Platemaking
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Platemaking occupation series (code 4416), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 15 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Platemaking ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Printing Family family. Its average salary of $115,980 pays near the federal average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 19.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #8 of 9
FedScope read on Platemaking (thin series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved sideways versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.
The Printing Family family (code 44) groups Platemaking together with 8 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Platemaking postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Printing Family family. Platemaking makes up 1.5% of the Printing Family family's 994 combined employees.
Salary Context
How Platemaking pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$115,980
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-1.2%
Where Platemaking ranks on federal pay
Platemaking earns more on average than 64% of federal occupation series (347 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Platemaking sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Platemaking.
Related Occupations in Printing Family
8 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bindery Working | 256 | $103,645 | 12.8 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Printing and Reproduction | 189 | $85,576 | 16 yrs |
| Letterpress Operating | 180 | $137,778 | 12 yrs |
| Hand Composing | 135 | $102,719 | 15.2 yrs |
| Intaglio Press Operating | 119 | $137,286 | 13.2 yrs |
| Offset Press Operating | 56 | $118,773 | 19.4 yrs |
| Bookbinding | 29 | $124,878 | 14 yrs |
| Electrolytic Intaglio Platemaking | 15 | $142,639 | 20.1 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Platemaking outside the Printing Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (15 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($115,980 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Platemaking pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Printing Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Platemaking postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.