Dermatitis in the printing industry

What you need to know

Print workers using chemicals risk developing dermatitis mainly on fingers, and webs between fingers. Printing press workers are particularly affected on the backs of hands as well as wrists, forearms and elbows.

The most common work related substances used in printing which generally aggravate skin conditions are:

Printing processes with a particularly high occurrence of skin problems are:

What you need to do

Follow the steps set out in the guidance Preventing contact dermatitis at work:

Follow good practice set out in these task specific posters:  

Find out more

Detailed guidance on the law is contained in:

The following background research report recommends the use of nitrile (0.4mm thickness) gloves for general use in lithographic printing.

Further Background research reports exist

Updated: 2021-11-09