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Digital printer

Also called print operator, digital web printer, retoucher and printer

Digital printers work with machines that print directly to the medium, without an intervening plate. Digital printers usually use laser or inkjet technology to print individual pages without lengthy or labour intensive technical steps intervening between the finished digital product and the print.

Will there be jobs?Limited prospects9 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Handicraft and printing workersWhat does it pay?About averageFrom about €1,100 (Bulgaria) to €4,900 (Denmark) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Handicraft and printing workersWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training. 3 in 10 train through vocational routes.Handicraft and printing workersWill AI change it?Very littleLevel 1 of 6. AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.Printers · ILO

What you'd do

Printers · ILO
  • Setting, adjusting and monitoring substrate-feed mechanisms, delivery mechanisms, inking systems and other printing machine functions
  • Mixing ink and solvents to standard, and regulating paper and ink supply during print runs
  • Monitoring, evaluating and determining press to check print quality standards against proofs and detect malfunctions
  • Producing a variety of printed products using relief, lithographic, flexographic and gravure printing presses, and in-line finishing systems
  • Preparing plates, blankets and impression cylinders on small offset lithographic printing presses
  • Loading paper into feeding mechanisms
  • Monitoring machine operations and quality of printing
  • Maintaining, adjusting, repairing and cleaning machines
  • Producing digital print images, and transferring and outputting images
Follow safety precautions in printingProduce prepress proofUse colour printing programsSet colour profilesFollow production schedule+ 7 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors
  • On your feet most of the day
  • Lots of contact with people
  • Good freedom to decide
  • Usually 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines every day
  • Some repetitive tasks
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Printing Press Operators"

Will there be jobs?

Limited prospects

Fewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.

People working as handicraft and printing workers in the EU
1.02m893k739k 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
204,000 replacing leavers 126,000 jobs disappear
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Handicraft and printing workers9
All jobs29
Right now
4 of 27 countries report a shortage of printers, 5 a surplus.
Printers · EURES

What does it pay?

About average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,100 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,900 (Denmark), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among craft and related trades workers in the EU, women earn 26% less per hour than men. Craft and related trades workers · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Upper secondary or vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training in audio-visual techniques and media production is the usual route.

Highest qualification of handicraft and printing workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 17%Vocational 48%General secondary 11%Basic schooling 24%
Field that teaches it
Audio-visual techniques and media production
Vocational route, EU
3 in 10 trainees in this field

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Very little

AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.25 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 9 tasks
Producing digital print images, and transferring and outputting images0.41
Monitoring, evaluating and determining press to check print quality standards against proofs and detect malfunctions0.34
Monitoring machine operations and quality of printing0.31
Setting, adjusting and monitoring substrate-feed mechanisms, delivery mechanisms, inking systems and other printing machine functions0.27
Mixing ink and solvents to standard, and regulating paper and ink supply during print runs0.27
Producing a variety of printed products using relief, lithographic, flexographic and gravure printing presses, and in-line finishing systems0.26
Preparing plates, blankets and impression cylinders on small offset lithographic printing presses0.15
Maintaining, adjusting, repairing and cleaning machines0.15
Loading paper into feeding mechanisms0.08

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for printers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).