Printing pressman vs lead press operator

The differences between printing pressmen and lead press operators 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 lead press operator. Additionally, a lead press operator has an average salary of $43,547, 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 lead press operator are safety procedures, routine maintenance, and preventative maintenance.

Printing pressman vs lead press operator overview

	Printing Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Yearly salary	$40,085	$43,547
Hourly rate	$19.27	$20.94
Growth rate	-	-5%
Number of jobs	502	32,598
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Printing pressman vs lead press operator salary

Printing pressmen and lead press operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Printing Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Average salary	$40,085	$43,547
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $50,000	Between $31,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between printing pressman and lead press operator education

There are a few differences between a printing pressman and a lead press operator in terms of educational background:

	Printing Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Business
Most common college	-	-

Printing pressman vs lead press operator demographics

Here are the differences between printing pressmen' and lead press operators' demographics:

	Printing Pressman	Lead Press Operator
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 97.1% Female, 2.9%	Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5%
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, 10.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between printing pressman and lead press operator 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.

Lead press operator example responsibilities.

Manage output of film, using page-layout applications QuarkXpress and PageMaker.
Manage the production flow from typesetting - paste-up, imaging, layout, composing, proofing and plating for press.
Need method to proactively manage the business improving cross-functional collaboration & KPI visibility.
Mark Andy - 2200 / 10"six color press.
Maintain up to date production records with a high degree of accuracy to conform to ISO standards.
Supervise and coordinate activities in operating an aluminum extrusion press to manufacture a variety of custom extrusions.

Printing pressman vs lead press operator skills

Common printing pressman skills

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

Common lead press operator skills

Safety Procedures, 15%
Routine Maintenance, 14%
Preventative Maintenance, 12%
Press Operators, 7%
UV, 4%
Production Schedules, 4%

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Printing Pressman
Printing Pressman vs Lead Press Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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