How to hire a print production manager

How to hire a print production manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step print production manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a print production manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new print production manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a print production manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a print production manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a print production manager to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a print production manager that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of print production managers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Print Production Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Print Production Manager		$15-46
   Lead Operator	Lead operators are responsible for the direction and supervision of the day-to-day activities in facilities. As machine operators, they control machines and take charge of industrial operations... Show more	$25-68
   Supervisor	Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the daily functions of employees in a specific team, department, or even a work shift. They create work schedules, organize work processes and workflows, train new hires, provide necessary reports related to the team function and the employees, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and ensure that goals of the specific team or department are met... Show more	$14-44

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Production Schedules
   • Project Management
   • Graphic Design
   • Press Checks
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Quality Standards
   • PDF
   • Client Expectations
   • POS
   • Print Projects
   • Bindery
   • External Vendors
   • Mac

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage print production of service manuals for electric hand tools and various in-house print runs.
   • Manage operations of a 15 employee in-house 4/C print shop scheduling and controlling operations within the plant.
   • Manage manufacturing of CD's and DVD's (including purchasing, offset and screen printing, and packaging).
   • Manage a team of production managers and coordinators while performing regularly assign duties.
   • Manage operations of a high-precision machining facility consisting of state-of-the-art CNC machine tools.
   • Improve Rock-Tenn's UV capabilities.

   More print production manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your print production manager job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A print production manager salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, print production managers' average salary in south dakota is 50% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level print production managers earn 66% less than senior-level print production managers.
   • Certifications. A print production manager with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a print production manager's salary.

   Average print production manager salary

   $57,213yearly

   $27.51 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level print production manager salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average print production manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$82,987	$40
   2	District of Columbia	$77,676	$37
   3	Maine	$70,901	$34
   4	New York	$70,412	$34
   5	California	$67,463	$32
   6	Texas	$55,973	$27
   7	Oregon	$55,423	$27
   8	Washington	$55,387	$27
   9	Arizona	$53,799	$26
   10	Florida	$53,733	$26
   11	Wisconsin	$52,344	$25
   12	Minnesota	$51,675	$25
   13	Kansas	$51,321	$25
   14	Colorado	$51,154	$25
   15	Ohio	$49,877	$24
   16	North Carolina	$48,238	$23
   17	Missouri	$46,124	$22
   18	Georgia	$42,091	$20

   Average print production manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$129,121	$62.08	12
   2	Epsilon	$118,902	$57.16
   3	Michael Kors	$75,309	$36.21
   4	Canon	$65,714	$31.59	3
   5	Mayo Clinic	$63,503	$30.53	2
   6	Sonoco	$57,665	$27.72	34
   7	Schreiner Corporation	$53,692	$25.81	1
   8	International Paper	$52,524	$25.25	48
   9	Essentia Health	$51,437	$24.73
   10	Ameriprise Financial	$50,861	$24.45
   11	Printing Services	$49,630	$23.86
   12	Colorado State Express	$48,230	$23.19
   13	Outreach	$48,135	$23.14
   14	Rite Aid	$47,605	$22.89
   15	TERRA Staffing Group	$46,573	$22.39
   16	Randstad North America, Inc.	$46,469	$22.34	7
   17	High Point University	$44,974	$21.62
   18	Arrow International Inc	$44,783	$21.53	8
   19	Robert Half	$44,688	$21.48	14
   20	GSP	$44,483	$21.39

4. Writing a print production manager job description

   A print production manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a print production manager job description:

   Print production manager job description example

   Arrow International is the world's largest manufacturer and supplier of charitable gaming products and solutions. We produce and distribute a wide array of products include consumables as well as best in class, state-of-the-art, electronic gaming products. We continue to grow at a record pace and offer this exciting career opportunity to join our incredible team. We are a multi-company organization with distributorships throughout North America.
   We are looking to add a Production Manager to our facility in Lynnwood, WA.
   
   To manage specific production areas to ensure optimum utilization of materials and plant personnel. This position is responsible for managing specific production areas to attain plant objectives of product quality, customer service, labor and material efficiency and overhead control. Ensures that all department positions are staffed, trained, and supervised. Accountable for efficiency, productivity, and achievement of performance according to standards.
   
   DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   * Communicates all production changes, problems and developments to the plant manager and production control daily.
   * Communicate daily with department managers any schedule changes or machine problems.
   * Operate within or improve upon budgeted guidelines (operating and capital acquisitions).
   * Monitor performance against production standards and budget, implement corrective actions where needed.
   * Implement and maintain cost control and cost reduction programs, review with department managers.
   * Ensures that work force is utilized in the most efficient manner and is adequate to execute schedule and capacity requirements.
   * Ensures that all materials are used in the most efficient manner thus minimizing waste.
   * Sees that machinery and equipment are maintained in the most efficient and cost-effective manner to meet budgets and minimize downtime.
   * Ensures that all quality control standards are adhered to, and that the product meets all approved criteria.
   * Establishes and maintains written policy and procedures for departments including job descriptions and performance standards for all positions.
   * Responsible for employee review and wage administration for departments ensuring that all employees are fairly and equitably treated.
   * Maintain a clean, safe and healthy workplace for all employees.
   * Participant daily meetings with production control and department managers to review shift schedules and capacity requirements
   * Weekly meetings with department managers.
   * Member of the Executive Management Team
   * Monthly budget summary (actual - vs. - budget)
   * Weekly goals and prior week summary.
   * Operating budgets for departments each fiscal year.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find print production managers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your print production manager job on Zippia to find and recruit print production manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting print production managers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new print production manager

   Once you've found the print production manager candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new print production manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a print production manager?