What You Need to Know About Prepress Technician
Prepress Technician Definition Format and proof text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages that can be printed. Includes digital and photo typesetting. May produce printing plates.
Daily Life Of a Prepress Technician
- Generate prepress proofs in digital or other format to approximate the appearance of the final printed piece.
- Examine unexposed photographic plates to detect flaws or foreign particles prior to printing.
- Operate presses to print proofs of plates, monitoring printing quality to ensure that it is adequate.
- Activate scanners to produce positive or negative films for the black-and-white, cyan, yellow, and magenta separations from each original copy.
- Arrange and mount typeset material and illustrations into paste-ups for printing reproduction, based on artists’ or editors’ layouts.
- Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.
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Prepress Technician Required Skills
These are the skills Prepress Technicians say are the most useful in their careers:
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Types of Prepress Technician
- Digital Proofing and Platemaker
- Sheet Layer
- Electronic Masking System Operator
- Negative Assembler
- Layout Former
Is There Job Demand for Prepress Technicians?
There were about 34,600 jobs for Prepress Technician in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Prepress Technician. The BLS estimates 3,000 yearly job openings in this field.
The states with the most job growth for Prepress Technician are Idaho, Maryland, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Kentucky, Kansas, or North Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Prepress Technicians Salary
Prepress Technicians make between $24,940 and $62,420 a year.
Prepress Technicians who work in District of Columbia, New Jersey, or Delaware, make the highest salaries.
How much do Prepress Technicians make in each U.S. state?
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $33,710 |
| Arizona | $39,910 |
| Arkansas | $35,880 |
| California | $42,670 |
| Colorado | $41,840 |
| Connecticut | $44,620 |
| Delaware | $51,020 |
| District of Columbia | $84,120 |
| Florida | $38,320 |
| Georgia | $40,320 |
| Hawaii | $37,310 |
| Idaho | $39,150 |
| Illinois | $48,110 |
| Indiana | $38,280 |
| Iowa | $35,930 |
| Kansas | $33,300 |
| Kentucky | $40,950 |
| Louisiana | $33,470 |
| Maine | $38,550 |
| Maryland | $44,840 |
| Massachusetts | $45,110 |
| Michigan | $41,320 |
| Minnesota | $48,000 |
| Mississippi | $35,990 |
| Missouri | $39,380 |
| Montana | $37,870 |
| Nebraska | $43,250 |
| Nevada | $45,000 |
| New Hampshire | $41,430 |
| New Jersey | $53,580 |
| New Mexico | $42,760 |
| New York | $45,860 |
| North Carolina | $40,830 |
| North Dakota | $36,840 |
| Ohio | $40,800 |
| Oklahoma | $36,590 |
| Oregon | $44,520 |
| Pennsylvania | $42,180 |
| Rhode Island | $40,810 |
| South Carolina | $38,940 |
| South Dakota | $33,930 |
| Tennessee | $37,480 |
| Texas | $38,980 |
| Utah | $38,050 |
| Vermont | $45,160 |
| Virginia | $42,770 |
| Washington | $41,750 |
| West Virginia | $35,880 |
| Wisconsin | $38,950 |
What Tools do Prepress Technicians Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Prepress Technicians:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
- Web browser software
- Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Systems Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Systems Adobe Flash
- Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
- Adobe Systems Adobe PageMaker
- QuarkXPress
- Adobe Systems Adobe FreeHand
- Adobe Systems Adobe FrameMaker
- Corel Painter
- Adobe Systems Adobe Director
- File transfer protocol FTP software
- Adobe Systems Adobe LifeCycle Enterprise Suite
How do I Become a Prepress Technician?
Individuals working as a Prepress Technician have obtained the following education levels:
How Long Does it Take to Become a Prepress Technician?
Who Employs Prepress Technicians?
Prepress Technicians work in the following industries:
Related Careers
Those who work as a Prepress Technician sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:
References:
Image Credit: Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
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