73401 Printing press operators

What this occupation covers

Printing press operators set up and operate sheet and web-fed presses to print text, illustrations and designs on a wide variety of materials such as paper, plastic, glass, leather and metal. They are employed by commercial printing companies; newspapers, magazines, and other publishing companies; and establishments in the public and private sectors that have in-house printing departments. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 7 main duties for this code.

• Review job orders to determine job specifications such as production time, colour sequence and quantities required, and advise press crew of these specifications
• Mount plates or cylinders and make necessary adjustments
• Fill ink fountains and take measurements, make adjustments and determine settings to control colour and viscosity
• Set up press and check samples for ink coverage, alignment and registration
• Monitor regular press runs for quality and consistency using computer control console and make adjustments as required
• Remove and clean plates and cylinders at end of press run
• Direct activities of press crew and ensure that safety procedures are adhered to.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 7 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 94150 Plateless printing equipment operators
• 53124 Artisans and craftspersons
• 72022 Supervisors, printing and related occupations
• 94130 Textile fibre and yarn, hide and pelt processing machine operators and workers

Excluded from this code

• Colour and large copier operator (See 94150 Plateless printing equipment operators)
• Laser printer operator (See 94150 Plateless printing equipment operators)
• Printing machine operator (See 94150 Plateless printing equipment operators)
• Screen printing artisan (See 53124 Artisans and craftspersons)
• Supervisors, printing and related occupations (See 72022 Supervisors, printing and related occupations)
• Textile printer (See 94130 Textile fibre and yarn, hide and pelt processing machine operators and workers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

apprentice press operator · apprentice press operator - printing · apprentice pressman/woman · apprentice pressman/woman - printing · apprentice printing press operator · assistant press operator - printing · assistant pressman/woman · assistant pressman/woman - printing · commercial press operator · cylinder press operator - printing · cylinder press set-up operator · cylinder pressman/woman - printing · cylinder printing press set-up operator · first press operator - printing · first pressman/woman · first pressman/woman - printing · flat-bed press set-up operator · flexographic press adjuster · flexographic press operator · flexographic press set-up technician - printing · flexographic pressman/woman · gravure press operator · gravure pressman/woman · gravure printer - printing

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of a college program in printing technology or A combination of on-the-job training and specialized high school, college or industry courses is usually required.
• Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in Québec.