Printing Machinist
What the work is
Produces books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, posters, leaflets, packaging materials and stationery using printing presses.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Sets, adjusts and monitors substrate-feed mechanisms, delivery mechanisms, inking systems and other printing machine functions
- Loads and unloads materials into printing machines, and monitors inventory of printing supplies and materials
- Mixes ink and solvents to standard, and regulates paper and ink supply during print runs
- Monitors, evaluates and determines press operations manually and by computer to check print quality standards against proofs and detect malfunctions
- Undertakes maintenance, adjustment, repair and cleaning of machines
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a commercial print shop with presses, cutting and folding machines, and a small binding area at the back. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A press run starts and the first sheet out is exactly the colour on the proof
- A hand-bound book is finished and feels as good as it looks
- A customer holds their printed brochure for the first time and goes quiet with pride
Hard days
- Spotting a spelling mistake on the first sheet after two thousand are printed
- A job that needs to be out at noon and a machine that jams at eleven
- A customer who changes the file after the plates are made
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 391433, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.