How To Become A Printing Machine Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a printing machine operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average printing machine operator salary is $32,044. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a printing machine operator. Printing machine operators with a Forklift Safety and Inspector certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePrinting Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,044

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.6

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.50%

Asian 7.01%

Black or African American 9.12%

Hispanic or Latino 20.68%

Unknown 3.45%

White 59.25%

Gender

female 29.27%

male 70.73%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress level

7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a printing machine operator

Explore printing machine operator education requirements

Most common printing machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

46.8 %

Associate

18.8 %

Bachelor's

13.6 %

Start to develop specific printing machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Quality Standards	18.63%
Basic Math	11.05%
Routine Maintenance	7.12%
Production Process	5.70%
Preventive Maintenance	5.25%

Complete relevant printing machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New printing machine operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a printing machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real printing machine operator resumes.

Research printing machine operator duties and responsibilities

Take the UV expose board to the paint cleansing department.
Set up, run, and ensure the quality of print jobs.
Print pricing labels for food chains, run label machine, sort and deliver tags to mailroom.
Adjust image position for variable data files to accommodate perforations on paper or for viewing through envelope windows.

Prepare your printing machine operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your printing machine operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a printing machine operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable printing machine operator resume templates

Build a professional printing machine operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your printing machine operator resume.