What does a press assistant do?
Press assistants require physical fitness, stamina, and inventory management skills. Some of the job responsibilities consist of supervising and operating the press machine that produces newspapers, magazines, and books. Press assistants can be hired as consultants, or work for a specific agency, business, or individual.
Press assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real press assistant resumes:
- Manage shop, warehouse & inventories, supervise employees, schedule production, maintain and run equipment when need.
- Perform varied tasks in an ISO atmosphere.
- Work with both uv and water base inks.
- Employ root cause analysis to troubleshoot equipment and process issues.
- Assist press operator in all operations of multiple wide-web flexo presses.
- Learned basic table stripping skills, lm duping, proo ng and platemaking.
- Load pallets with unfinish magazine products.
- Operate electric forklifts to maneuver pallets to designate areas.
- Set up and operate flexo machine for operation and production of corrugate products
- Prepare sheet-f press for each new job and perform preventative maintenance on Planeta and KBA printing presses.
- Help operate Komori and KBA presses.
- Press helper on 40"six color Komori.
Press assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Press Assistants are proficient in Hand Tools, Preventative Maintenance, and Safety Policies. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Dexterity, and Mechanical skills.
We break down the percentage of Press Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Hand Tools, 12%
Assisted press operator to remove and replace worn rollers and adjust pressure between rollers of press, using hand tools.
- Preventative Maintenance, 12%
Performed preventative maintenance checks according to established procedures & schedules.
- Safety Policies, 9%
Observed all safety policies and procedures.
- Press Operators, 8%
Helped press operators process printed material and maintain machinery.
- Math, 5%
Use of math skills, color judgment, and monitoring skills to ensure quality of products.
- Basic Math, 5%
Performed basic mathematical calculations using a calculator.
Common skills that a press assistant uses to do their job include "hand tools," "preventative maintenance," and "safety policies." You can find details on the most important press assistant responsibilities below.
Computer skills. One of the key soft skills for a press assistant to have is computer skills. You can see how this relates to what press assistants do because "metal and plastic machine workers must be able to use programmable devices, computers, and robots on the factory floor." Additionally, a press assistant resume shows how press assistants use computer skills: "utilized computer plus math skills for orders and tracking of running paper. "
Mechanical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of press assistants is mechanical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday press assistant duties, as "these workers must be comfortable with machines and have a good understanding of how all the parts work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "ensured cleanliness and kept press/inkjet maintained mechanically. "
Physical strength. press assistant responsibilities often require "physical strength." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "metal and plastic machine workers must be able to secure and tighten heavy fixtures into place." This resume example shows what press assistants do with physical strength on a typical day: "performed quality checks to verify weight, strength and durability of the finished goods. "
The three companies that hire the most press assistants are:
Choose from 10+ customizable press assistant resume templates
Build a professional press assistant resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your press assistant resume.
Compare different press assistants
Press assistant vs. Roll tender
Compositors are the creators of a frame, shot, or sequence final image. They usually combine various digital elements to produce a believable picture. Following the direction of the style chosen for the set is part of these compositors' responsibilities. These workers create their visual effects and high-quality composites using special effects (SFX) like 2D and 3D animation and CGIs. They use these digital elements to create convincing shadows, enhance a picture's lighting, and static background plates.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, press assistant responsibilities require skills like "preventative maintenance," "press operators," "iso," and "blankets." Meanwhile a typical roll tender has skills in areas such as "load rolls," "clean press," "transport rolls," and "print press." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Roll tenders tend to make the most money working in the media industry, where they earn an average salary of $36,580. In contrast, press assistants make the biggest average salary, $37,340, in the transportation industry.On average, roll tenders reach similar levels of education than press assistants. Roll tenders are 2.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Press assistant vs. Compositor
A digital print operator is primarily in charge of preparing and processing custom prints according to client orders, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction. It is their duty to identify and take note of the client's needs and preferences, operate printing machines and equipment, and complete orders within deadlines. They also assist clients by answering inquiries, offering recommendations or alternatives, and promptly and professionally solving complaints. Moreover, a digital print operator must also handle calls and correspondence, maintain records of all transactions, monitor supply inventories, perform regular maintenance checks on equipment, and conduct basic repairs when necessary.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real press assistant resumes. While press assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "hand tools," "preventative maintenance," "safety policies," and "press operators," compositors use skills like "vfx," "visual effects," "animation," and "cg."
In general, compositors achieve similar levels of education than press assistants. They're 2.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Press assistant vs. Printing machine operator
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from press assistant resumes include skills like "hand tools," "preventative maintenance," "safety policies," and "press operators," whereas a printing machine operator is more likely to list skills in "production process," "preventive maintenance," "quality products," and "press operation. "
Printing machine operators make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $32,413. On the other hand, press assistants are paid the highest salary in the transportation industry, with average annual pay of $37,340.printing machine operators typically earn similar educational levels compared to press assistants. Specifically, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Press assistant vs. Digital print operator
Even though a few skill sets overlap between press assistants and digital print operators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a press assistant might have more use for skills like "hand tools," "preventative maintenance," "safety policies," and "press operators." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of digital print operators require skills like "image quality," "minor maintenance," "troubleshoot," and "pc. "
Digital print operators enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $33,424. For comparison, press assistants earn the highest salary in the transportation industry.In general, digital print operators hold similar degree levels compared to press assistants. Digital print operators are 2.2% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of press assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
