NOC 73401: Printing press operators

Printing press operators set up and operate sheet and web-fed presses to print text, illustrations and designs on a wide variety of materials such as paper, plastic, glass, leather and metal. They are employed by commercial printing companies; newspapers, magazines, and other publishing companies; and establishments in the public and private sectors that have in-house printing departments. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): yes, TEER 3.
• Canadian Experience Class: counts as skilled Canadian work (1 year in the last 3 years).
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: counts as skilled work (1 year of continuous work in the last 10 years).
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: an eligible skilled trade (2 years in the last 5 years).
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): no. No high-wage add-on, and a job offer in it earns no CRS points.

TEER 3: Occupations that usually need a college diploma, an apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 73401 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws.

Category lists checked on canada.ca on 2026-10-17. IRCC category-based selection

CRS points for work in NOC 73401

Skilled Canadian work in this occupation earns the standard points, the same before and after November 3, 2026, with no high-wage add-on:

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Review job orders to determine job specifications such as production time, colour sequence and quantities required, and advise press crew of these specifications
• Mount plates or cylinders and make necessary adjustments
• Fill ink fountains and take measurements, make adjustments and determine settings to control colour and viscosity
• Set up press and check samples for ink coverage, alignment and registration
• Monitor regular press runs for quality and consistency using computer control console and make adjustments as required
• Remove and clean plates and cylinders at end of press run
• Direct activities of press crew and ensure that safety procedures are adhered to.

For Express Entry your duties must match the lead statement and most of the main duties above.

Example job titles

• apprentice pressman/woman
• assistant pressman/woman
• first pressman/woman
• flexographic press operator
• offset press operator
• printing press operator
• rotogravure pressman/woman - printing

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of a college program in printing technology or A combination of on-the-job training and specialized high school, college or industry courses is usually required.
• Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in Québec.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 94150Colour and large copier operator
• 94150Laser printer operator
• 94150Printing machine operator
• 53124Screen printing artisan
• 72022Supervisors, printing and related occupations
• 94130Textile printer