Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

The green ink sits on the roller waiting to be wiped away. So too does blue ink on the other roller. Being replaced with red and yellow ink for another printing job, the cleaning must be thorough so the colors don't mix. The work can sometimes be messy. "You can't say you don't like to get dirty if you're coming into this field," said First on Colour's pressman Steve Egilsson. "But the longer you're in it, the cleaner you stay."

Presses come in various shapes and sizes.

While he now manages to stay clean most days, his initial career plans targeted another line of work where getting dirty is common. After taking his mechanic training, Egilsson worked until the economy turned sour in the early 1980s. Out of that line of work, his dad knew of someone looking to train an apprentice pressman. "The printing industry was just starting an apprenticeship program at the time," he said. "I thought it's better to get an apprenticeship rather than work on (a) sales floor."

Egilsson took the four-year apprenticeship -- which does not exist anymore due in part to huge technological changes -- and hasn't looked back. Now sporting the title of production manager for First on Colour, the laid-back pressman not only has to operate the press, but he has to time and co-ordinate the jobs to be printed as well.

"You always have to keep in mind the size of the paper and colors so you don't have to change paper or clean so often," he explained. But that plan doesn't always work simply due to the "tight-deadline" nature of the industry. "You could have all the work laid out in the morning, but things change and you have to accept that and do what's needed. You have to be fairly even tempered. You can't get too excited when you have to change your game plan."

Regardless of how the day goes, to Egilsson, the clean up remains the worst part of the job. But the rewards are many. "There's a lot of personal satisfaction in printing a job, especially when it's a full-color job. But there's also a lot of satisfaction in a simple job that looks good. You take pride in your work."

Not all press operators will have exactly the same duties just as not all presses are the same. In smaller print shops, for instance, a press operator may be required to cut the paper to the correct size, or cut the finished job to size and prepare it for shipping. On large presses, such as those that print newspapers, press operators will be more focussed on mixing ink, making sure the press is operating correctly and ensuring the job is being printed correctly.

Work hours and pay will also vary considerably. Large presses typically run 24 hours a day and require operators to cover an entire day. Smaller shops will often stick to more typical business hours and require operators for those hours. Essentially, the larger and more complicated the press, the more money you will make, although an experienced press operator capable of producing good work will also command a good wage no matter how big or small the press, Egilsson said.

Almost all press operators will spend their days on their feet, and many will have to perform some form of fairly physical work, such as hauling paper from storage to the press. "And you're exposed to fumes, chemicals, noise and any other danger that involves running equipment with moving parts."

With the development of computers and digital imaging, press operators have seen some changes in their workloads. "The presses have become more automatic," Egilsson said. "There are more things on a control panel on the larger presses, but the smaller presses have stayed virtually the same. They keep telling us they'll get rid of the presses saying color photocopiers and digital printers will replace them. I feel that's a long way down the road. The types of (work) the digital equipment can run is very limited."

And regardless of what equipment's being used, Egilsson believes the basic makeup of a good press operator will remain the same. "You still need organizational skills, mechanical aptitude, and have to pay attention to detail."