{"id":373061,"date":"2026-01-16T10:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/373061\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T10:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:07:10","slug":"the-rewarding-high-paid-and-storied-trade-job-ai-cant-fill-but-humans-dont-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/373061\/","title":{"rendered":"The rewarding, high-paid and storied trade job AI can’t fill – but humans don’t want"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligence is eating jobs everywhere \u2014 except one craft so precise that even a hair\u2019s-width mistake ruins days of work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Few workplaces<\/a>\u00a0haven’t been affected. AI is in supermarkets, at doctor’s offices, and even monitoring farms.<\/p>\n

But in one centuries-old trade, modern technology<\/a>\u00a0has barely made a dent\u00a0\u2014 making high-end and often bespoke stationery by hand-engraving the plates used to print it.<\/p>\n

The painstaking practice\u00a0\u2014 which involves carving text and patterns into copper using hand tools\u00a0\u2014 remains a job only humans can do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the heart of the disappearing craft is Crane Stationery, a 200-year-old American company whose engraved stationery has ranged from Statue of Liberty invitations to bespoke correspondence for celebrities like Jimmy Fallon.<\/p>\n

Today, with only about a dozen engravers remaining \u2014 and at least one expected to retire this year \u2014 Crane is worried the trade will die out because they cannot find people willing or able to do it. Just two decades ago it employed twice as many.<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence and automation aren’t to blame. The real challenge is persuading people to learn and commit to such a highly skilled, precision craft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘If you have a desire to print, saddle up \u2014 you have a job at Crane,’ chief executive Robert Buhler told the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Engravery <\/p>\n

Engravery is the practice of creating designs, text, or patterns by cutting, carving, or etching into a surface like metal, wood, glass, or stone using hand tools<\/p>\n

\"Crane <\/p>\n

Crane Stationery, a 200-year-old company, is one of the most established employers of this kind of tradesperson<\/p>\n

\"It <\/p>\n

It is a real challenge to persuade people to learn and commit to such a highly skilled, precision craft<\/p>\n

The shortage has already hit business. Crane ended holiday sales two weeks early this season after running out of engravers to complete orders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the International Engraved Graphics Association, just over 300 trained engravers \u2014 also known as presspeople \u2014 are working in the US today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The demanding length and rigor of the training are a major reason the craft is disappearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Engravers at Crane carve razor-thin lines into copper plates used to print custom cards, invitations and stationery. The margin for error is narrower than the width of a human hair.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While lasers are used to etch the initial die-plates, the most critical work is still done by hand. Engravers must refine each line manually, then adjust antique presses to account for humidity, temperature and the quirks of machines that can be more than a century old.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each color requires its own copper plate. If even one shade is misaligned \u2014 sometimes by an amount invisible to the naked eye \u2014 the entire process must start over.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trainees may spend an entire year mastering a single color before advancing to more complex designs, standing for up to eight hours a day at antique presses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only about half of apprentices make it through Crane\u2019s training program. Many quit. Others simply fail to meet the company\u2019s standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Just <\/p>\n

Just over 300 trained engravers \u2014 also known as presspeople \u2014 are working in the US today (pictured: Crane workers from decades ago)<\/p>\n

\"Engraving <\/p>\n

Engraving apprentices start at $18.50 an hour, and even with quarterly bonuses, newly certified engravers earn up to about $60,000 a year (pictured: a worker at Crane Currency)<\/p>\n

\"Everyone <\/p>\n

Everyone Crane hires to engrave starts with no experience, in theory, anyone could do the job<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A rare 1892 photograph of a Crane Stationery factory, capturing the early days of a craft that has changed little in more than a century<\/p>\n

Engraving apprentices start at $18.50 an hour, and even with quarterly bonuses, newly certified engravers earn up to about $60,000 a year \u2014 modest pay for a craft that takes years to master and cannot be automated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Buhler says he raised pay across the company by about 14 percent and increased senior engravers’ wages by more than 20 percent after buying Crane nearly two years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also improved health benefits and began reimbursing commuting costs, with another round of raises planned this year after the company spent heavily on moving to a new building.<\/p>\n

Everyone Crane hires to engrave starts with no experience \u2014 in theory, anyone could do the job. In practice, very few are willing to endure the years of training and relentless pursuit of perfection it demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To be an engraver at Crane, ‘you have to live in a state of perfection every single day,’ Buhler told the WSJ.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crane has had a rocky few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crane cut about 200 jobs during the pandemic after relocating from North Adams, Massachusetts, to the Albany, New York, area. Its future looked uncertain in early 2024 when its parent company was sold to an Italian firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Buhler, a self-taught engraver from North Carolina, took an ownership stake in 2024, the company had about 72 employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Artificial intelligence is eating jobs everywhere \u2014 except one craft so precise that even a hair\u2019s-width mistake ruins…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,97,86,56,54,55,8970],"class_list":{"0":"post-373061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-dailymail","12":"tag-technology","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom","16":"tag-yourmoney"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}