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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Print Binding and Finishing Workers

Bind books and other publications or finish printed products by hand or machine. May set up binding and finishing machines.

Also called: Binder Operator, Bindery Operator, Bindery Technician, Bindery Worker, Book Binder, Custom Bookbinder

Median pay in Greater Boston
$48,470
$23.30/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
460
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−5.1%
70 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Moderate-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$35,720$36,990$48,470$52,990$61,320

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Examine stitched, collated, bound, or unbound product samples for defects, such as imperfect bindings, ink spots, torn pages, loose pages, or loose or uncut threads.
  • Read work orders to determine instructions and specifications for machine set-up.
  • Install or adjust bindery machine devices, such as knives, guides, rollers, rounding forms, creasing rams, or clamps, to accommodate sheets, signatures, or books of specified sizes.
  • Trim edges of books to size, using cutting machines, book trimming machines, or hand cutters.
  • Stitch or glue endpapers, bindings, backings, or signatures, using sewing machines, glue machines, or glue and brushes.
  • Monitor machine operations to detect malfunctions or to determine whether adjustments are needed.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure19 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 20
  • Language-model AIOE 21
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 15

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

Print binding and finishing workers have lower AI exposure, and there is little or no observed AI use in this job today. AI tools may help with reading work orders and tracking specifications. Checking books by hand, adjusting knives and clamps, and trimming, stitching, and gluing are physical tasks that AI tools do not touch. Massachusetts projects a 5.1% drop in jobs from 2024 to 2034, so some workers may want to look at related fields.

Likely to change

  • Reading work orders for machine setup
  • Tracking job specifications and quantities

Still relies on people

  • Spotting torn pages and bad bindings
  • Adjusting knives, guides, and clamps by hand

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Industrial Machinery Mechanics

    Setting up and adjusting bindery machines carries over to repairing machinery. This job pays a Boston median of $75,200 and is projected to grow 17.1%.

    Pay difference
    +$26,730 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +17.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

    Examining products for defects and setting machine controls carry over. This job has a Boston median pay of $51,220 and moderate on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$2,750 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +3.9%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

    Checking sizes and fit, trimming, and gluing pieces together carry over. Cabinetmaking pays a Boston median of $59,120 and has very low AI exposure.

    Pay difference
    +$10,650 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +1.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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