SOC 2020 · 5422
Printers
Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations from
Skilled Worker
Not eligible
No Skilled Worker route through this code.
Salary floor
£41,700
The general threshold, £41,700, is the higher of the two.
Shortage lists
Not listed
This code is on neither the Immigration Salary List nor the Temporary Shortage List.
What this occupation actually pays
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, full-time gross annual pay.
- UK pay for this occupation
View these figures as a table
| Percentile | Pay |
|---|---|
| 25th | £26,538 |
| 50th | £33,019 |
| Region | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK 2025 | — | £26,538 | £33,019 | — | — |
| East Midlands 2025 | — | — | £33,510 | — | — |
| London 2025 | — | — | £34,662 | — | — |
| South West 2025 | — | — | £32,258 | — | — |
| Wales 2025 | — | — | £28,431 | — | — |
| West Midlands 2025 | — | — |
Job titles in this code
What the work involves
Printers set up and operate various small offset printing presses and digital printing processes.
Typical tasks
positions form or plate on machine, checks alignments and sets press
mixes and loads inks and solvents, loads paper and regulates during print run
prints and examines proof copies and adjusts press as necessary
starts or directs start of printing run and monitors machine to ensure that printing proceeds smoothly
pours colour into machine or directly on to screen and positions screen over item
operates squeegee by hand or machine to press colour through screen
dips wooden pattern block into colour tray and lays different colours on top of, and adjacent to, others to form the required pattern
produces, transfers and outputs digital print images
maintains, adjusts, repairs and cleans machine
keeps production records
Entry routes and qualifications
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.