Printer operator vs printer assistant

The differences between printer operators and printer assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a printer operator and a printer assistant. Additionally, a printer operator has an average salary of $36,411, which is higher than the $32,289 average annual salary of a printer assistant.

The top three skills for a printer operator include troubleshoot, quality checks and quality standards. The most important skills for a printer assistant are cleanliness, screen print, and graphic design.

Printer operator vs printer assistant overview

	Printer Operator	Printer Assistant
Yearly salary	$36,411	$32,289
Hourly rate	$17.51	$15.52
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	43,730	1,162
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Printer operator vs printer assistant salary

Printer operators and printer assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Printer Operator	Printer Assistant
Average salary	$36,411	$32,289
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $53,000	Between $22,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	Providence, RI	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Quad	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between printer operator and printer assistant education

There are a few differences between a printer operator and a printer assistant in terms of educational background:

	Printer Operator	Printer Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Business	Graphic Design
Most common college	-	-

Printer operator vs printer assistant demographics

Here are the differences between printer operators' and printer assistants' demographics:

	Printer Operator	Printer Assistant
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 68.1% Female, 31.9%	Male, 60.4% Female, 39.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.2% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.6% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between printer operator and printer assistant duties and responsibilities

Printer operator example responsibilities.

Manage day-to-day operations and supervise employees to ensure the studio run smoothly.
Operate UV and solvent printers.
Collate and bind print materials.
Record HD masters, clones.
Print operator using high speed OCE printers.
Handle rush orders and short delivery windows.

Printer assistant example responsibilities.

Assist in printing the unique designs on the t-shirts.
Handle quality control, inventory, screen reclaiming, and general cleaning.
Change printing presses, change ink colors, clean printing presses and troubleshoot printing machinery.
Assist in all phases of the printing process including coating, burning, printing, packaging and reclaiming
Receive orders for textbooks, brochures, commencement booklets, t-shirts for on-campus activities, package orders for shipment.
Service bureau of customer-prepare disks to a high-resolution postscript printer and maintenance of Macintosh computers.

Printer operator vs printer assistant skills

Common printer operator skills

Troubleshoot, 14%
Quality Checks, 9%
Quality Standards, 9%
Basic Math, 8%
Windows, 5%
Preventive Maintenance, 5%

Common printer assistant skills

Cleanliness, 20%
Screen Print, 18%
Graphic Design, 8%
Collating, 6%
Quality Customer Service, 5%
Adobe Creative Suite, 4%