More than 8,800 people are printing trades workers. Most are employed by:

• newspaper publishers
• commercial printing firms
• publishing companies
• book repairers.

Most people in this industry work in hands-on jobs operating presses and other printing equipment. 

Number of people employed in printing occupations in New Zealand
(2001 and 2006)

Occupation	Employee numbers, 2001	Employee numbers, 2006
Printing machinists (eg reel-fed and sheet-fed printers)	4,680	5,751
Bookbinders	1,215	1,365
Screen printers	588	555
Source: Department of Labour, Jobs and Tertiary Education Indicator Tool.

A further 17,000 people are employed in other printing, publishing and recorded media roles such as design, sales, support, equipment servicing, or administration.

More than 1,000 print companies operate in New Zealand, ranging from small firms with fewer than five staff to large printing production companies that export products.

While job opportunities exist throughout the country, most people in the industry are employed in the major centres of:

• Auckland (42% of the total printing workforce)
• Wellington (14%)
• Christchurch (14%).

The introduction of new technology in the late 1980s and 1990s meant a reduction in the number of people employed in this industry, but this trend is reversing. Worker numbers increased by 10% between 2001 and 2006.

Number of printing trades workers in New Zealand
(1996, 2001, 2006)

Census	Number of printing trades workers
1996	9,504
2001	8,049
2006	8,874
Source: Department of Labour, Jobs and Tertiary Education Indicator Tool.

While the number of workers has increased slightly, the industry remains highly competitive. Some smaller firms struggle to remain viable and others have centralised their operations in larger cities. For example, Wickliffe Press closed its Dunedin factory in 2007 and shifted the plant to its Auckland site. About 32 staff were made redundant in Dunedin.

Workers need computer skills to operate new printing machines

Computerised, high-speed printing machines have replaced a lot of manual machinery. The new breed of machines is less labour-intensive and workers need computer skills to operate them. The speed of the machines also means that companies need fewer presses than they might have owned in the past.