The Datum Report

Occupation 5422 · Skilled trades occupations

Printers

Printers set up and operate various small offset printing presses and digital printing processes.

How people enter it

There are no formal academic requirements although some employers may require GCSEs/S grades. Training is typically received on-the-job. Traineeships and apprenticeships in Machine Printing are available at NVQ/SVQ levels 2 and 3.

What the work involves

Also called

Digital printer · Lithographic printer · Machine minder (printing) · Print technician · Screen printer · Wallpaper printer

What it pays

MeasureHoursBasisPeriodValueSource
5422 : Printers None None 2026-03 15,300.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5422 : Printers None None 2026-03 15,300.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5422 : Printers None None 2026-03 18,000.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5422 : Printers None None 2026-03 — ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
Not published: Estimate and confidence interval not available since the group sample size is zero or disclosive (0-2)
5422 : Printers None None 2026-03 2,600.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5422 : Printers None None 2026-03 18,000.00 ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5422 : Printers None None 2026-03 — ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
Not published: Estimate and confidence interval not available since the group sample size is zero or disclosive (0-2)

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

RegionMeasureHoursValuePeriod
East 5422 : Printers None 800.00 2026-03
East Midlands 5422 : Printers None 2,000.00 2026-03
London 5422 : Printers None 1,000.00 2026-03
North East 5422 : Printers None 1,100.00 2026-03
North West 5422 : Printers None 2,100.00 2026-03
Northern Ireland 5422 : Printers None withheld 2026-03
Scotland 5422 : Printers None 2,600.00 2026-03
South East 5422 : Printers None 3,400.00 2026-03
South West 5422 : Printers None 1,200.00 2026-03
Wales 5422 : Printers None withheld 2026-03
West Midlands 5422 : Printers None 1,600.00 2026-03
Yorkshire and The Humber 5422 : Printers None 2,100.00 2026-03

Common questions

Does pay for printers vary by region?

ONS publishes regional pay for this occupation where the survey sample supports it — 10 of 12 cells on this page. The rest are withheld by ONS, and are shown as withheld with the reason, rather than left out.

Where do these pay figures come from?

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are shown exactly as ONS publishes them — we do not adjust, model or fill them in, and every number on this page carries the series and period it came from.

Classified alongside this

Pre-press technicians · Print finishing and binding workers