Entry can be as:

Apprentice

Under the apprenticeship scheme. This requires a minimum educational qualification of matriculation or its equivalent or tenth class pass in the 10+2 system, with proficiency in English. Recruitments are made directly by employers. 

Under the Apprentices Act, 1961, trade apprenticeship courses are available to persons in various government and commercial printing presses. The minimum requirement is eighth class pass, and age, at least 14 years. The duration of apprenticeship varies from two to three years. 

Apprentices are required to sign a contract before joining training. They are paid a stipend, which starts at Rs 230 per month and increases each year to a maximum of Rs 350 by the fourth year of training. State apprenticeship adviser may be contacted for further details on this scheme.

Trainee Supervisor/Production Assistant

After appropriate qualifications have been acquired.

Career Levels

Work in printing would be in skills, supervisory managerial capacity in any of the following operational areas, which remain the same, regardless of the process used:

Composing Room
 
Where all text matter is `composed', proof read, and made ready for the press.

Photo-Engraving/Block-Making

Which involves preparation of metal printing plates of illustrations, pictures maps, charts and other images that cannot be set in type.

Electro-Typing/Stereo-Typing

Concerned with process for duplicating type matter to be printed.

Lithography

For printing multi-color jobs.

Machine Room

Where actual printing operations take place

Book Binding/Packing

May be in a bindery of a large press or undertaken by job binders. It involves a number of separate
tasks, including assembling, folding, gathering, cutting stitching and fixing covers. This used to be a labor-intensive area, but is becoming increasingly mechanized.