Table 4

Use of protective measures by printing process

Number (%*) of respondents using protective measure
Protective measurePre-press (n=289)Printing (n=550)Finishing (n=497)Total (n=1189)
*Percentage of total respondents involved in each printing process.
Protective equipment
    Gloves200 (68)506 (91)219 (44)792 (67)
    Overalls138 (47)414 (74)239 (48)697 (59)
    Footwear 81 (28)290 (52)103 (21)407 (34)
    Glasses 67 (23)127 (23) 79 (16)224 (19)
    Ear plugs 65 (22)299 (54)227 (45)516 (43)
    Skin care104 (35)327 (59)144 (29)482 (41)
    Barrier creams 94 (32)323 (58)174 (35)493 (41)
Hand washing frequency
    Never 43 (15) 9 (2) 74 (15)117 (10)
    0–2 times per day 92 (31)102 (18)152 (30)311 (26)
    3–5 times 80 (27)289 (52)157 (31)467 (39)
    >5 times 65 (22)151 (27) 75 (15)231 (19)
Use of cleansing products
    Work cleansers133 (45)383 (69)210 (42)615 (52)
    Afterwork cleaners 56 (19)146 (26) 98 (20)255 (21)
    Nothing 77 (26) 57 (10) 86 (17)203 (17)
    Other 24 (8) 23 (4) 43 (9) 78 (7)