Jan 2023524
Dec 2022414
Nov 2022594
Oct 2022705
Sept 2022589
Aug 2022637
Jul 2022709
Jun 2022628
May 2022684
Apr 2022613
Mar 2022714
Feb 2022622
Jan 2022750
Dec 2021519
Nov 2021714
Oct 2021750
Sept 2021697
Aug 2021633
Jul 2021643
Jun 2021605
May 2021528
Apr 2021455
Mar 2021578
Feb 2021386
Jan 2021392
Dec 2020343
Nov 2020388
Oct 2020555
Sept 2020406
Aug 2020436
Jul 2020315
Jun 2020202
May 2020172
Apr 2020261
Mar 2020412
Feb 2020575
Jan 2020516
Dec 2019447
Nov 2019522
Oct 2019538
Sept 2019516
Aug 2019553
Jul 2019616
Jun 2019542
May 2019582
Apr 2019418
Mar 2019525
Feb 2019407
Jan 2019486
Dec 2018317
Nov 2018495
Oct 2018589
Sept 2018583
Aug 2018570
Jul 2018661
Jun 2018596
May 2018549
Apr 2018560
Mar 2018509
Feb 2018505
Jan 2018582
Dec 2017405
Nov 2017564
Oct 2017566
Sept 2017627
Aug 2017667
Jul 2017655
Jun 2017729
May 2017633
Apr 2017604
Mar 2017633
Feb 2017466
Jan 2017561
Is there a shortage of printing machine assistants?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
43%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for plant and machine operatives, which includes printing machine assistants. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London120
North Northamptonshire20
North Kesteven19
City of Edinburgh15
Buckinghamshire15
Leeds13
Glasgow City13
Somerset12
Gloucester11
North Lanarkshire11
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where printing machine assistants are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of printing machine assistants
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–44Not published
45–54Not published
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent–
Not published
GCSEs or equivalent!70%
Other qualifications!64%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalentNot published
GCSEs or equivalent70% (small sample)
Other qualifications64% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: other printing (108%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 70%
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
2 to 3 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need in this job.

Courses include:

  • printmaking
  • reprographics
  • understanding the print working environment
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a print industry apprenticeship with a printing company. For example:

  • Print Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Print Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

These apprenticeships can take between 2 and 3 years to complete. They combine training on the job and time spent with a learning provider.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You could start as a print room or reprographics assistant and become a print operator or technician through on-the-job training and promotion.

Apply directly

You'll need a good general standard of education to apply directly for printing jobs. GCSEs in maths, English, art and IT may give you an advantage when looking for work. Some employers may ask for A levels or equivalent qualifications.

Other routes

You can do printing, packaging and graphic communications courses through the British Printing Industries Federation.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

A working knowledge of desktop publishing software will be useful, though not essential, as you will receive training from your employer.

Further information

You can find out more about printing careers from the British Printing Industries Federation.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for print operator. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • positions printing plates, loads inks into reservoirs and loads paper rolls or sheets into printing press
  • sets controls to control the speed, pressure and ink flow of printing machine
  • loads photocopiers, office printers, duplication machines and other reprographic equipment with stationery
  • starts reprographic or printing machine and monitors operation for paper misfeeds and error messages, removes blockages and replaces damaged paper, and monitors quality of output
  • carries out routine maintenance and cleaning of printing machine
  • sets and operates machines for cutting paper to specified dimensions or for folding or binding to produce finished paper items
  • sets and operates presses for stamping patterns and labels on textiles, clothing, pottery, footwear and other leather goods

Skills

  • follow safety precautions in printing
  • supply machine
  • troubleshoot
  • report defective manufacturing materials
  • follow production schedule
  • monitor automated machines
  • perform test run
  • set up the controller of a machine
  • consult technical resources
  • inspect printing output
  • keep records of work progress
  • perform machine maintenance
  • record production data for quality control
  • pack goods

Knowledge

  • quality standards
  • printing techniques
  • types of paper
  • maintenance of printing machines
  • printing on large scale machines
  • printing media
  • printing materials
  • screen printing inks

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Practical, hands-on work

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for process, plant, machine and construction operatives, a group of 25 jobs that includes printing machine assistants.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 142,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035496,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.