Print Work

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If you pursue art as a hobby and enjoy creating unique artwork, then a career in printing industry would be apt for you. Printing and graphic industry is one of the leading industries in US with a high rate of employment and turnover. If you have a strong sense of visual aesthetics, coupled with creativity skills and technical proficiency, then you have a strong chance at making a career in printing industry. A process that begins with designing, printing work is the last stage of the entire process of creating an artwork. Here are different aspects of the print work that you ought to know, if you plan to make a career in this field.

There are different areas within print work for job seekers to explore. However, the requirements, work nature and applications are quite different. Hence, we have categorized information based on the printing work types and presented below for your reference.

• Screen Printing: Screen printing refers to the technically advanced method of making print work on materials such as clothes, cardboards, and plastic, etc. Printing is done via screen printers that have ink cartons, a mesh and a stencil. The stencil is created with the desired design. When a roller is rolled over the screen stencil, the ink spreads on the mesh and comes out from the open spaces of the stencils on the materials. Screen print technique is widely used in clothing industry. Also, it is used for designing control panels for boats and aircrafts.

• Print Finishing: Print finishing refers to providing a well-polished look to the newly printed materials. It refers to cutting, pasting or binding the printed materials together to create the final art work. Common examples where print work is required are promotional life-size cutouts outside stores, fancy food packages, cards or handouts with pop-out artwork, beautifully bound book, etc. A strong sense of detailing is required to create well finished and visually appealing articles.

• Graphic Printing: Graphic printing is the most sophisticated and visually-enhanced art work. It refers to the work of creating artwork via technical tools of digital work. Common examples of instances where graphic printing is used are magazines, books, comics, food containers and packages, stickers, etc. Graphic printing is more related to designing field.

Work Conditions

Printing work is performed in factories and workshops. Work timings are usually set at 45 hours per week. One has to stand continuously for hours during the work. Press operators have to work with large printing machineries, printing materials, and binding materials. The machines are noisy and pose a threat of injury to the operators. Hence, it is vital that the operators wear safety gear like gloves and ear plugs while at work. In certain places, the units that print confidential documents such as credit cards, the press operators work under acute security. Print work demands ensuring accurate detailing in work. This can cause excessive strain on eyes. Hence, printing work can be physically and mentally exhausting for the press operators.

Career Prospects

Print work has wide scale applications in several industries such as consumer goods manufacturing firms, fashion industry, IT, publications, etc. It is vital to make products visually appealing to induce sales. Hence, these industries create significant number of openings for print work designers and operators. All the operators who possess competence in operating technical tools and have sharp creativity skills will gain an edge over other competitors.

Print work is an exciting career option for all those who wish to make a career in creative field. While allowing you to explore your creative side, it will help you gain a stable job and healthy remuneration. Print work is surely a good opportunity to pursue for all job seekers with an artistic bend of mind.