As the new training year begins, we at Beltz Grafische Betriebe are welcoming six trainees to our team. Their time with us began on August 1 and September 1, 2026, respectively, and will take them into a wide variety of areas within our book production process.
From production planning through prepress and printing to bookbinding, there are several stages involved that work closely together on the path to a finished book. This allows our new colleagues to become familiar with professions that require technical understanding, meticulous work, and a good grasp of production processes.
Four of the six apprentices are just starting their apprenticeships. Two are continuing the apprenticeships they’ve already begun with us. As a result, the Class of 2026 brings together a variety of experiences and levels of training.
We are delighted to support these six as they continue on their career paths, and we would like to introduce our new trainees in more detail.
Our Six Apprentices for 2026
This year, the start of the apprenticeships is spread across three job profiles and several divisions of our company.
Digital and Print Media Designer, Specializing in Print Media
Lara Sophie Crusius has been part of our work planning and customer management teams since September 1.
Emely Marie Kühn has also been part of our prepress team since September 1.
In this department, incoming print data is checked, processed, and prepared for subsequent production. A meticulous approach to work and a strong technical understanding are particularly important here.
Print Media Technologist
Three of our new apprentices are learning about the various aspects of professional printing.
Noah Elias Möller has been working in offset printing since September 1.
In the digital printing department, we welcome Ian Luca Lang, who also started on September 1, and Tim Keller, who has been working with us since August 1.
On our printing presses, they learn step by step how printed sheets or webs of paper are produced from prepared data and what settings are necessary to ensure that production runs smoothly.
Media Technologist in Print Processing
We’d like to welcome Erik Bettin to our bookbinding shop; he started on August 1.
Here, he experiences the next important stage in book production. After printing, the individual components are assembled into finished books. Depending on the project, this involves various steps and binding methods.
If you’d like to learn more about how these different career paths differ from one another, check out our article “Media Technology vs. Media Design: What Are the Differences?” provides a detailed overview of job responsibilities, requirements, and potential fields of work.
Those interested can also find more information about the job profile and the various specializations on the Federal Employment Agency’s BERUFENET website.
Two training programs will continue at Beltz
For Lara Sophie Crusius and Emely Marie Kühn, the move to Beltz isn’t a typical start to their training.
Lara is already in her third year of apprenticeship, and Emely is in her second. Both originally began their apprenticeships at a different company. Since their previous training company is closing at the end of the year, they are now continuing their apprenticeships at Beltz Grafische Betriebe in Bad Langensalza.
It was important to us to give both of them the opportunity to continue their training without having to start from scratch and to bring the experience they had already gained to bear in our operations.
At the same time, they are getting to know a new company, different work processes, and new colleagues. We wish them all the best as they make this transition and look forward to working with them.
Apprenticeships in 2026 in various areas of book production
A book goes through many stages during its production. This very diversity is also evident in this year’s class of trainees.
While the foundations for smooth production are laid in production planning and prepress, offset and digital printing handle the actual printing on paper. The finished product is then created in the bookbinding department.
As a result, although our trainees work in different departments, they are all part of the same production process.
On-the-job training gives them the opportunity to learn about their own tasks in relation to the preceding and subsequent steps in the process. Over time, this leads to a deeper understanding of how many individual steps must work together before a finished book leaves our facility.
Welcome to the team
The start of an apprenticeship always marks the beginning of a longer period of working together. In the coming months and years, our apprentices will learn many new tasks, gain experience, and take on increasing responsibility in their respective fields.
We wish Lara Sophie Crusius, Emely Marie Kühn, Noah Elias Möller, Ian Luca Lang, Tim Keller, and Erik Bettin a great start—or a successful continuation—of their training at Beltz Grafische Betriebe.
It’s great to have you here!
Interested in an apprenticeship at Beltz?
Whether it’s printing, post-press processing, or media design: there are various training paths in the field of book production for those with an interest in technical or organizational aspects.
On our Careers page, we provide a more detailed overview of our apprenticeship programs and the respective job responsibilities. Anyone looking to learn more about printing and book production and interested in an apprenticeship at Beltz will also find our current apprenticeship openings and application options there.
