Print production planner : Employers and vacancy sources

According to The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) , the UK’s print sector is the world’s fifth largest producer of printed products. It includes 10,500 companies, employing around 140,000 people.

You can find work in the print industry in almost all areas of the UK; the highest concentration of companies is in London and the South East but there are also large numbers of opportunities in the North West, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside. The largest sector in the industry is advertising literature, event programmes, etc (34%), closely followed by newspapers, magazines and books (30%). There are also companies that specialise in security printing (cheques, tickets, secure documents), packaging and labels.

Employers include:

• high street print shops and small general jobbing printers who provide origination, printing and finishing services, mostly for short-run, fast-turn-around printed products, such as letterheads, flyers and business cards;
• larger companies offering facilities capable of producing a greater range of printed material, for example fine art printing, posters, brochures, catalogues and periodicals;
• specialist printers in screen-printing or printing on plastic, metal and other non-paper-based materials;
• large printing companies specialising in paperback and hardback book production;
• high volume web-offset printers, such as those producing newsprint and full-colour glossy magazines.

Other employers include advertising agencies, in which production planners are employed to:

• plan the progress of clients’ work;
• gather specification information;
• estimate costs of work;
• negotiate with, and act as the link between, the agency and the printing company.

At all levels, the industry uses sophisticated technology and computerised production management systems.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Agency Central   
• XL Recruitment  
• Jobs in Print  
• Mercury Search  
• Ozzle.co.uk  
• Print Job Search   
• Print Week   
• Printingjob Vacancies   
• The Drum   
• Local and regional press.

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