Definition of 1st Pressman:
The 1st pressman is a colloquial term for a printing machine operator. When you work as a pressman, your primary job duties include operating and maintaining printing presses. Printing presses are machines utilized in the physical product of newspapers, books, magazines, and other printed materials.
Responsibilities of Pressman
A 1st Pressman must be able to work with extreme efficiency. An employee in any field is required to exhibit specific characteristics that would make the working environment pleasant for him and the other workers around him. These characteristics are known as soft skills. Soft skills at any workplace include things such as friendly behavior, being a team player, being highly motivated, attention to detail, and most of all, respect towards other co-workers.
However, the core responsibilities are also mandatory to be fulfilled, but any negligence in fulfilling these soft skills and obligations can also have a heavy impact on the job. Moreover, the specific job responsibilities as a 1st pressman might vary depending upon the type of machine you operate. You may need to use a traditional plate and roller methods to transfer images and textbooks from a device to pieces of paper. You might also handle a plateless printing machine that uses forms of electronic or digital printing. No matter the type of equipment used, your duties will also include communicating with a pre-press technician, preparing equipment for the printing process, and handling the printing process to make sure that there are no errors.
Education and Training of 1st Pressman
However, you might consider enrolling in an associate’s degree program in graphic crafts technology at a trading academy or community college if you’re interested in completing a form of postsecondary education. Similar programs can give you the practical knowledge and vocational chops necessary to operate printing plates and oversee a printing press. They can also give you an educational background in typography, digital crafts, rendering, and graphic design.
License, Certificates, and Skills Required
Becoming a 1st pressman is not quite hard. You need some basic requirements and academic qualifications to get the position. These certifications and skills include things such as:
- High school diploma
- Press operator and diploma
- Certificate from a vocational high school
- Graphic art design Certificate
- Certification in printing technology
We have listed all the educational and technical training certificates. Now is the time to tell you about the skills that are required by any 1st pressman to qualify for the job. These include skills such as:
- Lean Manufacturing
- Printing Press
- Die Cutting
- Labeling
- Performance Management
- Quality Control
- Plating
- Preventive Maintenance
- PVC Pipe
- Press Machine Operation
Salary
Being a 1st pressman is not very beneficial as people of this particular field enjoy fewer salary benefits and facilities as compared to other areas. But, keep in mind that this job is for people with medium-level education. So, the national average income for a pressman is $40,000 per year in the United States. which means that a pressman earns $3,400 per month.
The Rise of Industry
The Printing and Press Industry is ancient. However, this might be the only industry that has been heavily affected by the advancements of technology. New tech is coming in every day. People are moving towards the digital means of getting paper-related readings such as books are replaced by e-books, newspapers are replaced by TV channels and magazines are converted into e-magazines.
Employment
Gaining employment in this field might be difficult for you. This is because there is not much demand for 1st pressmen nowadays. As mentioned earlier, technology has taken over this industry. We will guide you about this, but keep in mind that finding your first job can be difficult for you at the start if you have no prior training or experience. It can also take a while to score your first position in this field. But, we recommend you start with even the lowest possible field salary if you get the chance.
Now, you may ask, where will I find my first opportunity? Here are the steps that you can try out to get your first designation in the field. The first thing you can do is to look for opportunities on Linkedin and trying job search platforms such as Indeed, Jooble, and Monster. Moreover, you can also try our website for available opportunities.
