Working In The Industry

Print Finishing, Hand Binding and Manufacturing Work

Print finishers use printed materials to create books, magazines, catalogues or cartons. Most books are now printed by a process known as photolithography, this is also known as offset printing.Today machines that automatically trim paper to size, fold sheets, glue or staple sections together and bind books are widely in use. A print finisher’s work involves setting up the machines, making sure the printed material is fed through the system properly and watching for machine breakdowns. Finished products also need to be stacked and they may need decorations adding, such as special lettering, edging or end papers adding.

For high volume printing, books and magazines are still printed using the gravure process. Sheet fed presses, which print one sheet of paper at a time, have now been largely replaced by web presses, which use giant rolls of paper. The web-press operation permits faster production by combining printing and folding into one single, continuous operation.

There are currently 19 different ways to bind a book or magazine. These include hand binding, saddle stitching and perfect binding.

Skills and abilities that help you succeed in Print Finishing:

  • Practical skills (good with your hands)
  • Physically fit (manual work)
  • Numeracy skills - for keeping count
  • Self motivated
  • Communication skills
  • Team worker
  • Quick learner (wide range of different machines in use)
  • Observant – you need a good eye for detail