Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

51-5112 Printing Press Operators

Occupational Description:
Set up and operate digital, letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, or other printing machines. Includes short-run offset printing presses.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2025

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Central Minnesota	360	33	$24.06/hr	$17.74/hr	$19.13/hr	$23.30/hr	$28.10/hr	$33.29/hr

Leading Industries for Printing Press Operators

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	3,450	$24.36/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	230	$22.90/hr
Information	330	$23.77/hr
Financial Activities	N/A	N/A
Professional and Business Services	760	$22.35/hr
Education and Health Services	N/A	N/A
Public Administration	10	$29.44/hr

Other Regional Data for Printing Press Operators

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Northeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Grand Forks ND-MN MSA	20	$18.94/hr	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	70	$22.66/hr	-12.0%
Duluth MN-WI MSA	80	$23.05/hr	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	100	$28.75/hr	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	160	$23.69/hr	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	170	$18.49/hr	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	180	$23.54/hr	N/A
Southeast Balance of State	210	$22.63/hr	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	240	$22.20/hr	N/A
Northwest Minnesota	280	$22.20/hr	-3.8%
Southeast Minnesota	280	$23.05/hr	-1.6%
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	300	$21.66/hr	N/A
Central Minnesota	360	$23.30/hr	-2.3%
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	380	$22.72/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	510	$23.39/hr	-2.6%
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	3,210	$25.23/hr	-3.2%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	3,350	$25.04/hr	N/A
Minnesota	4,800	$24.21/hr	-3.0%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,330	$27.58/hr	1.9%
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,950	$27.26/hr	-5.6%
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,490	$24.04/hr	-4.0%
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	140	$23.85/hr	N/A
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	5,570	$24.90/hr	-3.5%
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	N/A	$25.08/hr	1.4%
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners	60	$25.27/hr	-9.1%
Semiconductor Processing Technicians	340	$22.80/hr	14.6%
Print Binding and Finishing Workers	1,860	$23.31/hr	-8.9%
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders	N/A	$27.11/hr	2.6%

Task for Printing Press Operators

Monitor environmental factors, such as humidity and temperature, that may impact equipment performance and make necessary adjustments.
Collect and inspect random samples during print runs to identify any necessary adjustments.
Start presses and pull proofs to check for ink coverage and density, alignment, and registration.
Download or scan files to be printed, using printing production software.
Clean ink fountains, plates, or printing unit cylinders when press runs are completed.
Monitor automated press operation systems and respond to fault, error, or alert messages.
Secure printing plates to printing units and adjust tolerances.
Direct or monitor work of press crews.
Maintain time or production records.
Download or scan files to be printed, using printing production software.