Curman was a commercial photo-lithographer initially working for the printer John Sands & Co., Sydney. A specialist in 4-colour printing, he worked for printers in Adelaide and elsewhere. After 1969, he became a principal in Associated Lithographics, then in 1979, he founded Curman Lithographics. In 2002, he was named Graphics Arts Person of the Year by Print21 , the official magazine of Printing Industries Australia.