Journeyman pressman vs lead press operator

The differences between journeyman pressmen and lead press operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a journeyman pressman and a lead press operator. Additionally, a journeyman pressman has an average salary of $44,022, which is higher than the $43,547 average annual salary of a lead press operator.

The top three skills for a journeyman pressman include press maintenance, offset printing and RAN. The most important skills for a lead press operator are safety procedures, routine maintenance, and preventative maintenance.

Journeyman pressman vs lead press operator overview

	Journeyman Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Yearly salary	$44,022	$43,547
Hourly rate	$21.16	$20.94
Growth rate	-	-5%
Number of jobs	4,118	32,598
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Journeyman pressman vs lead press operator salary

Journeyman pressmen and lead press operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Journeyman Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Average salary	$44,022	$43,547
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $55,000	Between $31,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between journeyman pressman and lead press operator education

There are a few differences between a journeyman pressman and a lead press operator in terms of educational background:

	Journeyman Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Journeyman pressman vs lead press operator demographics

Here are the differences between journeyman pressmen' and lead press operators' demographics:

	Journeyman Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 95.2% Female, 4.8%	Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.6% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between journeyman pressman and lead press operator duties and responsibilities

Journeyman pressman example responsibilities.

Set color and run reels.
Train apprentices and run roll tender when operator are gone.
Maintain inventory of materials need for operation of pressroom.
Maintain inventory of materials need for operation of pressroom.

Lead press operator example responsibilities.

Manage output of film, using page-layout applications QuarkXpress and PageMaker.
Manage the production flow from typesetting - paste-up, imaging, layout, composing, proofing and plating for press.
Need method to proactively manage the business improving cross-functional collaboration & KPI visibility.
Mark Andy - 2200 / 10"six color press.
Maintain up to date production records with a high degree of accuracy to conform to ISO standards.
Supervise and coordinate activities in operating an aluminum extrusion press to manufacture a variety of custom extrusions.

Journeyman pressman vs lead press operator skills

Common journeyman pressman skills

Press Maintenance, 30%
Offset Printing, 10%
RAN, 8%
Ink Density, 8%
Press Operation, 8%
Water Balance, 4%

Common lead press operator skills

Safety Procedures, 15%
Routine Maintenance, 14%
Preventative Maintenance, 12%
Press Operators, 7%
UV, 4%
Production Schedules, 4%

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Journeyman Pressman
Journeyman Pressman vs Lead Press Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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