Human edge, steady

Printing press operators

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

AI Resistance Index 38 of 99

Changing faster than most: more resilient than 38% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by -8.7% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity.

AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.

Median pay (2025): $45,780
Job growth to 2035: -8.7%
Openings a year: 12,100
People doing it (2025): 144,000
Usual route in: High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
Program computer systems or production equipment
Set up equipment

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Inspect completed work or finished products
Position workpieces or materials on equipment
Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing

What the work looks like

Start presses and pull proofs to check for ink coverage and density, alignment, and registration.
Examine job orders to determine quantities to be printed, stock specifications, colors, or special printing instructions.
Adjust ink fountain flow rates.
Verify that paper and ink meet the specifications for a given job.
Collect and inspect random samples during print runs to identify any necessary adjustments.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as newspapers increasingly reduce their number of print days or move to an online-only format. Newspapers that continue to offer print editions are expected to continue to outsource newspaper printing to dedicated printing companies.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 59, -3.6%
GlaziersHuman edge, steady, Index 69, +1.9%
Stationary engineers and boiler operatorsHuman edge, steady, Index 77, +3.1%
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 62, -0.9%

Also known as: Press Operator, Pressman, Printer, Printing Press Operator, Digital Press Operator, Flexographic Press Operator, Offset Press Operator, Offset Pressman.

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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.