Pressers for textile, garment, and related materials press or shape articles by hand or machine.

  • Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
  • Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
  • Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
  • Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
  • Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
  • Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
  • Identify and treat spots on garments.
  • Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.
  • Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.
  • Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
  • Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.
  • Slide material back and forth over heated, metal, ball-shaped forms to smooth and press portions of garments that cannot be satisfactorily pressed with flat pressers or hand irons.
  • Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance.
  • Spray water over fabric to soften fibers when not using steam irons.
  • Position materials such as cloth garments, felt, or straw on tables, dies, or feeding mechanisms of pressing machines, or on ironing boards or work tables.
  • Moisten materials to soften and smooth them.
  • Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.
  • Press ties on small pressing machines.
  • Block or shape knitted garments after cleaning.
  • Activate and adjust machine controls to regulate temperature and pressure of rollers, ironing shoes, or plates, according to specifications.
  • Use covering cloths to prevent equipment from damaging delicate fabrics.
  • Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as tape measures and micrometers.
  • Finish velvet garments by steaming them on bucks of hot-head presses or steam tables, and brushing pile (nap) with handbrushes.
  • Measure fabric to specifications, cut uneven edges with shears, fold material, and press it with an iron to form a heading.
  • Insert heated metal forms into ties and touch up rough places with hand irons.
  • Brush materials made of suede, leather, or felt to remove spots or to raise and smooth naps.
  • Sew ends of new material to leaders or to ends of material in pressing machines, using sewing machines.
  • Select, install, and adjust machine components, including pressing forms, rollers, and guides, using hoists and hand tools.
Work Context

Work Context information for this career will be available soon.

Work Activities
  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Detailed Work Activities
  • Smooth garments with irons, presses, or steamers.
  • Smooth garments with irons, presses, or steamers.
  • Stack finished items for further processing or shipment.
  • Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
  • Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
  • Package products for storage or shipment.
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Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Skills

Operation and Control
  • Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Abilities

Manual Dexterity
  • The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Control Precision
  • The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Near Vision
  • The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel Hot Technology
Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word Hot Technology
Electronic mail software
  • Email software