Printing Press Operator

Franklin, WI

$18 - $22

1st & 2nd shifts, 8 and 10 hr shifts

Printing Machine Operators

Job Purpose:

Set up or operate various types of printing machines, such as offset, letterset, intaglio, or gravure presses or screen printers to produce print on paper or other materials.

Essential Duties and/or Responsibilities:

• Inspect and examine printed products for print clarity, color accuracy, conformance to specifications, and external defects.
• Push buttons, turn handles or move controls and levers to start and control printing machines.
• Reposition printing plates, adjust pressure rolls, or otherwise adjust machines to improve print quality, using knobs, hand wheels, or hand tools.
• Set and adjust speed, temperature, ink flow, and positions and pressure tolerances of equipment.
• Examine job orders to determine details such as quantities to be printed, production times, stock specifications, colors, and color sequences.
• Select and install printing plates, rollers, feed guides, gauges, screens, stencils, type, dies, and cylinders in machines according to specifications, using hand tools.
• Monitor feeding, printing, and racking processes of presses to maintain specified operating levels and to detect malfunctions, making adjustments as necessary.
• Operate equipment at slow speed to ensure proper ink coverage, alignment, and registration.
• Load, position, and adjust unprinted materials on holding fixtures or in equipment loading and feeding mechanisms.
• Pour or spread paint, ink, color compounds, and other materials into reservoirs, troughs, hoppers, or color holders of printing units, making measurements and adjustments to control color and viscosity.
• Repair, maintain, or adjust equipment.
• Blend and test paint, inks, stains, and solvents according to types of material being printed and work order specifications.
• Clean and lubricate printing machines and components, using oil, solvents, brushes, rags, and hoses.
• Remove printed materials from presses, using hand trucks, electric lifts, or hoists, and transport them to drying, storage or finishing areas.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Equipment Selection - Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.