Printing Industry

Printing Industry Menu Workers' Rights

Health and Safety Concerns

Many workers are unaware of the potential hazards in their work environment, which makes them more vulnerable to injury. The following references aid in recognizing and controlling some general safety concerns associated with the printing industry.

Ergonomics
  • Success with Ergonomics: New York Times. OSHA Success Stories, (January 2003). Describes the New York Times' sustained success in tackling ergonomic issues over the course of its ten-year program, reducing workers' compensation claims and related medical costs.
  • Success with Ergonomics: Quad Graphics Inc. OSHA Success Stories, (October 18, 1998, Updated September 2002). Reports a Wisconsin commercial printing and lithography plant' successful implementation of an ergonomics program, which successfully reduced the total number of lost work days by 60 percent and workers' compensation costs by 10 percent over four years.
  • "Ergonomic Risks: Health concerns raised by new pressroom equipment leads to innovation." Flexo Magazine (August 2002).
  • Control of Ergonomic Hazards from Squeegee: Handles in the Screen-Printing Industry. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 97-137, (1997).
  • Dow Jones and Company, Inc., Dallas, Texas. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. HETA-90-0251-2128, (August 1991). Concludes that an ergonomic hazard existed in the composing room among printers due to static standing postures. The author recommends measures to remedy the situation.
  • Controlling Cleaning-Solvent Vapors at Small Printers. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 98-107, (1998).
Safe Equipment Operation
  • Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Concentrates on investigations of fatal occupational injuries and provides the full text of hundreds of fatality investigation reports.
    • Printing Machine Operator Electrocuted in Indiana. Indiana FACE Investigation 86-16. Investigates the death of a 32-year-old gilter operator electrocuted when he entered an electrical panelboard to reset a circuit breaker.
    • Pressman Falls from Printing Press. Nebraska FACE Investigation 95NE016, (June 28, 1995). Investigates the case of a 54-year-old male pressman who fell approximately 41 inches from a printing press. He fell face first to a concrete floor and was taken to a hospital where he died later in the day from a heart attack.
    • Temporary Worker Dies When Crushed in Screen Printing Press. Massachusetts FACE Investigation 94MA018. Investigates the death of a 19-year-old worker crushed by a screen printing press when the infrared emergency stop reversed the motion of the printing frame faster than normal.
  • Printing. Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Contains a list of printing information sheets and industry advisory committee leaflets, from the United Kingdom on the safe operation of several types of printing presses.
Other Concerns