Printing pressman vs compositor

The differences between printing pressmen and compositors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a printing pressman and a compositor. Additionally, a compositor has an average salary of $45,101, which is higher than the $40,085 average annual salary of a printing pressman.

The top three skills for a printing pressman include press maintenance, ink meet and offset printing. The most important skills for a compositor are VFX, visual effects, and animation.

Printing pressman vs compositor overview

	Printing Pressman	Compositor
Yearly salary	$40,085	$45,101
Hourly rate	$19.27	$21.68
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	502	154
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Printing pressman vs compositor salary

Printing pressmen and compositors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Printing Pressman	Compositor
Average salary	$40,085	$45,101
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $50,000	Between $23,000 And $85,000
Highest paying City	-	Pittsfield, MA
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Dassault Systèmes
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between printing pressman and compositor education

There are a few differences between a printing pressman and a compositor in terms of educational background:

	Printing Pressman	Compositor
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Animation
Most common college	-	-

Printing pressman vs compositor demographics

Here are the differences between printing pressmen' and compositors' demographics:

	Printing Pressman	Compositor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 97.1% Female, 2.9%	Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between printing pressman and compositor duties and responsibilities

Printing pressman example responsibilities.

Lead a team of three employees to help ensure production run smoothly.
Perform preventive maintenance (PMs) on forklifts and truck.
Operate a large commercial UV web press independently (1/4 million dollar press).
Maintain inventory of materials need for operation of pressroom.
Maintain inventory of materials need for operation of pressroom.

Compositor example responsibilities.

Work closely with lighting and fx leads to help achieve an efficient workflow.
Work include matte extractions, tracking, color correction, paint fixesand integrating cg elements.
Direct a small VFX team, create consistent, realistic 3D environments/effects; integrate live-action (film) into the CGI.
Apply FX stage makeup efficiently and quickly for several characters using stage blood, liquid latex, and other FX materials.
Install signs, and apply graphics to cars, vans, trucks, semi-trucks, boats, and windows.
Hand cut stencils and hand letter signs.

Printing pressman vs compositor skills

Common printing pressman skills

Press Maintenance, 52%
Ink Meet, 13%
Offset Printing, 8%
UV, 8%
Press Machine, 4%
Customer Specs, 4%

Common compositor skills

VFX, 19%
Visual Effects, 13%
Animation, 11%
CG, 11%
Maya, 7%
Mocha, 6%