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Careers in Print: Outside the Print Shop

Careers in Print: Outside the Print Shop

Careers in Print: Outside the Print Shop – Episode Summary

In this episode of The Print University, Pat McGrew and Ryan McAbee introduce viewers to three crucial but often overlooked career paths in the print industry: print brokers, print buyers, and creative agency professionals. These roles don’t operate the presses—but they play a pivotal part in how print is sourced, specified, and produced. This course is essential for those designing printing industry training programs for new employees, developing print shop employee onboarding templates, or offering outsourced training for print production staff.

The episode explains how print brokers act as intermediaries between clients and printers—juggling dozens of clients and vendors to match print needs with capabilities, timelines, and budgets. Print buyers, on the other hand, typically work inside brands or corporations and manage the end-to-end print process—from creative concept to vendor selection, approval, and delivery. Then there are creative agencies, which may serve as both brand guardians and print coordinators, designing campaigns that include everything from POS materials and packaging to signage and direct mail.

Pat and Ryan explore how these professionals must be organized, detail-oriented, and deeply informed about substrates, technologies, and vendor capabilities. As print brokers retire and agency roles evolve, these positions are ripe for transformation and demand fresh talent with a modern mindset.

You Will Learn:

  • The differences and overlaps between print brokers, print buyers, and agency print roles

  • What skillsets are essential: vendor management, spec writing, color and quality expertise

  • How brokers manage dozens of vendor and client relationships

  • Why creative agencies often influence print decisions and enforce brand guidelines

  • Where opportunities exist for cross-training and career entry into non-production print roles

Who This Course Is For:

Aspiring print professionals, sales managers, creative agency liaisons, and educators building printing industry training programs for new employees, outsourced training for print production staff, or printing technician certification online

Time to Watch:

Approx. 30 minutes